. THE LATEST NEWS OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
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TOURIST TICKETS ON BUS SERVICES : RIBBLE CO. WINS.
AVICTORY has been secured, on appeal, by Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., in connection with the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners' refusal to allow the company to issue eight-day tourist tickets on 15 stage-carriage services
In deciding to set aside the Commissioners' ruling, the Minister of Transport points out that the issue of these tickets must be regarded as experimental and that the proposal to extend the plan to the North Western B40 Area may require special consideration. His decision does not prejudice the consideration of the scheme by the North Western Commissioners, or the reconsideration of it, in the areas concerned, in the light of experience in operation.
M.H.C.S.A. DINNER.
THE annual dinner and dance of the Motor Hirers and Coach Services Association will be held at the Connaught Rooms, London, on November 9. Prominent personalities in passenger transport will be present.
BIGGER PROFIT FOR WEST BROMWICH CORPORATION.
DURING the year ended March 31 last, West Bromwich Corporation's bus undertaking worked at a net profit of £938, as compared with £324 iu 1932-33. The total income was £42,569, the previous year's figure being £39,239. The tramways showed an advance in net profit from £5,710 in 1932-33 to £8,360 in 1933-34, the revenue Walling £86,728.
In March last, the corporation operated 40 buses of Dennis, 'Guy, TillingStevens and Morris-Commercial makes. ENTERPRISING PLAN FOR ROAD. AIR TOURS.
I N search of new fields for the development of coach touts in co-ordination with air services, Mr. Robert Barr, of Leeds, the well-known Yorkshire coach proprietor andhaulage contractor, is to make a comprehensive tour of the Continent and Egypt. He plans to commence this business mission at the end of the present coaching season.
Mr. Barr, in an interview with our correspondent, stated that his investigations will centre on the possibilities for the development of tours for British people abroad, and the question of bringing foreign visitors to this country for tours in Britain. in each case he will bear in mind the use of the aeroplane in co-ordination with the coach.
As reported last week, Wallace Arnold Tours, Ltd., Leeds, with which concern Mr. Barr is prominently associated, is already working in co-operation with the London-Paris air service of London, Scottish and Provincial Airways. Ltd., by providing road transport between the Sherburn aerodrome, Leeds, and other West Riding towns. Mr. Barr has in mind the possibility of utilizing this air service both for the transport of foreign coach tourists to Britain and for carrying British coach passengers to France.
Mr. Barr will also investigate the question of running tours during the winter to the Riviera and in Egypt.
For Continental tours, his idea is to run from Leeds coaches which, during the winter, are often lying idle. He has been informed by Leyland Motors, Ltd., that it will be practicable to equip coaches with steering-gear that is readily adaptable to the right-hand and left-hand positions, to meet conditions in various countries. "Our next new coaches will be equipped in this way," said Mr. Barr.
The Wallace Arnold concern already runs tours to Belgium, Germany and France.
ADDITION TO BARR GROUP.
THE Barr group of companies, the head of which is Mr. Robert Barr, has, we understand, acquired the businesses of Alf. Harrison (Leeds), Ltd., Leeds, and Messrs. Hirst Brothers, Bradford, both of which operate coaches and lorries. The Barr group includes R. Barr (Leeds), Ltd., Wallace Arnold Tours, Ltd., Leeds, and W. II. Fish and Sons, Ltd., Morley.
The purchase of the Harrison business will give the Barr group a seasonal Saturday express service to Southport, whilst, on the haulage side, it will provide an additional 15 tons of unladen weight.
TICKET-RESTRICTION INQUIRY: PLEA FAILS.
IN announcing his decision on certain appeals by Venture Transport (Hendon), Ltd., and Birch Bros., Ltd., the Minister of Transport makes no reference to the plea submitted at the appeal hearing, in June, that a general inquiry should be held to investigate the.I question of the issue of single and per d-return tickets on seasonal servic s from the coast to London.
le Venture appeals related to the rei sal of the South Eastern Traffic Co missioners to permit the issue of
"& igles " and ". period returns " on outes from Bognor, Soutlasea and. Bo rnemouth to London, whilst Birch Bro.., Ltd., was interested in a Southsea service. As reported in The Co mercial Motor on June 22, a sugges ion was made that an inquiry sho ld be conducted in connection wit the whole subject. The Minister has dismissed the appeals, with costs. 2.e Commercial Motor understands tha there is little likelihood of the Min star acceding to the request.
EW LIGHT ON STOCKTONIDDLESB ROUGH FAILURE.
ETHER light has been thrown by lderman C. W. Allison, Mayor of Sto kton, on the reasons for the failure of he negotiations for the amalgamatio of the transport undertakings of St kton and Middlesbrough Corporatio s, reported in The Commercial Motor on August 3 and 10.
Alderman Allison states that, during the past five years, Stockton has earned 66.1/3 per cent. of the total revenue of the two undertakings. He added that Middlesbrough Corporation's representatives based their arguments on the expectation of an improvement in the finances of their undertaking, but there was no evidence to indica.te that such an improvement was likely in the immediate future.
Stockton was, however, prepared to accept 60 per cent. of the revenue from the combined undertakings, although this action would involve the sacrifice of about 26,000.
ANOTHER " NORTHERN GENERAL" ACQUISITION.
TT is understood that Mr. R. M. Prinn, 'proprietor of the Direct Bus Service, of Sunniside, near Stanley, has sold his undertaking to the Northerh General Transport Co., Ltd. It is reported that the transfer of the business will take place next month.
Mr. Prinn operates nine buses and holds stage-service and excursion-andtour licences in the Northern Area.
COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS.
rI.TRTHER to the announcement in I our issue dated July 27, we learned on Wednesday that the publication of the Traffic Commissioners' third annual reports is likely next week. GLASGOW'S NET DEFICIT HALVED.
WE have received a copy of the past year's report of the passengertransport department of Glasgow Corporation, and it contains figures dealing with the municipal bus services, which amplify those that have already been published in our columns.
During the year ended May 31. the' buses were operated at a gross profit of 260,204, income having totalled 2592,726 and working expenses 2532,522. Adding 28,466 for interest on investments, the balance carried to the net revenue account was 268,670. From this sum have to be deducted £76,328 for depreciation, 217,319 for sinking fund and 217,201 for interest, 80 that the net deficit on the year's working was 242,178, as contrasted with one of 287,842 in the previous year.
The buses operate over a route mileage of 170.63 and during the past year covered art aggregate mileage of 12,223,516. Although the corporation had, at the end of the year under review, 324 buses in stock, the average number in use per day of 12i hours was 228. In the main, the fleet consists of vehicles of Leyland make, most of them being 51-seater double-deckers. During the past year they carried 70,905,583 passengers.
The cost of maintenance during the year was 2121,626, The balance to the credit of the depreciation fund increased from 2379,869 to 2446,328. At the end of May last the capital expenditure on the bus system amounted to 2791,710.
20 BUSES TO REPLACE TRANS.
"TWENTY new buses, 15 with oil I engines, have been ordered by Salford Corporation, the contracts being divided between the Crossley, Leyland and A.E.G. concerns.
This is the first move in the substitution of buses for trains on the through service from Manchester to Swinton and Pendlebury, which, it is expected, will take place within the next few weeks. TrataS are still operating over a section of the route, and, in view of this, there will be a minimum fare of 3d. on the through service. This charge, however, covers a journey that at present costs 4d. by tram. Plans for a further 20 buses are to be considered by the Corporation.
WELL-KNOWN LONDON INDEPENDENT GOES.
LONDON'S first post-war independent bus company has now passed out of existence, the undertaking of the Chocolate Express Omnibus Co., Ltd., having been transferred to the London Passenger Transport Board.
Mr. A. C. Partridge, the well-known chairman of the company, partnered by Mr. D. F. jermyn and Mr. A. S. Griffin, commenced operations with one bus in 1922. The fleet was later increased to six buses, which, in 1933, carried 2,510,389 passengers.
CONTROL IMPROVES SOUTH AFRICA'S BUS SERVICES.
THE Central Road Transportation Board in South Africa has just. published its report for the year ended March 31, 1934, and, according to this, over 22,000,000 passengers are carried annually by the Cape Town buses, In 1933, the through bus services in the Cape Peninsula carried 17,550,000. passengers.
•The local Board has introduced a scheme to reduce main-road services
and substitute feeder services. The report states that "the co-ordinated bus .services terminating at various suburban stations were well supported. They were, no doubt, to a very great extent responsible for the increased volume of traffic carried on the rail" ways., Prominence is again given to the position created by the competitive carrying of goods and passengers after the establishment of bus services, and, as the ..Board did not consider this economically sound or in the best in terests of the public, it had certain of these services 'discontinued. It was pointed out, however, that " it must not be assumed that those operators whose competitive services were discontinued were ruthlessly denied an existence. Wherever possible they were diverted into spheres where a much-needed service could be rendered by co-ordinating their transport operations with the Railway Administration's rail or road services, or with other previously existing private services."
The Board also holds that in both passenger and goods traffic the operators have recognized that the provisions of the Act protect them against wasteful competition.
The report also states: "Whilst, during the period March to June, 1931, 118 convictions were obtained against bus drivers for speeding, reckless driving and other malpractices, during the period September to December, 1933, in spite of the fact that vehicular traffic had grown considerably and supervision tightened up, only five convictions were recorded. No convictions nave as yet been obtained for the Current year.
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" The control of :transport also resulted in a reduction in the number of accidents in which buses were involved, from 268 in January to June, 1931, to 93 for the same period in 1933."
BLACKPOOL CONDITIONS.
THEpublicity committee of Blackpool corporation has decided to urge the watcri committee to relax the restrictions placed upon coach traffic ilk the town.
HOW PORTUGAL CONTROLS PASSENGER TRANSPORT.
nuR French contemporary, Le 4.—"Poids Lourd, reports that new regulations for the control of publicservice vehicles have been issued by the. Portuguese Government •Services will be divided into three categories, i.e., those running over busy routes, over routes complementary to the railway's, and those competing with -the latter.
Bus fares must not be less than third-class rail fares and no higher than first-class rates. On routes competing with railways, coach fares are to be 10 per cent. higher than those for the rail. Existing road services are not to be curtailed, but, in future, new services competing with railways will be permitted only when the railway authorities are not prepared to operate them.. The maximum speed of coaches has been fixed at 31-1 m.p.h., with a maximum average, excluding stops, of 191 m.p.h.
SUNDERLAND'S £34,500 SURPLUS.
ALTHOI/Gli the buses worked at a loss of £8,420, Sunderland Corporation's transport undertaking earned a gross profit of £34,500 during the year ended March 31 last. The renewals fund receives a contribution of £19,190, income tax accounts for £1,973, whilst the rates are relieved to the extent of £5,000.
The mileage of 1,913,929 was a record for the undertaking, 1,729,367 having previously been the highest figure. The receipts last year amounted to £124,127, as compared with £112,610 a year earlier. "GLASGOW BUSES NOT HAVING A FAIR CHANCES'
AGOOD deal of criticism in Glasgow has followed Mr. Lachlan MacKinnon 's publicly expressed preference for the tramcar, as compared with the bus. It is pointed Out that the deficit, shown by the bus section of the transport department is largely due to the fact that the buses are not being used to the best advantage.
-Buses are competing in congested areas with trams running at much lower fares. Buses are also operating along streets where there are no shops; with consequent loss of traffic.
It is pointed out that in other municipalities the running of buses has been made a paying proposition, but that a profit 'on the bus system is unlikely in Glasgow so long as the transport department decries petrol vehicles as uneconomic, and forces them 'to depend on what passengers they can pick up after the trams have had the best of the traffic.
The accounts of Glasgow CorpoIa.
tion, the second largest municipal bus operator in Great Britain, for the past financial year, are analysed on anothei page of this feature.
A STRIKING NEW COACH.
N'T accompanying illustration shows a striking A.E.C. Q-type oilengined 29-seater coach with a body built by Duple Bodies and Motors, Ltd., The Hyde, Hendon, London, N.W.9, to the order of Messrs. Sutton's Coaches. Two independent sliding heads are fitted, whilst the interior equipment includes special racks to carry suitcases, these being situated over the engine and over the near-side front wheel-arch. Normal parcels racks are also provided and a large luggage locker is accessible at the rear of the body.
Heating is provided by Clayton Dewandre double heaters, interior lighting is effected by flush lamps, which also illuminate the destination panels, and by a cluster of modern lamps in the centre of the roof.
The main entrance is at the front, with an outside sliding door, and an emergency door of the offset pivotal type is provided on the off side.