A. Year of Wonderful Development.
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rIUR national industiies are recov-ering but slowly, so that. it is not to be eXpected that the demand for transport can materially incrodse ; that can only occur when the nation's output. of manufactured goods has sensibly e-xPanded. On the other hand, the nation is lea.rning more and MOTO to economize, the time of the individual, to realize that it is a,sheer waste of time getting from place to place and, therefore, that every necessary or desired journey must be quickened,: the cost of acceleration being far outweighed by the value Of the time so saved. The. farmerfinds that he cando more in the day if he motors to and frern• the markets and about his errands ; the traveller that he accomplishes far more business calls if he rides than. walks ; the dilettante that he (or she) can sae more people or visit more shops or clubs if advantage be taken of the facilities that offer nowadays for quick travel. In fact, it is not going too far to say that the coming of the public-service motor vehicle upon the roads has completely revolutionized the habits and customs of the people," given a new complexion to life in the country, and has rendered it of less importance, from a business or social point of view, for people to congregate in or' close to towns. This spreading of the population into rural areas and the making more contented with their location those who had previously -felt the cramping influence of life remote from the haunts of man have been of immense value to the populace and, as appetite comes with eating, so the desire to make use of the motorbus grows with every ride that is taken.
The expansion of motorbus services, since the last Passenger. Vehicle Number of The Commercial Motor was published, has been enormous, and it is apparent on every hand that but the fringe of the potentialitieshas, so far, •fieen touched. The number of journeys per head of • the population is obyiously capable of a vast increase. In fact, to look at the figures which a capable statistician has prepared (but refrains from publishing!) is to give one the impression that we are nearly a stay-atbonne race! In the next five years there is a prospect that the total amount of travelling now done by the nation will have doubled, and if that lie• the case it is obvious that the present facilities for such travelling will.have to. be More than doubled. A fact which has come as a surprise to many expert: in transport is the growth of the travel habit in women. Sp many are now wage-earners and necessarily travel to and from business, -whilst another potent factor is the change in the domestic habits of the people 6*ing to the servant difficulty. We are rapidly 'imitating the French in our use of the • restaurant for meals, instead of their preparation and .consumption at home. All of this means yet more travellink for a -much greater proportion of
the population. "_ • • It is good to be able to record the fact that the • , .
growth of the demand -has found a ready response
at the hands of the provider 'Of transport and the instant co-operation with him of the manufacturer. Without hesitation, the transport organizations have found more capital, embarked upon more elaborate schemes arid have responded with a degree of enterprise that is typical of the British business man. Municipal authorities have decided to exercise the rights given to them by their position and, either themselves to take a hand in the provision of services, or to exercise some control over those provided by private undertakings. Efforts are being put forward on every hand to secure °co ordination of travel facilities, so that services may be con. fleeted up and, that even sparsely populated areas should be served. A certain amount of friction, involving argument, discussion and negotiation, is a natural result, but Ave have every faith in the good sense of those who are fighting for their vested interests, and confidence that these matters will all gradually right themselves. The met effect will be to the greater comfort and convenience of the population.
The co-operation of the manufacturer is to be discovered. in his willingness to meet the wishes of the owner of the bus or motor coach. It is pleasant indeed to note the readiness with which the manufacturer will accept advanced ideas in chassis design or arrangement and, more particularly, in body design and construction, And it is interesting to note, in the case of the motor coach, how strongly the user is tending towards the type of coach which resembles, on an enlarged scale, the private motorcar. The lines of the motor coach of to-day represent an advance towards refinement that no one would have expected three or four years ago. The vehicle is sensibly lower and, consequently, safer as well as better in appearance.
The coach owner to-day—and, we feel that we may justly add, the manufacturer—is not content with the use in passenger carrying of a chassis originally designed for goods transport. In every way, the pleasure-vahicle chassis is a more refined job and, with the imminent issue (so soon as new motor legislation has been enacted) of a. new set of regulations permitting (inter alio) lightweight passenger-carrying vehicles on pneumatic tyres to travel at 20 miles per hour, there is to be observed a tendency towards the early production of chassis suitable for the work. A vehicle on 8-in, pneumatics, and weighing unladen
less than 31 tons, will accommodate 30 passengers and will have a high power-weight ratio that will ensure an excellent road performance.
Yet one other advance may be referred to in this brief outline of the developments and present tendencies in passenger transport, and that is the rapid improvement in the pneumatic tyre and the greater favour in which it is regarded. For a long while the pneumatic tyre has hung back, but it is now rapidly advancing in popularity, for it is proving to be long-lived and, therefore, to he economical in use, whilst it is undoubtedly reducing the depreciationof both vehicle and highway, a distinct benefit that calls for every encouragement to be given to the movement.