Passenger-transport Law Needs Amending
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DURING an address to the Birmingham and District Section of the Institute of Transport, Mr. 0. C. Power, J.P,, M.Inst.T., Traffic Manager of the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., dealt with matters of particular interest to operators of road passenger transport.
He expressed the view that recent legislation has improved the whole of this side of the industry to an extent
not realized even by some of the operators. Services, vehicles and the standard of driving are all better, and fares have been co-ordinated. Operators have had a square deal so far as the Acts permit, but the law requires certain alterations to ease difficulties of operation.
Here and there it is not being administered in the interests of the public, nor in those of the operators and employees.
The 1930 Act was rushed through, and we now require a new Act embodying the numerous statutory rules and orders issued from time to time.
The first item dealt with by Mr. Power concerns Clause 19 governing the hours worked by drivers. The clause does not affect conductors on public-service vehicles, but most undertakings work their conductors on the same duty schedules as drivers; so, in effect, they automatically come under the same conditions.
In respect of standing passengers, it is impossible clearly to define peak times. The author considers that they should be allowed at all times.
B34 The Acts do not govern tramcars, trolleybuses or trains, and to the average citizen restrictive legislation on one form of transport is not in accordance with British justice.
Children not charged for should not be counted as passengers, and those at half fares should count as half passengers. General standardization of their fares should be adopted by all operators.
The method of enforcing proper rates of wages is cumbersome and lengthy. Why not give the Traffic Commissioners the right to attach conditions to all licences that standard or agreed rates of wages should be paid?
The regular coach service is an essential part of the country's transport. It gives what railway service cannot— the same comfort, speed, attention and facilities for a small . intermediate point as for an important town. Coach services -have created much new traffic.
The restriction on duplication of so-called "extreme dis tance" services should not be automatically applied. • What logic is there in the Traffic Commissioners licensing a service and then telling the operator that he must not carry all the passengers who wish to travel? If all longdistance operators were told' ,that they could run their services in accordance with their knowledge, the author is sure that the total journeys this year would be considerably less than last year, and the competition with the railways diminished.
SPLENDID -RECORD OF
HIGHLAND AIRWAYS.
i-rnE Inverness-Wick-Kirkwall seri vice of Highland Airways, Ltd., was flown throughout 1935 with a 94.2 per cont. regularity ; this was its third year of operation. The Kirkwall-Aberdeen line, which was opened on May 9, 1934, and was restarted on May 29, 1935, continued until the end of October with a regularity of 88.7 per cent. -The Orkney inter-island service ran trona June 1, 1935. and .cut down to a few minutes journeys which have hitherto taken seven or eight hours.
Paring the year the company has gone to some expense, preparing a landing ground at Sumburgh, in the Shotland Isles,. and two of the three Dragons have been equipped with radio to extend the Kirkwall-Aberdeen service to. Shetland. This will be done so soon as radio stations at Kirkwall and Shetland have been established, probably by May 1, 1936. • Besides the three Dragons; a Monospar five-seater is kept in reserve for flying the mails whenever the wind is above 60 m.p.h. This and a small Moth are used for charter trips.
On December 1 the Kirkwall-Inverness mail contract (now extended to include the Shetland mails which at present come to Kirkwall by steamer) was re-awarded for 12 months.
In 1935, 97,937 lb. of mail were carried, compared with 19,482 lb. in 1934. Passengers numbered 3,815, compared with 3,007, and miles flown were 93,441, Compared with 84,197: B.C.A. ELECTED TO I.A.T.A. 'THE 35th session of the International I Air Traffic Association was held in Berlin on January 7-10. British Continental Airways, Ltd., which is running services between Croydon and Lille, Amsterdam and Brussels, was elected a member. British Airways, Ltd., the big combine which includes Hillman's Airways, Ltd., and United Airways, Ltd., had been unable to complete the necessary formalities one month in advance of the session,but on the proposal of Mr, Hanclover, traffic. manager of Imperial. Airways, Ltd:, 'the concern was accepted " in principhs ! subject to the formalities being-duly completed.
Both these British' concerns intend to operate air lines to Scandinavia, and no official statement has yet been made as to which will have the contract to carry British mails on the Scandinavian line.
Although the I.A.T.A. has no definite policy to control rates, its influence in maintaining economic rates throughout the air lines of Europe is very strong, and the admission of these two unsubsidized companies is regarded as an important step.
AIR LINE TO OUTER HEBRIDES.
THE twice-weekly service of De Havilland Dragons which Northern and Scottish Airways, Ltd., has run between Renfrew and Skye since December 5 was extended to Askernieh Aerodrome, South Uist, as from January 21. The company holds the licence for the South Uist ground and hopes shortly to extend to North Uist. A suitable ground only four miles from Oben has been found, and the company will make a base at this town.
Mr. George Nicholson, managing director of the company, is arranging other aerodromes on the islands of Benbecula, Barra and Tires...
AERODROME SITES IN WARWICKSHIRE.
ALCESTER Rural Council has receivedceived a communication from Alcester, Shipston and Stratford Joint Planning Committee asking it to consider the question of reserving land for the provision of aerodromes. It is suggested that a large meadow at Bidford, another at SpernaI Ash and a field at Studley be reserved for this purpose.
WORK PROGRESSING ON COVENTRY AIRPORT.
r'HE first part (600 ft. by 150 ft.) 1 of the large hangar for Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Ltd., at the new Coventry municipal airport site at Baginton is almost complete. The company expects to employ 3,000 people there. The site is three miles south-south-east of Coventry and only
mile from the Lend.on-Coventry road.
A good feature is that the site is in the centre of some 1,100 acres of land belonging to the corporation, and this has effectively prevented building operations likely to obstruct flying.
• The corporation aims . at attaining the Air Ministry. elassification .A.1 a., which is the highest airport category. CONTRACTS FOR THE DAWN EXPRESS.
THE Paris Dawn Express service, which Commercial Air Hire, Ltd., runs chiefly for newspapers, has arranged to carry large quantities of gramophone records and other freight for the Gramophone Co., Ltd. The company has also contractedto carry gold consignments for Samuel Montague and Co, and Japhet and Co.. also platinum for Derby and Co.
Commercial Air Hire, Ltd., is now offering week-end excursions to Paris for 23 3s. return, passports not being required. Passengers leave Croydon on Saturday at 6 a.m. and return from Paris on Monday at 9 a.m., arriving in central Londonby about 11.30 a.m. This extremely low fare is made possible by the fact that the service carries regular freight loads and has a few vacancies as a rule on Saturday mornings.
BIRKETT'S QUICK TRIP.
WHEN taking a client to Amsterdam VY to catch the K.L.M. service to thet Far East, a I etv days ago, Mr. E. H. Newman, of Birkett Air Service, Ltd., found a following wind. The charter was booked on the previous evening and the machine, which left Heston at 5.10 a.m., got to Amsterdam at 7.5 a.m., so covering the 281 miles in 1 hour 55 minutes. Mr. Newman has done some splendid work recently flying in Abyssinia for the Press and film companies.
One of the Birkett machines was called out to photograph the scene ot the Swindon railway accident, which was rendered difficult by fog.
ELMDON AIRPORT SCHEME.
THE Elmdon airport scheme was considered again on January 15 by the Airport Committee of Birmingham Corporation, and the draft plans for submitting to a full meeting of the city council were approved. The sum which the scheme involves has not been divulged, but the figure is not expected to be less than 2250,000.
The airport will be planned to cope with a large volume of commercial traffic. The policy of the corporation is to secure adequate accommodation in every way, and the werk, will be spread over a. number of yeam and will be completed as required.