Aiming for Greater Passenger-transport Efficiency .
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AVARIETY of passsenger-transport topics came under discussion at a recent meeting of the Yorkshire Transport Society, at Bradford Technical College, when a paper was contributed by Mr. Ernest Couzens, an inspector in the Bradford Passenger Transport Department. The major part of the paper was read before the Society nearly two years ago, but it was felt that its wide range of suggestions for improving the efficiency of the passenger, side of the road-transport industry
• offered scope for further discussion.
The advocacy by Mr. Couzens of a revision of regulations so as to permit larger buses led to questions as to the experience of Bradford Corporation in operating 12 trolleybuses which, built for service in Johannesburg but retained in this country owing to wartime circumstai' a6es, are 8 ft. wide, as against the 7-ft. 6-in, standard width, with the same seating capacity—for 56 'passengers.
In reply to these questions, Mr. Couzens said the additional 6 ins., greatly facilitated the work of the conductor, particularly when there were' standing passengers. As to the driving of the wider vehicles, which, were kept to one route, it was simply a question of getting accustomed to the extra width.
With reference to his support for the idea of making provision in bus design for an entrance at one end of the vehicle and an exit at the other, to facilitate loading and unloading, Mr. Couzens was asked what he thought were the prospects for design on these lines.
Mr. Couzens, who stated that one or two buses with this feature are now being operated at Bristol, said that he thought adoption of the idea would be encouraged if the building of longer buses were permitted. Onee the public got used to the arrangement, he thought it would be an asset at peak periods.
When discussion turned to the question of passenger comfort, Mr. Stanley Scott (Bradford Passenger Transport Department) suggested that, in the case of local services carrying dense short-distance traffic at peak hours, load capacity was. much more important than comfort. He thought that for such service there was a good deal to be said for the seatless vehicle.
Mr, Couzens thought that seating was particularly desirable when people no longer young and agile were travelling home after a day's work, whilst there was the point that if a vehicle had to pull up suddenly this was apt to cause mishaps.
Mr. Couans, who advocated compulsory staggering of working hours, said that it appeared to be a matter of calm indifference to the majority of industrial magnates as to how their employees travelled to and from work.
Improving Gee-away An engineering point was raised by Mr. H. Smith (Hebble Motor Services) with reference to Mr. Couzens's suggestion that manufacturers should try to bring the acceleration of petrol and oil-engined buses up to the same level as that of the trolleybus. Alluding to the statement that from a stationary position a trolleybus can attain a speed of 25 to 30 m.p.h. in 25 yds, Mr. Smith said such a rate was impossible to the petrol or oil bus unless new principles of drive and transmission were applied.
Mr. Couzens commented that if motorbus design were so altered as to give this faster acceleration, such a vehicle would be widely used for routes having short-distance stops. On a route with stops about every 50 yds. or 80 yds., present petrol or oil buses rarely got into top gear.
Debate was provoked by Mr. Couzens's references, in the new part of his paper, to the nationalization issue. Expressing opposition to nationalization of road passenger-transport services, he saicl,that public transport by read was very well organized before the war, and it would be well fitted to stand on its own feet after the war. The remote control involved in nationalization would, in his opinion, tend to cause stagnation in the industry.
Asked by Mr. Leonards if he were in favour of free competition, Mr. Couzens said he favoured competition within limits, because he thought its elimination would have the same effect as nationalized control.
Mr. Leonards replied that before the war the general trend in road passenger transport services was towards regionalization and the cutting out of competition, but there was no evidence of stagnation. He argued that as the cost of moving people or goods formed part of the cost of running the country, nationalization of transport could be regarded as a natural development.