New Traffic Facilities in London.
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The month of December, Igoe, has seen a considerable step made in the increase of London's travelling facilities : it was marked by four independent events, each having its ultimate bearing on passenger transport. The first was the opening of the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Electric Tube Railway ; the second was an increase in the train service, and a decrease in the fares on the District Railway; the third was the extension of the London County Council's southern tramways over Westminster Bridge, and the fourth was the opening of the first electrified line of the .L.C.C.'s northern tramways, between Aldgate and Poplar.
The new tube railway starts from Finsbury Park, where it taps the converging suburban branches of the Great Northern Railway, travels under that railway to King's Cross, through "the squares" to Kingsway, under the motorcar district, Long Acre, to Piccadilly, down that wellknown thoroughfare to Brompton, and under the District Railway from South Kensington to West Kensington ; here it emerges above ground and runs alongside the District Railway to Hammersmith. A new route from north to west is thus available to the public, and serves a district hitherto inaccessible by railway, and having to depend upon the humble omnibus, horse or motor, for its means of communication. What will be the effect of this new tube on motor omnibus traffic? It is safe to prophesy, from the results recorded after the opening of other railways, deep or shallow, that London traffic increases faster than the increase in travelling facilities, that there will be little, if any, difference discernible in the number of omnibus passengers, and that more and more motor omnibuses will, doubtless, appear in Piccadilly as soon as they are passed by the Police Noise Committee. On Saturday evening last, the scramble for seats in the motorbuses was not quite so severe as usual when the theatres emptied, but at other hours the difference has been little. It was noticed by the writer, when travelling to the West and back, that the motor omnibus beat the tube from Earl's Court to Piccadilly Circus by two and a half minutes, and on a later drip, from Down Street to South Kensington, an advantage of two minutes had to be credited to the motor omnibus. Time is, naturally, lost in the descent to and ascent from the tube ; this, with the delay sometimes experienced in getting a train, is responsible for some of the time gained by travelling on the surface. The District Railway, during this month, has increased its facilities, by putting on extra trains on the West-end lines. The revised time-table is not yet published, but it appears that most of these extra trains run to Earl's Court only, where they make connection with other City trains, and the Piccadilly tube. All trains have also been increased in capacity by the addition of a coach, the number of coaches in each train becoming four or six, this being the composition of the trains when the line was first electrified. There is a rumour that this arrangement is only temporary, but it is to be hoped that it will be adhered to, as the threecoach trains were often unduly crowded. The " District " fares have been reduced, at the same time, between stations on the western branches, but not to the Pre-October scale. The daily Press has kept everyone well informed of the progress of the Embankment tramways; each stage, from the dislocation of traffic on Westminster Bridge, to the wilful mutilation of the Embankment trees, has been duly recorded day by day. It is instructive to stand on the Embankment and watch the often practically empty cars following close on one another, from Westminster to the Temple, hour after hour. It costs, approximately, 6d. per mile to run these cars, even basing the figure on the tramway accounts which the London County Council serves up for the delectation of an admiring electorate, and, as the fares are a negligible quantity on this section, Londoners may be able to calculate what they are paying, directly, for the pretty sight, though they cannot calculate the indirect costs, due to the congestion of traffic on Westminster Bridge, and the delays in crossing the tramlines at St. Thomas' Hospital. The curve at Bridge Street is so sharp that one of the cars left the rails on the evening of Saturday, the 15th instant, and a long block ensued.
The other section of electrified tramway is in quite a different situation. It was, originally, a horse tramway, and traverses the busiest street in London, so far as tonnage is considered, the main road from London to the Docks, which line the river to the south of the thoroughfare. A ceaseless stream of heavily-laden drays cover this road from five in the morning until eleven at night. The traffic has been in a hopeless muddle during the reconstruction of the line, and it is a fair estimate to say that it has cost London .25,000 in extra wages; increased wear, tear, and depreciation of horse-flesh, extra mileage covered by horse and motor vehicles, and delays to passengers. Truly, London pays dearly for its privileges, if government by County Council can be considered a privilege. All this loss and inconvenience caused to London traffic, and the huge expenditure on track and equipment which is entailed, are forced upon the public in spite of the fact that motor omnibuses are running the whole length of Commercial Road and East India Dock Road, taking passengers beyond the limits of the tramway in each direction to Oxford Circus and Canning Town, and at a smaller cost per passenger mile, if the tramways are charged with adequate sums for depreciation and management. Further, the electric tramcars are causing considerable congestion, by forcing all goods vehicles off the centre portion of the road, whilst the dirigible motor omnibus is able to pick its way through the tangle of traffic with ease.
The most curious feature about these increased facilities for traffic is that they occur at a time when hardly any new motor omnibuses are being put into commission. The police are still adhering to the rigid rule that they laid down as to undue noise, and manufacturers cannot see how they are to make a really satisfactory vehicle, and comply with their requirements. Gun-metal gear wheels and fibre timing wheels are being tried, often without avail, and about Ar,45,orro worth of motor machinery is standing idle, whilst the "Noise Committee" strictly enforces a high standard of undue noise. The Highways Committee of the London County Council must be rejoiced.