Motorbus World.
Page 6
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Largely by reason of the activity of Harrods Stores, Ltd., a petition against tramcars, the text of which is given on page 319, was presented to Kensington Council on the 10th inst.
Birds for Busmen.
The bus drivers of London, both those in charge of motors and those that still continue to drive the old horsed bus, have each received this week tha usual present of a brace of pheasants from Lord Rothschild, and, as a token of appreciation, the Rothschild colours have been displayed on motor and horsed buses in London as usual during the pre-Xmas week.
Glamorgan's Roads Blamed.
The Glamorgan Roads Committee, upon receipt of a letter from the Llandaff District Council, concerning a statement from the owners of the Whitchurch motorbuses that the cause of their vehicles' unsatisfactory running was due to the bad condition of the local roads, allowed the letter to be read without making any comment upon it. The Committee smiled, we hear.
Disguising the Conductor.
The conductors of the motorbuses belonging to the London General Omnibus Co. are already being equipped with the new uniforms which were promised by Mr. Henry Hicks in his speech at the last general meeting of the company. We reproduce on this page a photograph of the disguised conductor. We venture to express a hope that these conductors who up to the present have created something of a reputation for civility, will not, now that they are officially clothed, feel it necessary also to adopt that dictatorial and bullying attitude towards their customers, tlfe public, which is such a. notable characteristic of the L.C.C. tram men and a number of " tube " minor officials.
Comfort and Efficiency.
In the editorial columns at the commencement of this issue, we have something to say with regard to the recent regrettable motorbus fatality in Regent Street. Considerable publicity, in this connection, has been given to a letter from Mr. Jarrott, the ex-racing motorist, who, in the columns of "The Times," stated that. in his opinion, motorbus drivers should be provided with sloped steering wheels and other characteristics of the high-speed touring or racing car. We wonder how many times Mr. Jarrett has driven a crowded 34-seated motor
bus on greasy asphalt in a fog, and whether he quite realizes that under such conditions the first thing a driver does is to "sit-up " to the job. It may be taken for granted that the arrangement of the control mechanism on the latest types of motorbuses is that best suited to the conditions. The " Daily Mail," of course, gave publicity to. Mr. Jarrott's views on the subject and headed an illustrated article on it as "Omnibus DangersIs the Steering Wheel at Fault?"
Scarborough Finds Out.
Scarborough at the present time is feeling, with considerable severity, the effects of adopting a tramway system, for a town of its class, without proper consideration. It appears that the trams belonging to a local company are only run during the winter at a cost of something like a £700 deficit ; therefore, the company operating them refuses to incur such responsibility this winter. The Town Council has declined to indemnify the company against this loss, and the Board of Trade has ordered the company to re-commence running the cars. The upshot of the whole matter is that, at the present time, the good folk of Scarborough have no public service at their disposal. There must be a good many people at the present time in Scarborough who wish they hail bought buses. It is, of course, quite well understood that what has happened in Scarborough this winter, is likely to happen to a good many other small towns before many years have passed. Not far away, viz., in the county city of York, there is a recently-inaugurated tramway system, whose utility is practically nil, which will more than likely be involved in similar difficulties before long.