Motorbus World.
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In Derbyshire.
The Ashbourne-Derby service, for the inauguration of which Commercial Car Hirers, Ltd., were responsible, goes along merrily; accounts of a recent mishap on the road were grossly exaggerated. Its success has led to the establishment, by the same company, of a service between Alfreton and Derby. Single-deck " Commer Car" omnibuses replace chars-à-bancs for the winter.
London Road Car.
For protective purposes, and with a nominal capital of £100, the London Road Car Co., Ltd., has been registered by Messrs. Joynson-Hicks, Hunt, Moore and Cardew.
A " Hallford-Stevens " Tour.
After leaving Blackpool, Mr. W. H. Stevens, of Maidstone, made a tour of various Welsh and other towns, en route for home, with his latest-type Ffallford-btevens " petrol-electric double-decker. We had a long trip in the bus, a few days ago ; its easy control and quietness were very alluring.
"Necessary Repair on the Spot."
In the King's Bench Division on the 18th ulto., before L.C.J. Alverstone and JJ. Darling and Bucknill, an appeal was led by the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., in the name of one of its drivers, on a stated case by one of the aldermen of the City of London. The appellant was in charge of one of the L.G.O.C. motorbuses, on the 20th May, 1909, when it broke down in Queen Victoria Street; after a delay of sotne two hours, a fitter arrived, and the broken-down bus was towed into Walbrook, where it was repaired within half an hour. The alleged offence arose under a section of the City Police Act, which renders any person liable to a penalty who " shall in any thoroughfare or other public place, to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers, repair any part of any carriage except in cases of accident where repair on the spot is necessary." The alderman had convicted the appellant.
The Lord Chief Justice, in giving judgment, pointed out that the alderman had found that the repair on the thoroughfare was not necessary ; again, the repair did not take place where the accident occurred. He assumed, however, that the removal from Queen Victoria Street was urgent, in order to prevent that crowded thoroughfare from being blocked: If the repair did not need to be done at the spot where the vehicle came to a stand, there was no right to occupy a street by repairing it, and there had been an obstruction in effect, and not merely a technical obstruction, ITe dismissed the appeal.
Mr. Justice Darling, who agreed that the appeal should be dismissed, did so on the ground that the omnibus was not repaired in Queen Victoria Street, where it broke down, but in Walbrook, and that it might have been dragged further.
The above decision, and the remarks of the Court in regard to further towing, appear to us to pay no regard to one important fact: it is, strictly speaking, illegal for any motorbus to be towel by another motorbus or by a breakdown lorry, as, in those
circumstances, contrary to the wording of Article III of the Heavy Motor Car Order, 1904, the weight of the heavy motorcar unladen with the weight of the unladen vehicle drawn by it exceeds 6 tons. In effect, therefore, the King's Bench Division has recommended a breach of the law, and, in doing so, we think it has also constructed this case unreasonably. It is, surely, better that a, repair should be effected in a comparatively-unfrequented street, rather than that there should be an obstruction in a busy thoroughfare, and all Acts of Parliament are to be reasonably constructed and administered.
L.C.C. Tramways Accounts.
The full accounts of the Highways Committee of the L.C.C., to the 31st March last, as regards the Council's tramways, were published on Saturday last. They may be purchased, direct from Messrs. P. S. King and Son, for is. id. post free.
The principal figures were summarized in our issue of the 22nd July last, but we are now interested to make the following additional extracts : the debt in respect of obsolete capital expenditure upon horse traction stands at £1,041,456; the renewals fund, which stood at £158,622 on the 1st April, 1908, has been increased by no less than £106,215, in
which connection the Committee' points out that, in accordance with a resolution of the Council on the 23rd June, 1908, two-thirds of a penny per car-mile run should be set aside as the provision to be made for such renewals as are not intended to be charged against the revenue of the year, upon which basis the fund, at the 31st March last, was still £20,795. short; the general reserve fund stands at £35,270; the proportion of halfpenny fares has fallen from 33.5 per cent. in 1905-6 to 24.2 per cent. in1908-9, but the latter proportion still represents a trifle more than 100' millions of passengers; the mileage run for the year was 39,119,472; the total operating expenses amounted to 6.74d. per ear-mile, as compared with 6.79d. for the previous year ; the debt charges are a trifle in excess of 3d. per
car-mile. The Committee has made substantial progress, in the direction of fair provision for the future, during the year under review, but the " leeway " is enormous.