PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
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JJARROGATE is ahealth resort which has as rivals the Continental 'spas; and, 'as foreign cimpetitien enters into the Matter of attracting visitors, it is important that every effort should be made to consider, so far as it is possible, everything which •affects the amenities of the town With regartl to the attraction of well-to-do individuals who would otherwise. seek alleviation or cures for their ailments abroad.. The medicinal wells and baths are of importance to the town, but, in addition to the sick who visit Harrogate, there are many who go there because of the northern spa's
attractions as a social centre. .
In both cases,however, it is the wealthy patron that. Harrogate wishes to attract, and for that reason every care is given to cultivate an air of refinement. The natural beauties of the town and district are preserved, and in the :town itself every source of annoyance to visitors of the type which it is desired to attract . is removed. The drastic steps _taken to discourage motor-coach parties is a concrete example of what is done in this direction. There is no tramway service and the passenger transport services of the town are in private hands, but they are carefully controlled by the corporation.
Recently there was a proposal, before the public for the corporation to take over some portions of the passenger transport services, and it was proposed to incorporate clauses to this effect in a Parliamentary Bill. This matter was so keenly contested, however, that, just before Christmas, it was decided to drop that portion of the Bill, and it may be assumed that the public in general is satisfied with the services provided by private enterprise. In addition to running regular omnibus routes the Parlia
mentary Bill was so worded, however, • that it is likely that it would have enabled pleasure parties to have been car. ried by motor coaches in the summer.
In the absence of tramway services in the district road transport by motor vehicle is as highly developed in Harrogate as in any centre in the North of England, and, in addition to a good service between various parts of the town and the outlying districts, it is possible to travel to all the surrounding towns by road, Kn.aresborough, Pateley Bridge, Ripon, Leeds and Otley, all being served, whilst special services are put on to meet the needs of smaller centres at the week-ends.
Formerly Station Square was an important stopping-places for buses in the centre of the town, but early last year the corporation took up the matter, arid now what might almost be described as
an omnibus station has been arranged on roads round three sides of the site set apart for a new Town Hall. Victoria Avenue, Station Parade and Albert Street, are all used by passenger vehicles running on regular services, and at certain times there is an almost continuous line a buses sandcoaches round the site. Uniform notice boards, giving indications of the destination of the vehicles, are fixed on the inside edge of the footpath, and in Victoria Avenue, where the vehicles draw up, to the rails enclosing the land, and where the footpath is inside the mile spaces have been made in the railings to allow the passengers to get through to the footpath.
Inside the rails time-table boards
have been fixed for the various services, and as all the buses and coaches come along Victoria Avenue and keep the Town Hall site on their left., later passing to their destination without the necessity for turning round, the passengers, when waiting for a bus, or when leaving one, have no necessity for crossing the road, and there is no confusion when vehicles draw out.
Two very old companies are engaged in omnibus and motor coach work in Harrogate, these being the Harrogate Road Car Co. and the Harrogate Carriage Co., and we believe it. is a fact-that in the town mechanical road vehicles are now used by some owners who have a direct link with the days when stage coaches were employed. Another conspony who run services into Harrogate, although their headquarters for serving this district are at Ripon, are the United Automobile Services, Ltd., a company whose interests are manifold and whr.se activities spread to many parts of the country. This by no means exhausts the list of those concerns interested in passenger travel developments in the district.. For instance, the Bilton Motor Co. operate vehicles over certain routes, and Brown's Transport Co. run vehicles front Knareaborough-in competition with Harrogate owners on the two routes to Kna,reshoraugh. An Otley owner runs in competition with the Harrogate Carriage Co. on the 11-mile run to Otley, while a Leeds company run from private ground at Oatlands—a short distance from the centre of the town—into Leeds.
The vehicles in use are as varied as c38
the companies interested, but, on the whole, the passenger-carrying vehicles in use are smart and distinctive. The United Automobile Services, Ltd., use Daimler coaches shod with giant pneumatic tyres, whilst the Harrogate Road Car Co. are concentrating on the use of Karriers. The Harrogate Carriage Co.. have a mixed fleet in which small Fiats predominate while the Hilton Motor Co. use Leyland saloon buses.
With the variety of interests involved and the fact that two companies run vehicles on the same route in more cases than one it will he realized that there can he little possibility of profiteering. A special feature is made of return fares at reduced rates, and on the Pateley
Bridge route the return fare or a 3mile journey—which takes in a number of villages—is 2s. 8d., while on the Otley route the return fare for the 22mile journey is 2s. On the latter route weekly passes are issued for the full journey or between intermediate points.
The North-Eastern Railway Co., now the London and North-Pastern Co., have important works at Starbeck, near Harrogate. Their interests are much affected by the multiplicity of road services, and it is interesting to note that they are putting to test between Harrogate and Knareslaorough a new type of rail saloon coach fitted with a six-cylinder petrol engine of the Ricardo type, which drives through a Westinghouse electric system. The engine ls of a type similar to :those used in the largest Tanks during the war. There are controls at both ends of the rail coach, and during tests it is stated that the vehicle attained a speed of 52 miles per hour.