Drop the Narrow and Short Bus
Page 24
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AT a time like this we must do everything to enlarge our sales of commercial vehicles abroad, and the British-built bus is one of the most helpful of our assets in this direction. Many have given great satisfaction in important foreign cities for a great many years, but in the majority of countries where our selling prospects in this connection are good, the demand is for four-wheelers with a length of 30 ft., and an overall width of 8 ft.
Here, in Britain, however, although the 8-ft. bus is permitted on certain specified routes, a length of 30 ft. is allowed only for six-wheelers. This means that a great many of these vehicles for the home market have to be. built to dimensions entirely different from those required abroad. The result is that the cost of each is necessarily much higher than would be the case if the types could be merged.
Many arguments have been brought against the general adoption of the wider and longer vehicle in Britain, but practically all of them have proved to be futile and merely obstructionist, and it is high time that the Government, through the Ministry of Transport, removed these difficulties and thus showed something more than lip service to the interests of overseas trade.
Everyone who has ridden in the wider vehicles appreciates the extra comfort afforded, not only to the passengers but to conductors, whilst drivers have expressed the view that they notice extremely little, and in' some cases no, difference from the points of view of safety and ease of manceuvring in traffic.
The objection to the 30-ft. length has yet to be explained in any satisfactory way. There is now no question of safety involved. A four-wheeler of this size can be designed to be just as reliable in every respect as a six-wheeler and there is far less complication, whilst the weight 'of the additional twowheels, their axle, suspension, etc., is saved.
We do not wish to reiterate all the arguments for or against the bigger passenger vehicle. All the latter should now be overruled by the primary consideration that our exports of these vehicles will suffer unless we can produce them in larger quantities and at a reasonable cost.
As a nation, we cannot now afford to pander to more or less frivolous objections frequently raised by people who have no real knowledge of the problems involved, but who would appear to think that " no " is a good answer to any proposal for improvement put forward by men who really know their jobs.