IMPORTANT ITEMS OF THE PAST WEEK
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• Coach Services for Easter.
THE Minister of Transport, after consulting the Traffic Commissioners, has issued the following statement :— " The Road Traffic Act provides for the continuance of a service which has been operated during the previous year, pending the decision of the Traffic Commissioners on a fresh application for a road service licence. In the special circumstances of this year the Traffic Commissioners will raise no objection should any operator, who under these provisions would have been authorized to resume a seasonal service on April 1st, 1932, decide to bring it into operation on March 24th, 1932.
"This announcement relates only to the road service licence and does not relieve the operator in any way of the necessity of obtaining the appropriate excise licence (i.e., the Road Fund licence) for any period during which he desires to use his vehicle."
Time-tables Impracticable for Tours'.
AT a recent sitting of the Southern Scotland Commissioners, at Edinburgh, a suggestion was put forward by a representative of Selkirk County
Council that vehicles operating under licences for excursions and tours should run to time-tables. The county eouncil pointed out that the road -near Abbots,ford was narrow, So that danger was caused when vehicles travelling in opposite directions met on this road.
The Commissioners said that they were interested in the suggestion, but found it quite impossible to arrange time-tables for touring vehicles. For one thing the number of vehicles travelling to a resort on any day during the summer would depend upon the weather, and, for another thing, coaches on long-distance tours could not reasonably be expected to comply with rigid time-tables.
Station Progress at Newcastle.
A START has been made with the
layout of a motorbus station at the Haymarket, Newcastle, for the use of vehicles working between Newcastle and north and north-east Northumberland, also for those engaged on a number of long-distance services radiating from Tyneside. There will be provision for 30 vehicles.
Local Conditions to be Retained.
BEXHILL CORPORATION has been advised by the South Eastern Commissioners that, in all cases where Bexhill local-authority conditions were attached to 1931 road service licences, the ordinary procedure will be to attach similar conditions in 1932, there being no necessity of the corporation lodging further objections this year, unless the applicant should ask for the conditions to be varied. In the latter case, the local authority would, of course, be open to make representations to the Commissioners.
Lancaster Trying a Double-decker.
TRE Daimler 32-seater bus at present
on hire to Lancaster Corporation is to be purchased and, as an experiment, the authority will hire a Daimler doubledeck vehicle seating 52 persons.
During the four weeks ended January 30th the number of passengers carried on the corporation buses was 352,698, compared with 302,851 in the corresponding period of 1931, the receipts being £1,848, against £1,541, and the mileage 40,525, against 33,746. The receipts per mile were 10.49d., as against 11.11d. last year.
Municipality to Appear Before Northern Commissioners.
A DEPUTATION has been formed of
members of Castle Ward Rural District Council to appear before the Northern Commissioners to request improvement of the bus facilities at Kirk heaton, Walridge and Ingoe. As announced in this journal, the Commissioners have stated that representa: tires of the public wishing to express views to them should appear at the sittings, the sending of petitions being, in a number of instances, regarded as insufficient.
Lianelly's Station Scheme Progresses.
THE proposal for a central bus sta tion at Llandly, through co-operative action by the borough council and the local bus companies, has now advanced so that plans will shortly be circulated by the council to the bus companies for approval and for suggested amendments that may appear to be desirable, prior to their being definitely adopted by the council. London Traffic Bill Dropped.
AS announced on our Parliamentary page on which further details are given, le Government has decided that it will he impossible to proceed with the London Passenger Transport Bill as at present framed.
Coach Services to Dog-race Meetings.
IN respect of a number of reserved decisions on applications by motorcoach proprietors for licences to run to dog-race meetings, the Metropolitan Commissioner has given a comprehensive statement of principles which have governed these decisions. The applications run into a total of hundreds.
The Commissioner states that he has granted licences where he is satisfied that coach services are necessary to enable passengers to reach the race tracks if they could not reach them in time by the existing optional facilities. Operators who had worked intermittently or during certain seasons cannot, prima facie, be regarded as supplying a public need. The Cmnmissioner is unable to permit plying for hire en route, or even picking up at one or two points.
Northern Commissioners' Statement.
IN a summary of the results achieved during the past year by the Northern Commissioners, Sir. John Maxwell, the new chairman, said at Newcastle that it had been a .particularly trying and anxious time, but he was convinced that, with co-operation between all interested parties, these critical times were now past. The foundations for a traffic area had been well and truly laid, and the patience exercised and the knowledge acquired by the chairman would be invaluable. The Commissioners desired particularly to receive observations frean local authorities, and would give careful consideration to suggestions from any organization, authority, or individual in their desire to make the services adequate.