Austin — Morris Plan Extended
Page 31
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."11HE British Motor Corporation, Ltd., I. has been formed to effect the amalgamation of the Austin Motor Co„ Ltd., and Morris Motors, Ltd.
As announced in " The Commercial Motor" on November .30,1951, it was originally proposed that there should be an exchange of 5s. ordinary shares and stock units in the Austin and Morris Concerns for an equal number of 5s. ordinary shares in the corporation. This proposal has now been extended to the preferred ordinary and preference capitals of both companies. It is expected that if this offer be accepted, about £650,000 in stamp duties will be saved.
If the holders of preferred ordinary and preference shares agree to take corporation shares, the issued capital will total £14,067,485, consisting of £9,241,126 in 5 per cent. cumulative preference shares of £1 each and £4,826,359 in ordinary shares of 5s. each.
Dividends on existing ordinary shares in Austin and ordinary stock in Morris are at the rate of 50 per cent. per annum, less tax. The corporation's board .(the Viscount Nuffield, chairman, Mr. L. P. Lord, deputy chairman and managing director, Mr. R. F. Hanks and Mr. G. W. Harriman) believes that the corporation should, after paying 5 per cent. on the preference shares, be able to pay at least 52 per cent. a year on the ordinary capital.
LOADING BAN DELAYS UNILATERAL SCHEME
QTRONG objections by commerciallOvehicle interests were the main reason why a comprehensive system of unilateral waiting had not been introduced in.London, said Mr. Gurney Braithwaite, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, in the House of Commons, last week.
The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee had recommended the. extension of unilateral waiting with a condition that vehicles should not be allowed to load or unload on the non-permitted side of the street from 11.30a.m. to 6.30 p.m. The matter was now before the Minister of Transport, said Mr. Braithwaite, and if the scheme were introduced it would be experimental.
Mr. Braithwaite made these statements when the question of traffic congestion in London was raised by Mr. Ronald Russell, a member of the London .and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee.
Referring to Mr. Russell's plea for an extension of one-way working, Mr. Braithwaite pointed to the great increase in mileage which would be involved, especially for buses. The Ministry's policy, he said, was to introduce one-way streets step by step.
The Minister hopedto receive next month, or in May, the report of a working party set up under the chairmanship of Mr. A. Samuels, to investigate the problem of parking in London. Mr. Russell had urged that about £5m. should, at the earliest possible moment, be spent on building garages and car parks in central London.
R.H.E. STRIKERS RETURN
GGRIEVED because some longfl distance vehicles were being transferred from Symington depot of the Road Haulage Executive to Carfin, 29 drivers and fitters struck work, as the' contended that the change would add two hours to their daily travelling time, Last week, however, they agreed to return to duty and to abide by the new arrangements. Special transport has
been provided by the R.H.E. to take them to and from their homes.
The men's case was the substance of a Parliamentary petition presented recently by Mr. P Maitland, M.P.
TROLLEYBUS SPEED LIMITS
BECAUSE the war prevented the Minister of Transport from laying down speed limits on many trolleybus routes, regulations may soon be made applicable to such services. Meantime, operators are honour-bound by agreements with railway inspectors, although the agreements may have no value in law.
A regulation now being drafted in connection with one undertaking may serve as a model for others.
COMPENSATION CONFIRMED COMPENSATION of £92,564 is being paid by the Road Haulage Executive to Hurst and Payne, Ltd., Birmingham, and £27,500 to A. C. Hutton, Ltd., Mapledurwell, Basingstoke. The Transport Arbitration Tribunal confirmed these agreements in London, on Monday.
Should London Tours be Decentralized ?
A N appeal lodged by five operators r 1 of excursions and tours from the London area, against the granting of a licence enabling Cranford Coaches, Ltd., to operate such services from Harlington, Middlesex, has been dismissed by the Minister of Transport. The appellants were Fox and Hart, Ltd.. Valliant Direct Coaches, Ltd., London Transport Executive, Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., and Maidstone and District Motor Services, Ltd.
In his recommendation, the inspector, Mr. W. Tudor Davies, observed that it was a question of high policy whether the time had arrived for the decentralization of excursions and tours on the perimeter of Greater, London. In this case, the Licensing Authority had made a small exception to the general principle that local services should feed existing road and rail facilities. In his own words, the licence would ease pressure of traffic at the week-ends Without causing abstraction.
The respondents had been granted licences to operate a group of excursions and tours on Saturdays and Sundays from Whitsun to September, with three picking-up points in the Harlington area and serving resorts on the south coast.
The appellants' case was that there was adequate accommodation on their vehicles serving the area either directly or through Victoria Coach. Station. An earlier Licensing Authority had sought to concentrate facilities of this kind at Victoria. No system of transport could be built up on the prejudices of local operators.
B.R.S. CLAIM PROCEDURE CRITICIZED
A TRIBUTE to the service given by 1-1. free hauliers was paid by Mr. A. A. Allen, a Tees-side industrialist, when he spoke at the annual dinner of the Teesside sub-area of the Road Haulage Association, last week.
He said that he had to place much long-distance haulage with British Road Services. When he employed free hauliers before nationalization, consignments arrived at their destinations in the same condition as they left. "Now, we have claims," he said.
When claims were made, it was found that the lorry which collected the load did not deliver it. Claims were always repudiated, but "if you stick to your guns, you get your money."
The B.R.S. claim forms were "works of art," Mr. Allen said. Instead of the local group dealing with claims, they were passed to "some sort of an assessor at Newcastle. . . Under private enterprise, if we did have a claim, we went direct to the haulier and got it settled at once. All industrialists are looking forward to the day when you private hauliers are free to carry our goods without restriction." Mr. H. L. Walker, Northern Area, chairman, stated that if free operators ran alongside the State transport undertaking, they would give more efficient service at far less cost.