Phases of PASSENGER TRAVEL
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Notes on a Variety of Aspects of Coach and Bus Travel TEE latest motorbus to be completed for service on the London streets is a large Daimler CF6 double-saloon vehicle with seating capacity for 30 passengers on the upper deck and 26 passengers on the lower deck. The body has been constructed at the works of Birch Brothers, Ltd., of Cathcart Street, Kentish Town, London, N.W.5, and it is to be operated by E. Brickwood, Ltd., of 335, Portobello Road, London, W.10, the proprietor of the Red Lino Omnibus Co.
This company runs four other machines on bus service in London, two of them being Dennis H-type doubledeckers and the other two Dennis Etype single-deckers. The new Daimler is really being added to the fleet as a spare machine to be employed eti busy days when a vehicle of large capacity is called for, and when one of the other machines is in for dock inspection or overhaul. The Red Line buses operate on the No. 218 service between Kings Cross and Sudbury.
The selection of the Daimler CF6 bus chassis was made partly as a result of Mr. Brickwood's long experience with this make in his coaching business, for he has been engaged since before the war in the operation of passenger motors. The chassis has a wheelbase of 16 ft. 34 ins, and an overhang of 7 ft. 6 ins. The vehicle is built to conform in every respect with the requirements of Scotland Yard, an innovation which is particularly to be noticed being the complete glass panelling at the near side of the driver's cab. This has hitherto not been permitted by the licensing authority, but is being tried out with a vew to providing adequate protection for the London bus driver.
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The bearers and under-framing of the body are of seasoned oak, pillars being of ash. Lower-saloon panels are of 20gauge steel, upper panelling being in 18-gauge aluminium. The roof is made of one piece of waterproof Arwood with hand-beaten aluminium domes at front and rear. The floor of the upper deck 'is carried on ash cross-bearers double-boarded with pine. The vehicle is well and handsomely finished externally in red and cream, six coats of filling having been applied and rubbed down before the enamel and three coats of varnish were put on. There is, of course, the regular type of life-guard fixed on each side below the valance of the body.
The rear platform is only 1 ft. 4 ins. above the ground level and there is no
intermediate step. Entrance to the lower saloon entails a further step up, which is sufficiently low to be easy of negotiation. Another good feature is that the width of the seven-step-stairway leading to the upper saloon is no less than 1 ft. 9 ins., a point which is certain to be appreciated by London travellers. The height of the vehicle laden is 14 ft. 1f in., this allowing for 5 ft. 10i ins, headroom in the lower saloon and 5 ft. 8 ins, headroom in the upper saloon. The upper-saloon floor is of the single-arch pattern, recessed gangways not being permissible in the London service.
Orthodox transverse seats are provided for all the upper-deck passengers and for 20 of those in the lower compartment, and there are three longitudinal seats occupying a length of 4 ft. over each wheel-arch. The transverse seats of the lower saloon are each 2 ft. 11 ins, wide, there being a distance of 2 ft. 6 ins, between seat backs, and the gangway is 1 ft. wide between the seat cushions and 1 ft. 2 ins, wide between the seat-back tops.
The ceilings of both saloons are free from cross-members and a special effort has been made to secure bright illumination of the interior by means of several countersunk ceiling lights. Of the 10 large side windows in each saloon, six lower and eight upper windows are of the Q.T. adjustable type. . A feature which appeals to us is that all hand-rails, etc., are finished in a black substance which is clean to the touch and does not require polishing. Glass louvres, or ventilators, over the lower-saloon windows have been eliminated from the design, being replaced at each side by a long metal louvre with a gutter; the object of this is to prevent raindrops from blowing intS'ihe vehicle when the windows are slightly open. There is, of course, adeqnate provision at the front end of the body for ventilation.
The interior finish has been well cared for, the seats being of the semibucket pattern with spring-steel backs. The seat cushions are upholstered in red antique hide, the seat backs and lining panels being covered to match. such a level that the council foresees a wholesale desertion of its vehicles in favour of tbe'l taxicabs. Hence the reason for the increase in taxi fares.
At the moment Paris is by far the best cab-served city in the world. There are some 16,300 cabs on the streets and work for them all as fares are so rest,sonable. If the municipal council stands by the increase and forces it upon an unwilling city, half the cabs now running will peobably he withdrawn. What is more, all this is to help the city council to overcome a difficulty which is of its own making.
Interviewed on the subject, the general manager of an important Paris cab company told our French representative -that the aetion of the council had come as a complete surprise to the cab industry, particularly'at a moment when sevesal taxi concerns were, in certain cases, trying to reduce existing charges, such as the return fee payable when cabs are taken outside the city gates.
The council, he said, must evidently have foreseen the unpopularity of its new schedule, as, in order to force it upon cab owners, it had made a simultaneous increase in the ranking tax. The right to place station cabs on a rank has been raised from 10 frs. to 14 frs. per day and cab proprietors now pay a sum of 34 frs. per cab per day in various forms of taxation.
— Several owner-drivers, of whom there are about 3,00ein Paris, were also interviewed. The views expressed by
them were, in every case "We were quite content with! the old rates; it was hard work, but we made a satisfactory living and all we ask is to be left alone. We shall lose a great deal of money -which we formerly earned on short journeys, owing to the increase in the rate for engaging a cab. These short trips were usually profitable as clients gave a more generous pourboire in proportion to the fare than on longer journeys."
Our French correspondent says that a point which seems to have been overlooked in the controversy is that of traffic congestion, which is becoming very serious indeed in .!entral Paris. .The congestion is in part caused by the enormous and ever-growing fleets of taxicabs in circulation ; there are some 16,300 taxis and only about 1,300 buses on the streets.
Collective transport of the public being, in theory, less liable to promote congestion than individual transport, may it not be that the council in its wisdom has taken the present step not only with a view to making money (that is the first duty, of all city councils), but by forcing people into public vehicles or driving them underground, to relieve the streets by putting many taxicabs out of business?