Success of Daily Service Coaches.
Page 21
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FOR the fifth successive year there are to be daily motor coach services from Liverpool to Blackpool, the Peak District and to North Wales, and at the present time Collingwood Motors, Ltd., pioneers of these services, are putting the finishing touches to their plans for the season. The Blackpool service is to be inaugurated on April 9th, and from that date until the end of September there will be a coach leaving Liverpool every morning for the famous Lancashire watering place. The company runs a fleet of four 28-seater Daimler coaches, with two 14-seaters and two private cars, and their slogan again this year will be: "One or twenty —we go."
Last year, despite the fact that the company spent £200 less in advertising, traffic returns were distinctly good, and no fewer than 4,000 people booked for Blackpool, in addition to 1,200 to Buxton, 500 to Llangollen and Corwen, and 600 to Southport. These figures are supplementary to private parties booked by the company.
The average number of passengers per roach last season was a marked improvement upon the number for the previous season, and stood at 18 to 21 per coach, according to route. Messrs. Collingwood Motors are one of the bestknown concerns at Liverpool, and although in the past they have been faced with keen competition on the question of rates, they have insisted upon their standard of charges for all seats booked. They are still working on the policy which was laid down five years ago, namely, to win the goodwill and confidence of the public. They may fairly claim to have achieved a measure of signal success, for on no single occasion has any hooked passenger been disappointed. Even in. the company's working arrangements with rival coach concerns, for which they have acted in the recent past as booking agents, they have insisted upon honouring obligations to passengers in the direction of Providing vehicles irrespective of the number a passengers booked_ It is intended this coming season to develop .this branch of business, as last year the returns from this department showed considerable promise.
Messrs. Coiling-wood Motors do not undertake extended-tours as a general thing, and this gives them the ,opportunity of acting as agents for companies running coaches to London, Scotland, Devon, etc. As will be understood, Blackpool is the main journey worked by the Collingwood Co., the other services being more or less subsidiary, but regular in their frequency.
According to present arrangements it has been decided not to inaugurate the regular tours to Buxton. Llangollen, etc., until June. Probably some concessions will be_made in regard to children's fares.
At the time of writing arrangements are being made for sending a fleet of coaches to the Grand National, which takes place at Aintree racecourse On Friday, March 27th. The fare has been fixed at 13s., and this includes the return journey, admission to the course, with a comfortable seat from which to view the great race, and lunch. The fare must be considered as quite reasonable, despite the limited mileage, say six or seven miles, especially in view of the fact that the racecourse authorities charge coachowners £5 per vehicle for a stand on the carriage enclosure, and also the fact that this is a full day's engagement. For coaches for private _ party work there has already been a very generous inquiry, and a number of dates have already been taken up. The rates for private party work are in the vicinity of three farthings per passenger per mile.
As to the cost of single-seat bookings, passengers may book to the destinations visited (1) to return same day, (2) for the single journey, and (3) for a long date return, the respective fares being: Blackpool, 7s. 64., Os. 6d., and Os.; Buxton, Os., 7s. 6d., and 12s.; Macclesfield, 7s. 64., 6s. 6d., and 10s.; and Knutsford, Os., 5s.; and 9s. The fares for children over three years of age and under eleven years are just a trifle over half the ordinary charge. The company has central headquarters during the season in Dale Street, Liverpool, and very shortly ,a start will be made in adapting them for the current season's motor coach trade.