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The Motor Omnibus World.

8th February 1906
Page 2
Page 2, 8th February 1906 — The Motor Omnibus World.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Members and associates of the Society o Motor Omnibus Engineers arc requested to note that Dr. Ormandy's paper has been postponed to Monday, the 19th instant ; no meeting will be held on Monday next.

The preliminary steps for the formation of a motor omnibus company at Clacton-on-Sea are well advanced, and it is understood that the promoters will purchase several Leyland omnibuses. Some smaller ones will also be wanted.

Mr. J. Walker Smith, the borough engineer and surveyor of Barrow-in-Furness, will be pleased to consider any proposals or particulars with regard to motor omnibuses. As matters stand, the Corporation of Barrow-in-Furness has obtained Parliamentary powers for the construction of a tramway over the new bridge to Walney Island, but, as this bridge will not be completed for nearly two years, there is plenty of time for motor-omnibus advocates to substantiate their claims before any rails are laid down.

A Hint to Proprietors.

The motor omnibus has many attractions for the Londoner. It is speedy, compact, and clean. Yet there remains one disadvantage as compared with the ordinary omnibus, and that is the difficulty one experiences either in. getting on or getting off.

Londoners have been accustomed for years to performing the daily feat of boarding a moving omnibus. It is not a very difficult thing to do when the vehicle is drawn by two equine somnambulists. But now we have the roaring, rushing motorcar, which apparently never stops—unless it is to turn the passenger out on account of a breakdown—and never pauses to add to its passenger freight. The driver, with tense face, clings desperately to the lever, while the conductor, deliciously obl 'cos to the a/ fresco performances of importunate pedes trians, is lost in a whirl of thought, mainly arising from a sense of smug satisfaction that they " are passing omnibus after omnibus. The poor horse isn't in it—neither is the pedestrian. Once upon a time the writer managed te board a motor omnibus, and the motion, as one was carried swiftly through a maze of vehicular traffic, was certainly pleasant and invigorating. With the approach of his destination, however, a nervous dread seized him, for it seemed that the car would never stop or even slacken its speed. Now and then an obstreperous mincart or a languid dray would compel it to ease up—but only for a second. The hope-inspired passenger is half-way down the steps, when, with a nimble and a swish, the petrol chariot is off once more at such a pace that it would appear sacrilegious to slacken. It requires the nerve of a man of marked individuality to summon up enough courage to ask the conductor to signal for a stoppage. The man may be willing, even courteous—but the motor is not. It slows down in an irritable way, barely waits for you to touch ground with one foot, and then rushes off again, leaving you 500 yards from your destination but relieved on having reached terra firma once more.

To one who is an enthusiastic admirer of mechanical methods of propulsion the sequel is saddening. Having patiently awaited the arrival of a horsed omnibus, it is utilised to recover the 500 yards gratuitously dispensed by the exuberant motor.

It is a matter for wonder how anybody ever gets on a motor omnibus, for a merely superficial observer cannot help noticing the numerous failures to board one as it passes. Indeed, only a highly trained acrobat with an iron constitution could hope to accomplish this feat.

No doubt the companies will take steps to obviate the necessity for the public becoming trained athletes by appointing regular and reasonably frequent stopping-stations, where their motorbuses may be entered without risk to one's dignity and limbs.—" Westminster Gazette."

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