No Express Service to Holiday Camp
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A PROPOSAL by Bristol Co-operative /-1. Society, Ltd., to run a weekly express service on Saturdays throughout the summer to the new Butlin's holiday camp at Bognor Regis was rejected by the Western Traffic Commissioners, at Bristol last week. Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., the Bristol Omnibus Co., Ltd., British Railways and Associated Motorways objected to the application.
For the Society, Mr. Henry Netcott said that the camp would not be opened until July. Existing services from the Bristol area passed the camp, but this application was for a separate facility and seats would have to be booked before the journey.
Mr. Ronald Sutcliffe, tours manager of the Society, emphasized that they wanted to provide convenient facilities. A number of people had booked at the camp and wanted to know whether special travelling facilities would be provided. The traffic expected required specialized handling, he said.
Need Indicated The fact that the Bristol Omnibus Co. had made application to run a general service to the camp indicated that there was some need, said Mr. Netcott. A train journey to Bognor would necessitate one or two changes, in addition to further transport from the railway station to the camp, he added.
Admitting that passengers by train would have to change once or twice, and
the fare was £2 6s. compared with the Society's proposed fare of £1 10s., Mr. Leslie Bracey, for the railways, pointed out that people would get there quicker." For Associated Motorways and the Bristol Omnibus Co., Mr. T. D. Corpe pointed out that the operators of the existing services had not been given a chance to provide the kind of service required. "We feel that this is a premature application and we are prepared to make whatever adjustments are needed to our own existing services," said Mr. Peter Hunt, traffic manager of South-. down.
Efficient Operation Announcing the refusal of the application, Mr. S. W. Nelson, chairman, said: We could not make a grant unless there was evidence to show that the services already licensed were not operating efficiently. But we do hope that existing operators will arrange to take passengers right into the camp."
It would be unjust to the operators of existing services to deprive them of traffic which they might reasonably expect from the opening of the new camp, he added.
An application by. the Bristol Omnibus Co. to operate a service from Swindon to Bognor was also refused. Swindon was a great railway town, said the chairman, and people who lived there would probably not want to travel by other means.