Saturday Traffic Census Not Taken: Application Refused
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WITHOUT hearing the evidence of nine supporting witnesses, who included representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Renfrew Town Council, the Scottish Traffic Commissioners last week refused an application by Paton Bros., Ltd., Renfrew. They pointed out that Paton's had failed in part to comply with instructions to carry out a census over their Paisley-Govan stage service.
Paton's wanted to increase the frequency of the service, doubling it from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. between Sunday and Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. They said that if the application were granted, the use of duplicates on the existing timings would cease and the result would be more economical operation.
When the case was first heard in
December, it was adjourned so that the company could take a joint census with the road objectors, Cunningham's Bus Services, Ltd., and the Western S.M.T. Co., Ltd. British Railways also objected.
Mr. W. Law, for Paton's, said a joint census had been carried out, except on Saturdays, which the applicants considered impracticable because of fluctuations from week to week. They had not been able to reach agreement with the objectors on this point.
As a result of the census, they now sought the withdrawal of the Sunday variation, but were seeking to double the Monday to Friday service between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. The Saturday increases remained as sought.
Mr. J. B. T. Loudon, for the road objectors, said that, as a result of the amendment, they were prepared to withdraw their objection to this part of the application, but they could not agree that it was impracticable to hold a Saturday census. An independent census by the objectors had shown that 309 passengers had been set down by Paton's in the protected area of Paisley.
Mr. Law replied that Paton's _staff were instructed about the prohibition on both picking up and setting down in the protected area, but there was great difficulty in preventing passengers alighting.
The chairman, Mr. W.-Quin, said the Commissioners were surprised at the suggestion of difficulties on Saturdays. Fluctuations were all the more reason for n14 a census to enable them to judge the demand. The only conclusion they could draw was that it would not support the application, After a short adjournment, Mr. Quin 'said the Commissioners had decided that, as Paton's had been specifically instructed to take a census and had failed to do so. the whole application would be refused. No future application would be considered until a Saturday census had been taken.
TITANIC MILEAGE
BELIEVED to be the first British double-decker to enter South Africa,. a Leyland Titan TD.1 has been retired after covering 1.625,000 miles. Shipped to the City Tramways Co., Ltd., Cape Town, in 1928, the vehicle 'first made a tour of the country. It then had a six
cylindered petrol engine and crush gearbox. In 1944, it was overhauled and fitted with an oil engine. Air-pressure braking was later installed,