Malcolm Bates (transport administrator)

Sir Malcolm Rowland Bates (23 September 1934 - 30 May 2009) was a British industrialist.[1][2] He served as the chairman of London Regional Transport from 1999 to 2003.[1]

Sir Malcolm Rowland Bates
Bates in 1999
Born(1934-09-23)23 September 1934
Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Died30 May 2009(2009-05-30) (aged 74)
OccupationChairman of London Regional Transport: 1999–2001, 2001-2003

Bates was born in Portsmouth, attended Portsmouth Grammar School, and served in the Royal Air Force from 1956 to 1958.[1] In 1976 he joined General Electric Company, rising up to become the deputy managing director, a position he remained in for twelve years.[1] He led a group of three businessmen in advising the government on the structure of the planned public-private partnership for the London Underground,[3] and replaced Peter Ford as the chairman of London Regional Transport, who had been against the PPP arrangement.[3] He was replaced by Bob Kiley in 2001 who was appointed by Tony Blair to oversee the implementation of the PPP,[4] however following Kiley's firing amid repeated clashes with the Transport Secretary Stephen Byers regarding the PPP arrangement, he was reappointed as chairman, a position he served in until 2003.[5][1]

Under his second stint as chairman, he passed the £16 billion PPP proposal, with London Underground remaining a public company running the trains while private companies, Metronet and Tube Lines, were responsible for upgrading the railway.[6] He was awarded a knighthood in 1998.[7] He resigned as Chairman of London Regional Transport on 15 July 2003, as the organisation was succeeded by Transport for London.[8] Metronet later collapsed in 2008, costing the UK Government £2 billion, and Tube Lines was bought out in 2010.[9][10] The National Audit Office found that "there was limited assurance that the price of the three Tube PPPs was reasonable",[11] and following the collapse of Metronet the arrangement was heavily criticised in the press.[12] In 2010, the Transport Select Committee found that the PPP was "flawed" and failed to provide "value for money".[13]

See also

References
  1. "Sir Malcolm Bates: industrialist". The Times. 25 June 2009. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  2. OPUS Issue 1. Portsmouth Grammar School. 2009. p. 24.
  3. Seldon, Anthony (2007). Blair's Britain, 1997–2007. Cambridge University Press. pp. 253. ISBN 9781139468985. He was appointed chairman of London Regional Transport (LRT) in April 1998 in place of Peter Ford who had articulated LRT's view that the PPP proposal was close to the bottom of a list of fifteen alternative options.
  4. Correspondent, Alistair Osborne, City (4 May 2001). "Blair puts Kiley in charge of modernising the Tube". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 January 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Staff; agencies (17 July 2001). "Government sacks Kiley as London Transport head". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  6. "LRT backs private Tube plan". The Telegraph. 7 February 2002. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  7. Lansley, Stewart (2006). Rich Britain: The Rise and Rise of the New Super-wealthy. p. 159.
  8. HHG PLC, Full Annual Financial Report and Accounts, for the year ended 31 December 2003 (PDF). p. 17. HHG PLC, Full Annual Financial Report and Accounts, for the year ended 31 December 2003
  9. Wolmar, Christian (18 December 2009). "Tube PPP reaches the end of the line | Christian Wolmar". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  10. Gilligan, Andrew (8 May 2010). "Brown's London Underground public-private partnership wound up". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  11. "London Underground PPP: Were they good deals? - National Audit Office (NAO)". National Audit Office. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  12. Gilligan, Andrew (8 May 2010). "Brown's London Underground public-private partnership wound up". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  13. "Transport Select Committee confirms Tube PPP is 'flawed' and has 'failed to prove' value for money". Transport for London. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
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