Malcolm Bates (transport administrator)
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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 | |
---|---|
Born | (1934-09-23)23 September 1934 |
Died | 30 May 2009(2009-05-30) (aged 74) |
Occupation | Chairman 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]