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Pioneering for Prosperity .
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in AFRICA
United Transport Group Goods and Passenger Services Assist the Development of a Continent
pERHAPS nowhere in the world today is there such a vast and growing demand for transport as in Africa. The phenomenal growth of trade and cities in the great new central Federation and in the exporting territories of East Africa called for a
resourceful transport organization to provide regular services over an area 12 times as large as Great Britain.
Since 1949 the African companies of United Transport Co., Ltd., Chepstow, Mon, have provided these services under some of the most difficult operating conditions to be found anywhere. The rapid expansion of these companies has by no means reached its limit.
The original pioneer of the group in Africa was Cdr. F. T. Hare, R.N. (retd.), who, as chairman of the former Overseas Motor Transport Co., Ltd., founded a number of companies in East and Central Africa, which were taken over by United Transport.
Today United Transport operate two major transport groups in Central and East Africa, one in the Federation of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland, and the other in the territories of Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika. The three East African territories are served by five companies under a holding corn pany—The African Transport Co., Ltd. Thirteen undertakings operate in the Federation under the holding company—the Rhodesia United Transport group, formed in 1955.
Whilst the R.U.T. group are engaged in goods and passenger work, the group serving the East African territories is concerned almost exclusively with passenger services, apart from sales and distribution of cars and commercial vehicles. A minority interest approaching 40 per cent. is held in both African subsidiaries by the British Electric Traction Co., Ltd.
In the Federation of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland, the new holding company was formed to develop goods haulage and road passenger services. The rate of development has been so rapid that today a group of 13 companies provides a network of haulage services with depots in all the important centres, and bus services in all the cities and large towns.
New links have been rapidly forged in the past few years; one important new service that will soon be operating will link the Federation and East Africa over a section of the famous Cape-to-Cairo road.
In organizing reliable goods and passenger services in the Federation, five major problems confront the group. These are the state of the roads, the rainy season, indifferent communications, varying road regulations and labour.
Apart from the naouittainous country on the northern borders of the Federation, drivers have to cope with roads that are for the most
part not surfaced with gravel. Only a quarter of the trunk roads are covered with macadam.
The main impediment to traffic is the rainy season from November to March, when anything from 30 in. to 100 in, of rain might fall. At this time floods sever communications, isolate towns, and trailer operation generally becomes impracticable. The difficulty concerning road regulations is that they differ in the various territories, particularly as regards axle loads and bus layout.
Weight-restricted bridges are now being gradually eliminated, but the route from Salisbury to Blantyre, for instance, still necessitates a river crossing by pontoon for goods vehicles.
As regards recruitment, African drivers are found to be of a generally high standard, but a rapid turnover of labour is a drawback.
A new subsidiary of the group, Kariba Transport, Ltd., has met most of these problems peculiar to African transport in full flood. This company was formed to carry out a contract of £2m. for the transport of more than 500,000 tons of materials to the Kariba Gorge, where a hydro-electric dam is under construction.
In March this year, the swollen Zambesi, flowing at more than 15,000 tons of water a second, rose to its highest known level and, pouring over the top of the Coffer dam, washed away the road and work sites in the gorge.
In spite of such setbacks, over 400,000 tons of cement will eventually be transported in specially constructed bulk containers fabricated in the Federation. The largest number of heavy-duty vehicles ever assembled in the Federation for one operation has been employed by the group for this purpose.
The largest unit in the United Transport group in Africa is Central African Road Services, Ltd., who operate over 4,000 miles of routes, and own a fleet of more than 250 buses and trucks, with headquarters at Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia. From Mbeya in Tanganyika, it is possible to travel over 1,000 miles by a C.A.R.S. coach to the Victoria Falls in less than five days, including accommodation overnight. Average operating speeds are around 25 m.p.h., a good speed on roads which might be deep in dust or water, depending on the season,
Wide Operating Radius
Of the 135 passenger vehicles owned by this company, 88 modified Leyland Steers have 30 ft. by 8 ft all-metal bodies built in Africa, accommodating 53 passengers, with firstand secondclass compartments. Two fuel tanks, each of 55-gal. capacity, give an operating radius of 1,000 miles without refuelling.
In the copper belt area in Northern Rhodesia, which provides the Federation with its major export, hourly passenger services link all the towns.
There is no distinction between express services and heavy haulage in the Federation. With the Zambesi crossing all the main routes north from Salisbury, especially the important route through Tete in Portuguese East Africa, which at the time of writing is isolated by floods, the distinction would be more in name than fact.
All routes have at least one good service daily. Routes linking the main towns have an average of five services daily. Bulk cement, fuels and timber are now carried on contract.
High-frequency services are operated by the various companies within the Central African group in Salisbury, Buluwayo and Livingstone. Coach services are popular with South African visitors in the holiday season and are operated bi-weekly by the Rhodesia Touring Co., Ltd., from Buluwayo. Royal Mail Services are run in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
Maintenance Decentralized
Four hundred passenger vehicles are operated by the Central African companies, of which 170 are Leyland, 100 Albion and 105 Guy, with some Daimler and Fodens. The total number of passengers carried in 1957 was 19.1m., and more than 10m. miles were covered. Revenue exceeded £1.1m.
Of the total goods fleet, 251 are Leyland, 99 Albion and 20 Foden—a total of 370—excluding 256 trailers. The tonnage hauled last year was 127,000 and revenue was £1,485,000.
Vehicles are based at all the main centres in the Federation, with 13 fully equipped depots in Northern Rhodesia, 12 in Southern Rhodesia and 12 in Nyasaland. Because of the large areas covered by the fleet, main
tenance is decentralized and heavy overhauls, repairs and reconditioning are carried out at Salisbury, Broken Hill and Blantyre.
Running maintenance is conducted for the Rhodesian companies from 11 depots in Northern Rhodesia and 10 depots in Southern Rhodesia, one of them picturesquely known as Lion's Den. Lions and giraffes are wellknown hazards on the roads and sometimes necessitate repairs, fortunately only to the cab.
Modern Workshops
To keep abreast of the demands of a growing fleet, a modern workshop has been built at Salisbury and new central workshops are under construction at Broken Hill and Blantyre.
The largest company in the African Transport group are Kenya Bus Services, Ltd., with headquarters at Nairobi. This undertaking run tours and municipal services in the capital, and country services within a 30-mile radius of Nairobi. The fleet of 110 vehicles consists of 58 Guy-Gardner double-deckers and 38 single-deckers, with a number of Leyland Royal Tigers and Albions. A subsidiary, The Rift Valley Transport Co., operate three Guy-Gardners on a service in Nakuru. _ Services are run every three minutes at peak hours and last year 25m. passengers were carried, with a total mileage of 31m. A new central garage and workshop was built in Nairobi in 1956 at a cost of £100,000. This depot was planned to deal with any expansion in the foreseeable future and is capable of maintaining 300 vehicles. All the major repair and maintenance work is carried out there to the engines, chassis and bodies, and units are supplied to the other companies in East Africa.
Long-distance services are operated by the Overseas Touring Co. (East Africa), Ltd. The longest route is from the headquarters at Nairobi to Mbeya, a distance of 850 miles. The services link all the principal towns in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, and several operated overnight. Two African drivers are carried on all routes and take turns to act as conductor.
The total route mileage of this company is the largest in the East African group. More than 2m. miles are operated annually, and nearly 500,000 passengers are carried. The fleet of 38 vehicles includes 34 Albion and four Leyland Comet coaches, all of which are maintained at the main depot of Kenya Bus Services.
The flourishing sea port of Mombasa, which serves Kenya and Uganda, is the headquarters for the remaining company in Kenya, who operate goods and passenger services. Bulwark Transport Co. (East Africa) run three Alb ions, a Guy-Gardner and a 3,800-gal. tanker. Based at Mombasa, these vehicles transport petrol, coffee, oxygen and acetylene cylinders and general merchandise to Moshi and Arusha, Tanganyika.
Competitive Trade
Examples of East African exports are cloves and copra, sisal and salt, gold and diamonds, maize and groundnuts. Prices of such commodities affect the demand and flow of produce, and the haulage trade in East Africa is highly competitive. Last year 2,500 tons were carried by Bulwark Transport.
Municipal services in Mombasa are operated by Kenya Bus Services (Mombasa), Ltd., with a town service in Moshi, near Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanga, and a country service along the main coast roads. Of the fleet of 59 vehicles, composed of GuyGardners with the exception of an Albion, 52 are based at Mombasa, four at Moshi and three at Tanga. Fourteen million passengers were carried in 1957.
The town bus service for the capital and chief port of Tanganyika is run by the Dar es Salaam Motor Transport Co., Ltd. A local service is also operated in Tanga, Tanganyika's second port. The fleet of 43 vehicles comprises 31 Guy, six Leyland Royal Tigers and six Albion FT39 singledeckers.
The mileage last year totalled
and 71m. passengers were carried at a frequency varying from five minutes at peak hours to half-hourly during off-peaks. The potential for passenger traffic in this area is enormous, as without such transport service; thousands of African workers would make the weary trek to work on foot.
Uganda is served by Kampala and District Services, Ltd., with headquarters on the edge of Lake Victoria. The fleet of 45 vehicles was new last year and includes 15 high-capacity Leyland Titan double-deckers and 15 Leyland Tiger vertical-engined singledeckers, equipped with Pneumo-Cyclic gearboxes.
Mileage last year topped the 2m. mark and 7m. passengers were carried. Besides the town service in Kampala, a country service is operated within a radius of 15 miles. One route runs to Jinja, the source of the Nile.
Prosperity Promoters
Over 2,500, Africans and 347 Europeans are employed in the Federation by United Transport companies. By the expansion of transport services, by the formation of new companies for special development schemes and by initiating the first regular life-lines between territories, United Transport play a major role in promoting prosperity in the territories within the Commonwealth.
Such an achievement has not been attained without great efforts. Mr. J. H. Watts, managing director of United Transport, and Mr. D. Lloyd Jones spend the greater part of each year in Africa supervising and planning for the future. All this work is summed up by Mr. Lloyd Jones in a few words: "We plan to expand our organization to match the development of Africa."