MUNICIPAL BUS DEVELOPMENTS AT NEWCASTLE.
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TIIAT a good deal of opposition is to be expected to the ambitious motorbus developments contemplated by the Newcastle Corporation was indicated at arecent special meeting of the city council, at which a unanimous decision was reached by the 50 members present to promote a Bill in the present session of Parliament seeking additional powers
of a far-reaching kind. These have been discussed in detail in past issues of The Commercial Motor and, briefly, are To run municipal "Blue" buses over a 21-mile radius from Newcastle.
To operate over three specific routes —the New Coast Road to Tynemouth, to Belsay and to Hexham.
To replace tramcars by motorbuses where such a substitution is found advisable.
To operate buses for hire purposes in order to employ the Meet to its fullest extent.
To empower the watch committee to control and limit traffic within a 2imile radius and, possibly, to introduce c34
one-way traffic in certain parts of the City.
During a general discussion on the proposed new Bill, the chairman of the parliamentary committee, Sir George Lunn, said that the municipality did not intend to carry out any wholesale substitution of trams by buses. It was, however, considered necessary in the present times of change in transport requirements to possess powers which would enable the corporation to make such bus expansions and substitutions as were found to be necessary in the interests of ratepayers.
Sir George dealt also with the clause in which powers are sought to run buses within a radius of 21 miles of Newcastle, and in this connection referred to the annonncement of the railway company that they were to commence a combined rail and motorbus service between Newcastle, Ponteland and Belsay, a route over which the corporation ran until a few months ago, when the "Blue" bus service was withdrawn in accordance with certain in
structions of the Ministry of Transport.
The meeting decided that immediate steps should be taken to promote the Bill, and it will now be necessary to hold a town's meeting for the purpose of obtaining the opinion of citizens on the advisability, or otherwise, of proceeding with the measure.
The radius (21 miles) mentioned in the proposed Bill covers a stretch of country in which extensive motorbus developments have been made by a number of private undertakings and individual owners in the course of the past few years. The area includes Hexham, Heddon, BA say, hforpeth, Ashington, Blyth, Bedlington, Whitley Bay, Monkseaton, North Shields, Tynemouth and other important centres of population in which private enterprise is now providing numerous services. It is, therefore, to be expected that, in addition to the opposition which it is hinted may be forthcoming from inside the city, that companies working these outside districts be likely to take steps to protect their interests.