Phases of Passenger Travel
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CARLISLE PASSENGER-TRANSPORT REORGANIZATION
A Motorbus System Recommended to Replace the Outof-date Tramways ; Amalgamation Terms Recommended. T"general-purposes committee of Carlisle Corporation has considered a report from Mr. A. R. FearnleY, general manager of the Sheffield Corporation tramway and motorbus system, who was retained for the purpose of giving expert advice on the question of
transport facilities in Carlisle. The Carlisle tramways have been operating since June, 1900, and the system is considered by Mr. Fearnley to be generally out of date. In his opinion the financial position of the tramways is likely to become steadily worse.
In the meantime local motorbus services have developed, so that now there are 31 buses in operation on local services, 111 buses on city and suburban services, and 19 raQtor coaches engaged on long-distance traffic. Amongst the operators of these motorbuses and coaches there appears to be little or no attempt at co-operation, and there is ample scope for consideration of the entire question of Carlisle transport in all its aspects and for arranging a comprehensive scheme with good provision for the future. Mr. Fearnley thinks that there is no advantage to be gained by complicating the position with different systems, such as trolley-bus Systems, but prefers the suggestion of an arrangement to be entered into by the tramways company and two or three of the largest bus operators.
The general-purposes committee does not recommend the council at the present time to apply for Parliamentary powers authorizing the establishment of a municipal motorbus service. Another proposal has come forward, however, which the committee has recommended for adoption. At a recent' meeting the town clerk reported that he had been in communication with the Carlisle and District Transport Co., Ltd., and he submitted' a letter from that company
intimating that a provisional agreement had been reached with Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., for the sale to that company of the Carlisle and District Transport Co., Ltd., as an undertaking, and of the shares which it holds in Richard Percival, Ltd., the terms of the sale including the abandonment of the tramways, the granting of licences to the purchasing company for a number of motorbuses to provide an adequate service in substitution for the tramways (such licences to allow the company to provide transport facilities to the new centres of population within the city beyond the present tram termini), the corporation to relieve the Carlisle and District Transport Co., Ltd., of the liability of road reinstatement consequent upon the removal of the tramway track (subject to the payment • to the corporation within an agreed period of a sum equivalent to three shillings per square yard of the area of the highway maintainable by that company), the corporation also to receive the rails and setts.