Mr. Amos Wants Bigger Buses
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Many Developments Proposed by Chief of Scottish Bus Group in Henry Spurrier Lecture to the Institute of Transport
" Dil-FICULTIES at peak periods will continue and these must be accepted as a serious operating problem. . . . can we be satisthd to accept this as an unavoidab!e burden on the industry or, despite discouraging results in the past, cannot some further efforts be made to enlist the co-operation of other industries to mutual advantage by staggering of hours or some other expedient aimed at spreading the peak traffic; if necessary enlisting the zo-operation of the Licensing Authorities? "
This question was posed by Mr. James Amos, 0.B.E., M.Inst.T., chairman of Scottish Omnibuses, Ltd., when he delivered the eighth Henry Spurrier Memorial Lecture to the Institute of Transport, in London, on Monday. The title of his address was "The Operation and Economics of Road Passenger Transport."
Vehicle Design •
The speaker briefly described the functions of the industry in relation to the country's economic life, mentioned the benefits which had been realized in many cities as the result of tram conversion, and dealt at some length with vehicle design. It was important when selecting a vehicle, he said, to bear in mind the varying uses to which it would he put during its life. It was necessary to ensure that a vehicle could be converted for shortstage work, with higher seating capacity, as it became older.
An ideal type should permit changes in seating and comfort for application to all purposes. Operationally, the supersession of double-deckers by maximum-capacity single-deckers was attractive, • but the difference in load between the double-decker and the largest single-deckar made the immediate replacement of the double-decker an unpractical proposition. Even if this were not so, the greater road space occupied by the single-decker would favour the retention of the doubledecker.'
Auxiliary Heaters
There was no doubt, Mr. Amos averred, that standard vehicle-heating equipment left room for improvement, particularly where it depended upon the " pull " of the engine and there was a large amount of downhill running. Experiments were proceeding with independent auxiliary heaters, but the questions of increased cost of operation and servicing of such devices would require careful. consideration.
"I am not satisfied that we have yet reached the maximum length of vehicle which would be practical and safe on the roads of this country, except possibly in very dense traffic in the !arger cities," he declared. Any extra length permitted would reduce the number of vehicles necessary to operate a service, by virtue of the higher capacity, and would be of the greatest possible value, We must aim at the largest-sized vehicles . . before operation at the lowest possible fare can be fully realized," he stated.
Advances in vehicle design had made steering, braking and gear-changing possible with the least physical effort. Driving comfort had been imp-roved and engines afforded higher power, but the limitation of vehicles to a maximum of 30 m.p.h. prevented operation at the highest economic speed. This limit increased costs and aggravated traffic congestion and the problem of road safety.
Reviewing regulations, Mr. Amos stressed the importance of giving speedy effect to applications to vary services or fares. Decisions should be made speedily and time lags must be overcome.
In the issue of new road service licences, the operator who shouldered the good with the bad should have this strongly in his favour against the operator who merely selected routes which he was certain would make a profit. He said that he would undoubtedly be accused of supporting monopoly in making this contention, but he was prepared to defend his remarks and point out that" controlled security" was the alternative to wasteful operation.
Personal Contacts
A large undertaking had to organize itself so as to be able genuinely to refute the widespread impression that personal contacts or knowledge of local requirements were lacking. There must be preserved that spirit of competition in service which engendered a live organization, ever watchful to create opportunities for increasing the efficiency of the group as a whole.
There was, the speaker .thought, an unfortunate modern trend for managements to by-pass intermediate officials when dealing with operational questions or minor policy matters. This discouraged the officials concerned and failed to make use of a source of information and suggestions. Even more serious, such a practice displayed a completely wr ong managerial approach and would prevent the cohaion necessary in a big undertaking.
Dealing with unremunerative services, Mr. Amos said that 20 per cent. of the mileage worked by Scottish Omnibuses, Ltd., bore no profit and cost the group £300,000 per annum. The temptation to cut these services was understandable, but it would be a completely retrograde step to deny rural communities the amenities made possible only by reasonable transport facilities.
He made some observations on longdistance coach services, remarking that there was no unanimity of opinion about the desirability of installing radio in such vehicles. With regard to meals en route, there was the choice of serving food on the vehicles or at cafés.
"I have never understood how the former could be reasonably satisfactory and I cannot imagine the drinking of hot beverages on a moving vehicle being accomplished with anything like celerity or comfort," he said. " It is preferable to leave catering to caterers."
Proper selection of staff called for understanding, skill and experience. Planned recruitment was, essential rather than a last-minute rush when inevitably some unsuitable applicants had to be accepted. A few unsuitable employees could quickly lower the standard of the whole staff and cause dissatisfaction out of all proportion to their number.
One-man Buses The one-man bus was attractive, but its successful operation was subject to a workable method of fares collection. Greatly fluctuating volumes of traffic on a particular route might preclude its use. It could 'work on lightly loaded country services and on workers' services where most of the passengers held season tickets.
Some time ago an investigation was made into the " productive " hours of work of drivers and conductors in the Scottish • bus group. Mr. Amos gave figures which had been obtained. Drivers' productive hours amounted to 74.18 per cent. of their total duty time and conductors' 73.71 per cent.
Hours paid for at excess rates (overtime, etc.) were 16.59 per cent. of drivers' total duty time and 11.47 per cent, of conductors' working time. The mileage per hour of journey time was 15.81 per driver and 15.68 per conductor, and the mileage per hour of total time paid was 11.73 and 11.56 respectively.
Fare Classes
The speaker considered that there should be only three classes of fare: singles,. returns and iimited-journey tickets giving concessions based on the single rate. As minimum fares had risen, signs were not wanting that large numbers of the shorter-distance passengers were choosing to walk rather than take a bus. He was particularly concerned with the effect on country services which could least stand the loss of traffic, and thought that every endeavour should be made to retain the lid. minimum and intermediate stages of id. up to 6d.
Concessions should be allowed only in consideration of quantity travel and should be made available to all sections of the community who found it necessary to make the same journey regularly. Season tickets should cover fiveor six-day periods and workers' daily tickets should be abolished, likewise any period ticket which permitted unlimited travel to persons other than schoolchildren.