A Company Stronghold for Fifty Years
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By Andrew Seacombe
pOSSIBLY at no other time in the history of road passenger transport in Britain have public transport undertakings given so much for so little, and this applies no less to Company concerns than to municipal undertakings. Private capital was responsible for the introduction of public transport in most cities and towns, and in many communities it has been left to private enterprise to continue to provide a municipal bus service in the widest sense of the term. One such city is Oxford, where for nearly 50 years the transport services have been run by the City of Oxford Motor Services, Ltd., now a member of the British Electric Traction group.
C.O.M.S. are the successors of City of Oxford Electric Tramways, Ltd., a company which, in spite of their title, never operated electric trams. When the company were formed in 1906, horse-drawn trams were run, and it was the intention to replace these with electrically driven trams. The potentialities of the motorbus were, however, already becoming apparent, and faith in the new mode of transport led the company to choose motorbuses instead. The first were placed in service in 1413. .
In the following year, an agreement, the Oxford and District Tramways Act, was drawn up between the company and the corporation. This gave the company a 37-year lease to provide public transport in the city. When the lease expised in 1951, the company introduced into Parliament the Oxford Motor Services Bill, which became an Act on April 26 of that year. This repealed the original Act and took away from the corporation the jurisdiction they had hitherto had over the company's services in the city.
This, however, is not to say that the company no longer co-operate with the corporation. On the contrary, mutual satisfaction is derived from an agreement whereby the company are invited to put forward their views whenever questions on bus services are brought to the watch committee.
C.O.M.S. assumed their present title in 1920, eleven years before the B.E.T. became connected with them by acquiring the shares of an associated company, the National Electrical Construction Co., Ltd.
The sphere of the company's activities today is much wider than the title of the concern implies. In addition to the city services, the company run comprehensive stage-carriage facilities within a 25-mile radius of Oxford, express services to nearby towns and, in season, excursions and tours to many destinations in the south of England. Private-party Work is also undertaken. Oxford, thought of by many as almost exclusively a university city, is also an important industrial centre. Indeed, when considered from the public transport viewpoint, the city's industrial aspect is of greater consequence than its place as a centre of education. When I visited the city during the colleges' traditional .long summer vacation, the absence of students was having little effect on the bus services. It must, however, be stated that the tourist traffic that invades the city during this period each year does, to some extent, make up for the students' absence.
• On the Other hand, the importance to the company of Oxford's industries is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that but for their existence, the company's fleet could be cut by more than a tenth. One of the chief industries is that of car manufacture, the works of Morris Motors, Ltd., alone employing some 7,000 people. The Pressed Steel CO.. Ltd., whose factory is adjacent to the Morris works, employ an even greater number.
Each day from Monday to Friday some 45 works specials, most of them double-deckers, are sent out to the Morris and Pressed Steel works at Cowley for 5 p.m. There, the inspector tesponsible . for seeing the buses away often has to telephone to the Oxford depot for extra vehicles. Most of the workers at the Cowley factories live in or near to the city centre, three miles away. Because of this, and the fact that in spite of its population of 100,000 Oxford is a compact community, C.O.M.S. experience four peaks on weekdays, for many of the workers return home for their mid-day break. The density of the mid-day peaks" is, of course, less than that of those at each end of the working clay.
Works specials are also provided for the nearby Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, anti for an ordnance depot at Arncott, near Bicester.
Competition for Labour
The city's industrial character is not completely in the company's favour, the five-day week and the higher wages paid in the local factories providing thqm with strong competition in the labour market. At the time of my visit there were vacancies for 45 drivers and 47 conductors at the Oxford depot alone.
Shortage of staff has been one of the company's biggest problems in the post-war period, and although they have tackled it with more imagination than many undertakings, the position today is as bad as it was in c18 the years just after the war. As a means for alleviating the position, C.O.M.S. advertise staff vacancies in newspapers throughout the country, and their requirements are notified to every office of the Ministry of Labour in Britain. Wherever there is a pocket of unemployment, the company send their representatives in an attempt to interest the men affected to come to Oxford.
C.O.M.S. early realized that for this scheme to be effective they must be in a position to offer accommoda
.tion, even if only temporarily, to the .men they hoped to recruit. And, here again, the city's industries had an adverse -effect on them, for the factories, too, had to rely to some extent on outside labour which also had to be lodged in the district.
Hostel for Staff
In 1947, C.O.M.S. partially solved this problem by acquiring a number of Nissen huts and converting them into a hostel capable of accommodating 70 persons. This proved to be an effective incentive, but for a number of reasons it was not a complete answer. Originally, the hostel was
intended only to house new recruits up to a maximum period. of three months, as the staff position at that time was so serious that the company con
tinually needed the accommodation for more recruits.
At the end of their term, many of the men had still not been able to find. alternative accommodation, and were obliged either to return to their homes or to move on to jobs in other towns. Still others used the hostel until they found other jabs in the vicinity with higher pay and better conditions.
Most of the residents of the hostel today are West Indians, who have come to the company through Hammersmith (London) Labour Exchange, and the three-months-only residence rule has been relaxed. In addition to sleeping accommodation, the hostel has showers and a recreation room with a radio and various games. Meals are not provided, but as the hostel lies adjacent to the main garage and head office in Cowley Road, these can be obtained in the canteen. The hostel charge is 15s. 9d. a week.
Most of the West Indians are working as conductors, and they are giving satisfactory service. Six are employed as garage hands. By agreement with the local branch of the Transport and General Workers' Union, their number is kept to 44.
In addition to the Oxford garage, where 159 buses (125 double-deckers and 34 single-deckers) are based, there are five depots and six dormy sheds in nearby towns and in outlying country districts. The depots, each under the control -of an inspector, are at Bicester (eight double-deckers and three single-deckers), Chipping Norton (nine double-deckers and two single-deckers), Wantage (15 double-deckers and two single-deckers),
Witney (14 double-deckers) and Thame (seven doubledeckers and four single-deckers).
The dorrny sheds are situated at Aylesbitry (a doubledecker— and three single-deckers), Gt. Milton (two double-deckers), Watlington (three double-deckers), Wallingford (three double-deckers and two singledeckers), Faringdon (three double-deckers and a single-decker), and Stokenchurch (four double-deckers).
Each of the eight city routes, served from Cowley Road, have their terminal points outside the city centre. Stops are not as frequent as the public would like, but they are situated with an eye on the traffic congestion for which Oxford has recently become notorious. Late in July,traffic conditions in Cornmarket, one of the city's main thoroughfares, returned to normal after more than a year of one-way working necessitated by road repairs. • During this period, the diversions which the services had to make added some 800 a week to the mileage normally operated.
The company have 88 stage services running in the country. Those originating in Oxford have the bus station at Gloucester Green as their terminal point. This station, which is owned by the corporation, is also used by South Midland Motor Services, Ltd., Associated Motorways and independent operators running into the city. Nearly half of its area is allocated to C.O.M.S.
Proteetive fares operate on two services. A minimum rate of Sid. is charged on the Adderbury to Banbury route to protect the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd. The Tilehurst-Reading stretch of the Reading route, which is also operated by trolleybuses run by Reading Corporation, is protected by a 6:1(1. minimum.
Express services are run from the city to the speedway stadium on the outskirts every Thursday evening. There is also a certain demand for public transport by members of the American Air Force based at aerodromes near Oxford, although, as many of the U.S: Servicemen run their own cars, this is limited. Express services are ant from the camps at Brize Norton and Upper Heyford into Oxford and Banbury. A feeder service is provided from a British Army camp at Wantage to Didcoi railway station.
Joint Working..
Joint services are operated with the United Counties Omnibus Co., Ltd. (to Bedford), Bristol Tramways and Carriage Co., Ltd. (to Swindon), Thames Valley Traction Co., Ltd. (to Reading and Newbury), and with another 13.E.T. company, Stratford upon Avon Blue Motors, Ltd. (to Stratford). 1n-each of these eases, the C.O.M.S. vehicles run through. With the exception of the Stratford service, receipts are pooled for these routes, the mileage run by each of the companies being approximately the same as that covered by the C.O.M.S. services. In the case. of the' Stratford service, the company take the receipts as far as Long Compton, fares past this point being payable to Stratford " Blue."
Road tickets are inter-available with Thames Valley on the services between Oxford and Newbury, Oxford and Reading, Abingdon and Reading, and the Lambert Arms and High Wycombe; with Stratford " Blue " on the Oxford-Stratford route; with United Counties between Oxford and Bedford; and with Bristol Tramways betweenOxford and Swindon. There is also inter-availability of road and rail tickets on many of the Western Region services of British Railways.
Throughout the summer, day excursions and tours are run to many popular holiday resorts. Typical of these are Eastbourtie, Worthing, the Cheddar Caves, Brighton, Southend, Windsor, London Zoo, Ttinbridge Wells, Bognor, Stratford on Avon, Southampton, the Malvern Hills, the Wye Valley and various race meetings. Combined road and sea excursions are run'to the Isle of Wight (£1 5s. and 10s.), and coach-steamer trips to Windsor (18s. 9d.) and Cowes, for the yachtin week (£1 5s.). The price of lunch or tea, depending on the excursion, is included. Free travel between the city suburbs and Gloucester Green is provided for all passengers travelling on excursions.
The company have an attractively designed booking and inquiry office in High Street, Oxford, and there are eight agents in the suburbs who take bookings for excursions and tours. Because of the shortage of staff, C.O.M.S. are not able to exploit private-hire work to the full at the present time.
Many Unremunerative Services
In the year ended December 31 last, the company's services covered 8.5m. miles and carried 49.3m. passengers. It is a measure of the company's preoccupation with "public service" that, last year, neatly two-thirds of the services were run at a loss. The net profit for 1954 was £56,349, against £56,734 in the previous year. Operating and maintenance expenses rose last year to £574,698, from £554,213 in 1953. There was also an increase in receipts, this figure rising from £852,797 in 1953 to £895,077 last year.
A comprehensive parcels service is operated, the central receiving office being at Gloucester Green. There are agents for the service in more than 200 towns and villages in the area. Only parcels under 28 lb, are carried. A charge of 9d. is made for parcels weighing up to 4 lb., Is. over 4 lb. and up to 7 lb., ls. 3d. between 7 lb. and 14 lb., Is. 6d. for 14 lb.-21 lb., and .ls. 9d. for 21 lb.-28 lb.
Most of the company's 245 vehicles have A.E.C. chassis. There are 17 Guys and a Bristol, but these will eventually be replaced by A.E.C.s. Bodywork is. by Weymann, Park Royal, Roe and N.C.B. Nearly two-thirds of the 194 double-deckers have highbridge-type bodies, with seats for 52 and 56 passengers, the remaining 74 being fitted with low-bridge 53-56-seat bodywork Forty-one of the 51 single-deckers are buses, the seating capacities of these being 32 in the 'ease of the normal-control models, and 42 and 43 for the 12 with underfloor engines. The 10 coaches, all on A.E.C. chassis, comprise four underfloor-engined models with 37-seat Willowbrook bodies, and .six Regal Mark IIIDuple 32-seaters.
Fuel consumption is low, the average rate for the fleet being 12.3 m.p.g. Since they were placed in service in June, the A.E.C. Reliance 43-seat buses have been returning an average of 18.1 m.p.g. on inter-urban services.
Elaborate precautions are employed to prevent drivers from taking high-bridge-type double-deckers under low bridges. The fleet numbers of this type of vehicle start at 800 and are prefixed with the letter "H." Lowbridge models, prefixed "L," begin at 100, and the numbers for single-deckers come between. The number is painted beside the cab in a position where it will be seen as the driver climbs in.
A lighted panel reading " Not under the bridges" is fixed in the cab of the high-bridge models as a continual reminder to the driver, there is also a notice painted on the platform warning the conductor not to let the driver take his vehicle under a bridge. Another safeguard is that running sheets on high-bridge-type buses employ, pink paper, whilst those on the other doubleand single-deckers use white.