Plymouth Bus Profits.
Page 39
Page 40
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The Plymouth CorporatiOn reports a toss of £1,422 on the tramcars and a profit of £1,271. on the motorbuses for the quarter ended with June last. The revenue on the buses in this period was £17,309; £16,918 •being received by way of passenger fares. The expenditure totalled £16,038 and was incurred under the following heads :—Traffic expenses, £5,770; maintenance and repairs, £4,167; purchase of petrol, £2,351; general expenses, £622; and interest and sinking fund, 13,128. The income per bus-mile was 11.362d., and the expenditure 10.527d., the net profit thus being .835d. per bus-mile.
British-made Garage Equipment.
It is encouraging to see a British manufacturer forging steadily ahead in sales of garage equipment. This is especially the case when the development is taking place overseas as well as at home. These comments particularly apply to Mann, Egerton and Co., Ltd., of Norwich, which has recently sent us an interesting booklet showing a splendid range of modern equipment of this type. The range is very complete and includes, amongst other devices, • breakdown apparatus of all kinds, repair ramps, engine stands, cleaning tanks, oil cabinets, air compressors and a variety of lathes, drilling machines and many other appliances of this type.
Halley Orders in Hand.
Halley Motors, Ltd., Yoker, Glasgow, is at the present time constructing a number of vehicles of various capacities, which have been ordered by users in different parts of the "country; 2-ton vehicles FirC being built for the St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Association, Edinburgh, and the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society, Glasgow, whilst 4-Seaners are passing through the works for several other societies of this description, these including the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Newcastle, the United Co-operative Baking Society,
Ltd, Glasgow, the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society and the St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Association. Four 4-tonners are else being completed to the order of Messrs. T. Coleburn and Sons, of Liverpool. The company is building '30-cwt. tipping wagons for the Rotherham municipal authorities and for Messrs. Rowley and Dick, oil refiners, Glasgow.
Birmingham's Parade. • The eighth annual parade of commercial vehicles organized by the West Midlands Division of the Commercial Motor Users Association will take place in Birmingham on September 24th..
A Wireless Shop on Wheels.
The Border Electrical Engineering Co., of Galapark Road, Galashiels, and 5, Old Town, Peebles, is about to put on the road a motor vehicle fitted up as a wireless sales van, which, will carry a comprehensive stock of accessories and will be used to collect and deliver accumulators over a widespread district at a small weekly charge. In addition to . carrying all the latest accessories so that they can be inspected by prospective customers, it is intended to carry an up-to-date demonstration wireless set on the vehicle.
Germany's Trade in Tractors.
That tractor-building is developing into an important industry in Germany is evidenced by a recent report which shows that, in addition to supplying a large number of machines to home users, no fewer than 252 tractors, valued at £70,450, were exported from the country during the five months ended May last.
The Principal markets were Hungary, Spain, Czecho-Slovakia and Australia. During the same period, 670 foreign— Chiefly American—tractors, of a value of £54,850, were imported into Germany.
A. Conference on Lighting.
The lighting committee of the Glasgow Corporation has been requested by the Institution of Public Lighting Engineers to report on the question of illuminated danger signs,, direction signs and traffic signs, arterial road lighting, use of different types of headlight by motor vehicles, etc., with a view to the adoption of standard forms, and to confer thereon with the Ministry of Transport.
London to Dover Daily.
Dover Watch Committee has granted a lieence to Messrs. Lovegrove and Steadman, of the Express Safety Coach Co., Hammersmith, for a 24-seater saloon coach with which they propose to institute a daily passenger service between London and Dover. The parliamentary committee of the Lanes County Council, reporting on the Bury Corporation Bill, states that the local authorities, the areas of which adjoin the borough of Bury, did not take any objection to the corporation obtaining powers tb provide and run buses outside the borough, and it was, therefore, not found necessary to present a. petition against the Bill. It should, however, be mentioned that the Committee of the House of Commons before which the Bill came, at the instance of the railway company, limited the power to run buses outside the borough to any point within a distance of five miles from the centre of the town.
Lorries and Tractors in a Reliabifity Trial.
It is announced from Budapest that, with the Object of popularizing the use of motor lorries and tractors in Hungary, a section for such vehicles is being included in a motor reliability trial which is to be held next month ender the auspices of the North Hungarian Automobile Club. The trial is to start on September 8th with, a day's public exhibition of the competing vehicles in the town of Debrec-zin. This will be followed by two daily runs, each of about 87 miles, and a further day's exhibition of the vehicles in the town of Miskolc.
The Ministry Supports a Ribble Appeal.
Bolton Watch Committee has reeeived a letter from the Ministry of Transport referring to the appeal under Section 14 (3) of the Roads Act, 1920, of Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., against the decision of the corporation in refusing, for certain reasons, to grant licences for buses to ply for hiro in the borough. After careful consideration of the representations made at the inquiry, and having regard to the fact that the question of the routes to be operated by the company is already the subject of an agreement, dated May 21st, 1926, between the company and the Corporation. the Minister of Transport has come to the conclusion that the liceuces should be granted provided the company gives the corporation an undertaking to submit time-tables and not to vary them without giving the corporation seven days' notice of any proposed alteration.
Having .regard to the' undertaking
given by Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., as to the minimum fares to be charged on its buses within the borough and con&timid upon the timetable arrangements referr2d to above, licences have now been granted.
An Electricars Appointment.
Electricars, Ltd., Lander Street, Birmingham, informs us that Mr. A. W. Reeves, M.I.ALE., F.R.S.A., has been appointed the company's technical sales representative in the North of England. Mr. Reeves has been closely associated with the motor industry for many years.
American Exports.
A further marked development in the foreign trade in American commercial motor vehicles was witnessed in May last, no fewer than 1015t0 machines valued at £1,355.770 having been exported from the United States during that month, as compared with only 5,744 vehicles valued at £746,067 in May, 1926. To. the end of May last, the exports Of American vehicles have reached a total of 47,911, as against 30,475 hi the corresponding period of last year, an increase. of 57 per cent.
An analysis of the type of American vehicle in ijrincipal demand in overseas countries shows that the majority40,135, or nearly .84 per cent.—is in the class np to 1;-ton capacity, 6,782, or just over 14 per cent., in the 1-2-i-tori division, and only 994, or a little over 2 per cent., of a carrying capacity exceeding 21 tons.
It is also interesting to analyse the destination of the vehicles. Australia continues to be far and away the largest market, the Commonwealth being credited with no fewer than 12,954 vehicles, or nearly 40 per cent, of the total. Brazil is second in the list with 5,083 vehicles, followed by Denmark with 4,232, the Argentine 3,133, the United Kingdom 2,564, Belgium 2,075, South Africa 2,060 and Canada 1,820.
Irish Free State Imports. No fewer than 53 commercial vehicles, valued at £14,513, were imported into the Irish Free State during June last, as compared with 16 vehicles (£6,753) in the corresponding month of 1926. The aggregate imports during the first six months of the present year arc officially returned at 375 :vehicles (4,590) as compared with 120 (£46,539) from January to June last year.
New Services at Ripon.
Ripon Watch Committee ha a agreed to the following new routes and extension of an existing route to be operated by the United Automobile Services, Ltd. :—Ripon-High Grantley, RiponTaiafield-Mashain, Ripon-GrewelthorpoMashatn.