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How BUSES
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ARE REPLACING TRAMS
in the city of Leeds
THE great progress made in recent years by the bus section of Leeds Corporation's transport department (culminating in the pending replacement of certain tramways by bus services) is all the more noteworthy in that for many years Leeds was regarded as a "tramcar stronghold."
The gradual development of municipal transport operation in Leeds, where the general manager' is Mr. W. Vane Morlancl, A.M.I.Mech.E., M.Inst.T., is typical of the way in which buses have proved their value in many towns, and falls into several well-defined stages : (1) The use of buses purely as feeders to the trams; (2) the inauguration of inter-suburban services by buses ; (3) the use of buses on new city-to-suburb basic radial routes ; (4) the replacement of tramcars by buses on certain routes.
The first buses introduced by Leeds Corporation were brought into operaE46
tion as early as 1906. Until about 1922, however, such vehicles were used purely as feeders to the trams, Shadwell, Old Farnley and Middleton being connected with the . nearest points On the tramways System.
The second stage w a s reached in 1922, when an Old Famley-Willow Road service was started, which has since been extended to Hyde Park. Many other services linking up the suburbs have followed.
The service from York Road, via Harehills, Chapeltown, Meanwood and Headingley to Kirkstall, thence forking to Wortley and Stanningley, forms a complete semicircle around the northern half of the city.
The north-eastern outer suburbs are linked by the VVhitldrk-Moortown route, via Crossgates, Foundry Lane and Oakwood. The southern districts are served by the Bramley-WortleyHunslet-Woodhouse Hill service and the Beeston-Middleton route. These inter-suburban services receive extensive patronage and are becoming of increasing importance, owing to the tendency of manufacturers to build new factories away from the centre of the city.
The third stage commenced in 1927. New districts were growing up all around the city and the question of providing direct transport facilities to the city centre arose. '
Until 1925, all such new facilities had been provided by tram services, but it was now decided to use buses on these basic -services. In 1927, services from the city to Allwoodley, East End Park, Hollin Park and Horsforth were commenced and, in 1928, services to Shadwell and to Otley and Burley (twin towns in Wharfedale about a dozen miles distant) followed.
In 1930, a limited-stop service to Bradford was started jointly with Bradford Corporation, but this is still the only joint route worked by the department. Other radial services now operated include those to Pudsey, Cookridge, New Farnley and Moortown (Nursery Lane).
Last year a service to Gledhow was commenced, which has proved so successful that the original single-deckers have been superseded by double-deck vehicles. The frequency on these services varies, the maximum rush-hour headway being four-five minutes on the Scott Hall Road section of the Moortown service.
The bus system has now a greater route-mileage than the tramways, the respective figures being 100 and 70. The tramcars and buses together, last year, ran 16,000,000 miles and carried 164,000,000 passengers.
When the developments in the fourth stage of bus operation have been carried out, the numbers of tramcars and buses in use will be more nearly equal, as it is understood that anout 70 tramcars will be replaced by motor vehicles.
The Traffic Commissioners have approved the application for a licence to run buses on the circular route from the city to Belle View Road, Hyde Park, Woodhouse Street, and back to the city, and the trams were withdrawn on February 1.
It is also interesting to note that a Hyde Park-City bus will run via Camp Road every half an hour, deviating from the usual route. This additional facility has been .made possible only by the use of buses.
Aneven more extensive tram-replacement programme will shortly be carried out. The tramcars now running to Guiseley (11 miles from Leeds) will terminate at Kirkstall and be substituted by buses. The corporation's other long-distance tram routes, to Tingley and Bruntcliffe, via Morley, are to be similarly dealt with.
It is interesting to note that when the bus section was regarded as purely secondary to the tramways, heavy. losses were sustained, but since it assumed primary importance the section has shown a profit. Leeds Corporation's bus fleet consists of the following 117 vehicles :— Double-deckers (48-56-seaters), A.E.C., 26; Dennis, 25; Leyland, 10; Crossley, 7. Single-deckers (32-seaters), Dennis, 21; Harrier, 5; A.E.C., 6; Crossley, 4.
All the single-deckers have petrol engines, but five double-deckers are equipped with oil units—one Leyland, two A.E.C-s, and two Crossleys (one with a Gardner oil engine). Two A.E.C. Q-type vehicles are operated, one of them having an oil engine. The development of oil-engined vehicles in Leeds has suffered by reason of the fact that this type of bus accommodates about four passengers fewer than a petrol vehicle, and in that city it is necessary to have as many seats as possible available for rush-hour traffic. Nevertheless, the experience of the department with its present oilengined machines has been sufficiently successful to warrant the purchase of further oilers, and six Guy-Gardner double-deckers will soon be delivered.
The single-deck buses have been ex
tensively used in the past for " pioneering " new services, but they are now used only on four routes. The " longdistance " Leeds-Otley and LeedsBurley routes are served by wellappointed A.E.C. Regals.
The inter-suburban service from York Road to Whingate, Wortley, has to be operated by single-deckers on account of a low railway bridge, and the Whitkirk-Moortown section, linking up an area which is not yet fully developed, at present needs only singledeck vehicles. On the other routes the single-deck buses are used only for quiet runs and for duplication.
The policy of the corporation now Is to purchase only double-deckers.
In addition to the maintenance of the bus fleet itself, the bus section looks after about 50 other special-purpose vehicles operated by the city transport department. These include 10 vans for the corporation's parcels service, breakdown vehicles and lorries.
All the buses are garaged and all the transport department's vehicles are maintained at the Donisthorpe Street garage, which is being extended. This is under the control of Mr. Parkinson, the motor vehicle superintendent The maintenance system is as follows :—Daily inspection, v,.‘tith attention to brakes, lubrication, etc.
Dock overhaul every 5,000 miles. The upholstery is thoroughly cleaned, and the body soap-washed.
Dock overhaul every 10,000 miles. In addition to the 5,000-mile dock jobs, cylinder heads are removed and thoroughly overhauled. At intervals the major units are changed. Any component requiring attention at each dock is dealt with by a special section.
The thorough maintenance system has resulted in an extremely low petrolconsumption figure—equal to 6.2 m.p.g.