Largest Fleet Increase For Six Years
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Expanding Numbers of Double-deck Oilers Heavily Outweigh Drops in Single-deckers and Trolleybuses : Five Towns Still Run Trams
AN increase of 2.8 per cent this year in the aggregate strength of municipal bus fleets, revealed in this exclusive analysis by The Commercial Motor, is the largest for six years. Increases in previous years were 1956, 2 per cent., 1955, 0.98 per cent.; 1954, 0.43 per cent.; 1953, 1.8 per cent; 1952, 0.67 per cent.; 1951, 2 per cent.
Whereas the replacement of trams caused the growth in 1955 and 1956, it has not done so this year. The rise is accounted for by the expanding use of double-deck oil-engined • buses. This is the only vehicle group to increase, all the others having diminished.
Municipalities have not apparently chosen to meet extra demands for services by merely replacing single deck buses by double-deckers in an effort to curtail fleet strengths. The figures show that the number of singledeckers has dropped by only 92, whereas the number of double-deckers has risen from 17,075 in 1956, to 17,674 this year.
The total of oil-engined buses in use has increased from 16,074 in 1956 to 16,677 this year. The number of Leylands in service—once again the most popular make of motorbus—has risen by 183 to 5,263.
Daimler retain second place, with a total of 4,504 motorbuses, A.E.C.. in third place, advanced to a total of 3,800. The last Vulcans in municipal services were withdrawn during the year. The replacement of trams has not been so marked this year as in 1955 and 1956. Five undertakings still run trams. Blackpool has not replaced any of its cars. Aberdeen, with 41 trams, has increased the fleet by one, but trams at Leeds have decreased by 22 to 148, at Sheffield by 78 to 213, • and at Glasgow by 91 to 839.
A decline in the number of trolleybuses in municipal service has con
tinned. The total has fallen from 2,201 in 1956 to 1,890 this year.
In this analysis, the figures in brackets after the name of the undertaking indicate fleet strengths a year ago. The abbreviations " 0 " and "P" denote oil and petrol engines.