ENCOURAGING THE TR ANG HABIT
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By
Ashley Taylor
A.M.I.R.T.E.
A. Study of Similarities and Contrdsts in the Public. Transport: Systems Of Three ,North=east Coast Municipalities, Common: Features of Which Are Methods' Designed to Meet Intense Short distance Travel
E growth of industry on the north-east coast of
England brought about the development of a series
of busy communities in Most of which the breadwinners lived near their work. For many years, therefore, the requirements for public transport services were relatively small. The tramway systems were welcomed, however, and they enabled housing areas to spread to a limited extent and relieve congestion in older districts.
At first, most of the passengers were short-distance travellers, and even with the development of bus services, which have greatly extended the coverage of public transport, the short-distance connection remains the predominant need.
Certain features are common to the municipal systems of South Shields, Sunderland and West Hartlepool. Trams have not yet disappeared from the north-east coast, for they still run in Sunderland, although they are. to be replaced by buses in the next two years. South Shields run both motorbuses and trolley buses, but West Hartlepool have abandoned .some 17 trolleybuses and are replacing, them with motorbuses.
Peak Demand at Mid-day
17-IF .these three municipalities, ,South Shields was the first to operate motorbuses, inaugurating. services on hilly 30, 1914. . Powers to purchase.and run motorbuses. had been obtained in 1903, and in 1921 certain workings outside, the borough were authorized. In 1935 an Act was passed which enabled the corporation to run trolleybuses on specified routes outside the borough and to substitute suCh. vehicles for trams operated both within
and beyond the ttiwn. boundaries. .
. As iri-bygonc days, a high proportion of South Shields workers lives within easy reach of work, so that many passengers travel. at Minimum fare. Mr. I. Crawford, general manager,:told in, that it was customary in the locality, for men to go home _to luncheon, even if they had to travel five Miles and had only .15 minutes at home.
There was thus a' great midday demand, but a' better . ..„ ... . _ , .
spread-over of ,vehicle operation was possible, The authorities responsible for the location of the original, tram depot placed it close to the shipyards, so that today the buses have a minimum of dead mileage on workers' 'services. Arntile 'spade is also available there for the engineering department, which carries, out every, branch of maintenance.
Four years. ago South Shields, with the support of • Jarrow Corporation; aimed to run buses into the neighbouring town of-Jarrow but failed to obtain the sanction of the Northern Licensing. Authority. His views was that any complaint of inadequacy of services from Jarrow should be referred to the Northern .General Transport Co, _Ltd., who already provided services in that area.
• The South Shields motorbus fleet consists of 12 Guy, 1_1 Crossley and seven Daimler double-deckers arld a Daimler single-decker. There are also 49 Karrier, 10 Sunbeam and one Daimler double-deck trolleybuses.
'South Shieldshas a population of nearly 110,000 and during last year the trolleybuses carried 31,538,347 • passengers and the motorbuses 9,043,745. The average fare per trolley bus passenger was 1.6.6.1d. and 1.927d. per motorbus passenger. Cornparative figures for this year will be higher, because of the introduction of a 2d. minimum rate, which. it is hoped, will give rise to a slight profit compared with a loss. of £14,634 last year.
TrolleybuSes Not Suitable
VER five years have elapsed since Sunderland, eight V./miles away from South Shields, decided gradually te, abandon trams, and in October last a confirmatory decision was reached to complete the process within two years. Buses have been ordered to replace half of the 50 trams now in service and they' are expected to begin operation towards the end of the current year. The remainder of the trains will be abandoned in 1954.
Originally, some thought was given to the possibility of employing trolleybuses, but the suggestion was rejected, as these vehicles were considered unsuitable for negotiating the sharp turns in the centreof the town.
Sunderlanirs services operate only to the borough boundary, and it is the corporation's policy to provide a close frequency wherever possible and reasonable fares to encourage the travelling habit. In this regard, it is interesting that after a steady fall in the number of passengers carried during the past three years, the totals have risen during the first half of 1953. Mr. N. Morton, general manager, states that this improvement is being maintained.
On the mechanical side, the policy is to keep vehicle weight to a minimum by retaining 7-ft. 6-in.-wide bodies, not increasing tyre sizes and avoiding elaboratiqn.
Sunderland Transport Department is one of the few municipal operators who continue to work on a basic fares structure which provides charges as low as Id, a mile, coupled with a universal 5d. return issued before 9 a.m. and available for return during the day any time after that hour. This ticket can also be purchased as a transfer, making the maximum distance which can be travelled for 5d. abont 16 miles.
At present there are two tram depots and one bus depot in use, but, as a result of tramway abandonment, it is proposed to make one of the tram depots into an administrative block and central workshop. The bus depot will be extended and the second tram depot will be altered into a bus garage.
Until three years ago there was some rivalry between the department and Northern General regarding the provision of services for local housing estates. When both undertakings applied to run to Pennywell, an_area that is to accommodate 12,000 people, the Licensing Authority ruled that each should be permitted to operate, as the corporation already worked to the outskirts of the estate, whilst Northern General buses had been running in the Pennywell area for nearly 30 years.
Subject to the Authority's approval and the agreement of the trade unions, the Hill View service is to be converted to one-man working. Passengers will be able to book in advance by purchasing a is. 9d. wallet of tickets which will be exchangeable for 12 2d. tickets.
Sunderland Corporation inaugurated their motorbus services 25 years ago on the docks route, and up to the end of 1952 had built up a fleet of 122 motorbuses, with 88 trams in possession at that time. Last year the buses worked 40.31 miles of regular route and the trams 22.64 miles. Buses carried 49,343,044 passengers at an average fare of 1.736d., whilst the trams handled 38,265,890 at an average of 1.535d. Buses conveyed 13.262 passengers per mile and trams 16.657.
A sum of £14,483 was lost in 1951-52, but in the past financial year there was a surplus of £3.526, total income being £678,188. Motorbuses earned 25,431d. per mile against an operating cost of 25.252d.
The 1951-52 accounts revealed that for every 1 of traffic revenue, wages (exclusive of managerial and administrative salaries) took 14s. 2d. in respect of the I) 1 0 trams and I Is. 7d. for the buses. The ratio of working expenses to traffic revenue was 101.01 per cent. for the trams and 98.32 per cent. for the buses.
Since the beginning of July, Sunderland has permitted advertising on corporation vehicles, to add £3,600 a year to income. • The bus fleet comprises 67 Daimler, 33 Guy, 15 Crossley, six A.E.C. and four Leyland double-deckers, and four Guy and two Crossley single-deckers. As the transport department is also responsible for school-meals distribution, there are five vans specially used for this purpose. Two tower wagons and eight other ancillary vehicles augment these units.
Begun with Steam Trams
IT is interesting to recall, in the light of the recent I dispute over the provision of services between Hartlepool and West Hartlepool, that a steam tramway was started between the two towns in 1884. Six small enp:nes pulled covered double-deck carriages. Electric trams were introduced in 1900 and were run by the Hartlepools Electric Tramway Co., which was acquired by West Hartlepool Corporation 12 years later.
In 1919, an Act empowered the corporation to run buses both inside and outside the borough boundary and services started on July 17, 1920. From 1923 onwards, various Acts were passed authorizing the operation of trolleybuses up to and beyond the boundary. Trolleybus services began on February 28, 1924, and the route mileage worked up to the beginning of the war was 8.71.
The trolleybus fleet at that time numbered 21, comprising 14 Daimler 54-seaters and seven 32-seaters of Leyland and Straker-Clough manufacture. More recently, authority was obtained for the abandonment of trolleybuses and the substitution of motorbuses, and the changeover was effected on April 2; 1953.
Buses now cover 61.19 route-miles and the fleet totals 73 vehicles-47 Daimlers, 19 Leylands, five Guys and two A.E.C.s.
Mr. Arthur R. Burton, transport manager, told me that, as in the coast towns farther north, most passengers in West Hartlepool were short-distance travellers. The average fare per passenger was 2.06d. and the minimum fare lid. The chief industries of the town, which has a population of 72,000, are shipbuilding, engineering and timber importing.
Movements of workers between their homes and places of business result in peak periods at 8-9 a.m., noon-2 p.m. and 4.30-6 p.m. To attract passengers, twoand four-journey tickets are available at reduced rates and can be purchased by travellers up to 9 a.m. on weekdays.
After a full year's working at increased fares the undertaking would show a profit of £2,633 for 1952-53, the borough treasurer recently reported, compared with a £16,000 deficit in the previous year.