American Bus Operation Discussed
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THE difference between the American 1 and British bus has not been caused so much by the dissimilarity of geographical and physical Conditions, as by the general approach to the transport problem, said Mr. V. W. Pilkington, when he read a paper, "A Comparison of American and British Buses," before the North-western Centre of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, last week.
Geographical conditions, he said, were, in fact, not dissimilar. Each country had the problem of passenger transport betvtreen scattered villages and towns, and similar problems of the speedy movement of people in cities. In the case of inter-urban transport, the Americans had realized the advantages of motor roads, and the manufacturers had designed powerful coaches that could operate at 50 m.p.h. The American authorities had set out to speed up traffic movement in cities, and had adopted high-powered buses, with some form of automatic transmission, which gave complete ease of control and rapid acceleration. They had concentrated on a uniflow system of loading and unloading to reduce the standing time at bus stops. Generally speaking, the unit-fare oneman operation System was universal, although in the case of double-deckers, a collector was employed, even with the unit fare, Mr. • Pilkington pointed out that double-deckers were rarely used, preference being given to single-deckers with a capacity for 80 persons. There was no doubt, he said, that passenger-transport requirements had been reviewed as a whole in the U.S.A., and designers have worked in complete co-operation with operators. In the discussion that followed the reading of the paper, Mr. V. M. Macve, North-western Transom/ Commissioner, expressing his personal views, said he saw no reason why buses 8-ft. wide should not be operated in this country, subject to limitations. Sir Wavell Wakefield, M.P., suggested that permission be given to operate wider buses in selected localities and then to examine the results.