Staggering
Page 57
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the Only Hope, Says M.O.T.
SETTING up of 14 local transport groups in the central area of London, in order to provide machinery, for the staggering of working hours, was proposed by the Minister of Transport, Mr. Alfred Barnes, M.P., it a conference of local authorities and business interests last week. Promoting bodies were the Ministry, the main-line railways, and London Transport.
Although described as a conference, it was really a public reading of certain statements issued by the Minitter, Lord Ashfield, chairman of London. Transport, and Mr, A. B. B. Valentine, chief commercial officer of London Transport. Questions and discussion were, to all intents and purposes, vetoed at this stage.
After describing the growing difficulties in dealing with peak, traffic which were caused by the general teficlefic—Y to shorten working hours,' the Minister said that a longer spread-over was the only means left available to remedy matters. The need was urgent. Of the total of over 800,000 paesengers carried into London in the morning; half travelled .between 8.30 aail. and 9.30 aim: Some 56 per cent. travelled homeviards between 5 and 6 p.m.
Having stated that Government! Dcpart= meats had already given a lead, he appealed to all to enter into local committees to work out a detailed plan for each zone, with the help of London Transport and the railways. The aim was to evolve a plan for each district; as was already being done in Birmingham. .
Mr. Valentine said that it was not enough to spread tralfe between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Even then the total number of passengers would be greater than the' total transport capacity available in that hour. It was thus vital that some of the traffic now starting for home in that hour should start earlier or later. This could be done without dramatic alterations in anybody's working hours.
What was needed was a detailed census, for each district, of the numbers of people stopping work at each quarter of an hour, which only the employers could provide. Similar information would be needed as regards morning starting hours.
For transport purposes, the local areas were about as large as they could be, if an even distribution of originating traffic in each separate locality was to be ensured over the whole peak period. Mr. Valentine placed emphasis on "separate locality."
Each group should have a standing committee representing each large class of employer in the area, such as the Government, municipalities, banks, insurance .offices, commercial firms, industries and -shops, also the trade
unions. The entertainment industry should have its representative, where necessary. The transport undertakings would have to be represented on each group committee.
Responsibility for forming group committees, Mr. Valentine suggested, could best be assumed by local Chambers of Commerce. The progress would be watched by a technical committee composed of officials of the Ministry of Transport, London Transport, and the railways.
St. Pancras Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in bringing the whole question into the limelight. As earl) as last June it suggested to London Transport that meetings should be arranged between traffic regulating officers and large industrial concerns. These were held, and, as a result, the Board actively pursued the question.
The Chamber has been given Zone 4 to deal with and has already suggested that London Transport should supply it with a special memorandum to send to all concerned in the borough. The secretary, Mr. A. Swinnerton-Beet, tells us that it has been suggested to Mr. Valentine that where there is no local Chamber of Commerce, the toc a l authorities could convene meetings.
The boundaries of the zones do not coincide with the boundaries of local government, but have been drawn between rather than a long main traffic arteries, because traffic gravitates to these arteries from both sides. As far as possible they have also been drawn with an eye to the formation of homogeneous groups from the point of view of the trades, professions or industries represented in them.