'Moon trip' to Arran for summer visitors
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• When summer visitors look across from Ayr at the striking contours of Arran it is, from the point of view of accessibility by public transport, "almost like looking at the moon," an Ayr coach operator told a sitting of the Traffic Commissioners in Glasgow.
Mr Gerald Quin, owner of Quin's Coaches, was applying for a road service licence to inaugurate a new group of excursions and tours from Ayr, including one to Ardrossan Harbour to provide a through-booked connection with the Ardrossan-Brodick summer steamer service.
Other day excursions destinations applied for were Stranraer, Kirkcudbright, Helensburgh, Largs and Edinburgh. Application was also made in respect of a peak season mini-weekend excursion to Oban in July and August, including one night's bed and breakfast in an Oban hotel, and for a steamer cruise to Staffa and Iona.
The application was supported by Ayr Town Council. After an all-day hearing, the inquiry was adjourned to a date to be decided later.
Referring to the specific objection of AA Motor Services to the Ardrossan Harbour connection, Mr Quin said it was unrealistic to suggest that anyone contemplating a day on Arran would make the journey to Ardrossan by stage service bus "meandering through towns and villages and making a leisurely progression through the byways before being deposited in the town for a weary half-mile trudge to the Arran berth".
Dealing with an objection to the Oban excursion by Highland Omnibuses and W. Alexander & Sons (Midland) Ltd, who operate a joint stage service between Glasgow and Oban, Mr Quin maintained it was wildly improbable that intending passengers for the Staffa and Iona cruise would travel from Ayr by connecting stage services.
Mr Quin said he estimated it would cost anyone doing as the objectors suggested an additional £3 compared with his proposed excursion and he pointed out that the special group reduction already agreed with his firm by David MacBrayne Ltd, for the Iona cruise, would not be available to individuals travelling to Oban by stage service.
He suggested that it should be borne in mind by the objectors that his intended excursion would provide MacBrayne's — like themselves a subsidiary of the Scottisl Transport Group -with additiona revenue.
Other companies objecting to th application were Western SMT and Dodd Coaches, Troon. For these companies i was stated that Western SMT had 70 tou destinations authorized from Ayr and tha Dodds had 47 authorized destinations.
When the hearing was adjourned fly witnesses had given evidence in support the application. Mr Quin told Mr A. I Birnie, chairman of the Commissioners, tha uncalled witnesses would have given broad] similar evidence and that he did tit therefore propose to ask them to return o the adjourned date.