PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
BUSES FOR TRAMS IN AMERICA.
After a Close Investigation of Urban Transportation in a Large Number of Populous Centres a Municipal Committee Recommends the Adoption of Road Motor Vehicles for Passenger Carrying,
SOME months ago the Municipal Council of Rockford, a city of 70,000 inhabitants in the State of Illinois, appointed a committee to investigate urban transportation in 46 of the cities in the United States having populations ranging between 40,000 and 100,000. This step was taken because the tramway service in Rockford had been unsatisfactory for some time, and it was considered advisable that some investigation should be made before the tramway franchise should be again renewed.
The committee found that for cities of Psockfordl's size, and even for those with populations up to 300,000, passenger-carrying needs would be better served by an efficient motorbus system than by tramways. "The motorbus," the report declared, "is the most flexible means of transportation that has yet been devised. Much has been said concerning the alleged failures of the socalled bus systems that have been installed in various cities from time to time, but we feel justified in stating that we do not believe that the motorbus has failed, primarily for the reason that no efficient bus system has ever been tried out. So far as we can gather, many cities have experimented with makeshift sorts of vehicle from jitneys to buses and commercial trucks. It is no wonder that they have failed."
The committee proceeds to explain that the investment in a bus system should be less than 25 per cent, of the investment required for a tramway system, thus reducing interest charges and the amount required for a reasonable return on the investment. It is pointed out that in those cities where the tramway system is inefficient no mistake could be made by insisting upon a change in the form of passenger tranas portation adopted. So far as America is concerned, the committee makes it clear that it is in cities where bus competition has attempted to cut out existing and efficiently managed tramway systems that bus ventures have failed, but the use which the tramway interests made of this point failed to prejudice the judgment of the committee in arriving at its conclusions.
Over 27 miles of single track and 80.7 miles of double track were operated by the tramway company in Rockford last
year, while 8,802,241 passengers were carried. The gross earninsas of the company amounted to 572,000 dollars, the gross profits being about 80,000 dollars. The committee has recommended that if this tramway company is to have its franchise renewed, it must agree to extend certain sections of the track, repair others and abandon some of the remainder.
In the event of the company neglect ing or refusing to comply with these recommendations, an efficient and up-todate motorbus system will be given an exclusive franchise for one year. The privilege of renewal at the end of the year would be granted provided the service given by the vehicles was considered satisfactory, although the municipality might reserve the right to take over and operate the system if it be deemed advisable to do so.