COACH OWNERS' BOOKING SYSTEMS.
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A Section of Organization which Calls for the Utmost Simplicity In Order to Facilitate Operations.
I N the booking systems employed by
various coach owners, there is, so far _as administration work is concerned, a strange lack of uniformity. Simplicity should be aimed at, not only for theamrpose of reducing office work to a minimum, but also to facilitate and to permit the prompt departure of coaches on tours. What coach owners strive for is a system which will enable them to see at a glance precisely how many bookings have been obtained for any particular tour.
The most commonly observed system is the issue of plans of coach-seatieg capacity. (See form No. 1 issued by the Royal Blue Motors, who operate a big fleet of Thornyerofts from Llandudno.) A copy of this plan is held by each of the booking agents, and as fares are received the seat 'allocated to the passenger is immediately marked on the plan and communicated to head office, where a record is kept, on a similar chart, of all the bookings received right up to the minute. This system is a useful one where the administrative work is concentrated at a head office and is not delegated to drivers occupying street stands.
• Passengers, on booking seats, are given a ticket which bears a number which Corresponds to the particular seat in the coach they are to occupy. There is not much opportunity for dispute as to where passengers are to be accommodated, but everything depends on the existence of good communications, especially by telephone, between the agents and the head booking office. • This company receive a considerable . number of bookings during the holiday season from the local hotels, and often groups of residents Organize tours. The seating plan, on being filled up at hotels for private parties, is despatched to head office, and the coach picks up the party according to the arrangements made. Tickets are issued according to the completed seating plan. A system of quite a different kind is worked to by the New Brighton Motor Coach Co., New Brighton, of which Mr. Harry Kingham is managing director. This company specialize mainly in private party work, although a considerable number of Outings is organized for chance passengers spending holidays in_ the New Brighton district. As specialists in the, organization of works outings, it has been their experience in the past that it was not always possible to get a precise idea of probable bookings, and this was apt seriously to inconvenience their organization. They therefore prepared for the benefit of tours organizers a form which was intended to be pinned to the works notice board, so that prospective participants could append their names and arrange themselves in parties. It is quite a common thing during the summer months for the New Brighton Co. to run convoys of 30 or 40 coaches, and their record party last year comprised tie fewer than 900 passengers. • When the organizer of a works party places an order, he is given a supply of forms similar to the one which we reproduce (No. 2); One of the useful things about this form is that passengers are able to choose their own travelling companions within the limits of each row of seats and each coach. On the closing date, the cash received by the organizers is entered in the column reserved for the purpose beside each name, and in the end column is stated the amount due before the tickets can he issued. H the whole of the form be not completed, the groups of passengers are allocated to other coaches so as to make compact loads in each case.
Each works makes out these forms in triplicate, and one copy is retained by the organizer and the others sent to the motor coach company. The tickets issued to the passengers indicate clearly the number of the coach by which they will travel, which row and what seat on the coach they will occupy. The experience of the New Brighton Motor Coach Co. is that, for works outings, this system of booking has worked extraordinarily well, as every passenger, before he joins the coaches, knows which coach he will travel by, where he will sit, and who will be his travelling companions, So far as the cash side of the transaction is concerned, the results are clearly tabulated on each booking form, and both the organizers of . the outing and the coach owner can see at a glance how matters stand.
A separate form is used for single-seat bookings received by drivers occupying promenade stands. Each driver has a hook of forms, and, before starting off, he must fill in required particulars, which include details identifying the vehicle and driver, and the number of passengers on each row of seats. In the busy season, the company has a representative supervising the single-seat bookings, and thus a check is provided. The driver, when he hands over his cash takings, also presents this docket, indicating the number of passengers booked at a given fare. The total corresponds to his cash deposits. Any dednctions on account of charges is shown on this report sheet.
Before garaging his vehicle for the night the driver must also give a report on his vehicle. Even the smallest defects must be intimated, but if the coach is free from any noticeable fault, the driver is required to write in the bottom left-band corner, "All 0.1C" On the other hand, if any defects are noticed, another slip must be filled in, stating what the trouble is. This is passed over with the coach to the repairs department, which gives the ear an examination and tabulates the work done. If more work is done than the driver reports, and he is in any way to blame for the oversight, he is called upon for an explanation.
The Lancashire United Tramways,
Ltd., use an interesting form for the purpose of private parties. On the front of this form are given the driver's instructions, including the starting place for the tour, the destination, route, hirer's name and address, time of starting, time of returning, time due back at starting point, round mileage of the trip, and the routes outward and inward. On the back of this form the driver is required to state the number of passengers he carried, the number of his coach, time out of depot, time back at depot, miles run (a) out, (b) return, ,petrol supplies at start, petrol stock on return, and Petrol used on journey. The office afterwards works out the m.p.g. for the trip. Stopping places must be enumerated by the driver, who is also expected to report irregularities and delays, and to give any other useful information. In the event of any deviation from the specified route, the driver is required to obtain 'the signature...of the M.C. authorizing the change in plans.