MUNICIPAL BUSES IN LANCASHIRE TOWNS.
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Brief Details of the Road Motor Facilities Provided by thb Corporations of Bury and Rawtenstall.
ALTHOUGII the Bury Corporation was empowered to operate motoromnibus services within the borough in .1909, over 16 years went by before the tramways committee decided to put its powers into effect and to use buses forpassenger transport in the town. Like so many other boroughs, Bury, with a population of approximately 59,000 and growing ontaide districts, has found that
buses had to take a place in the municipal transport system, and three districts have now been linked up with the centre, the starting points of all the routes being Kay Gardens, which are within a minute's walk of the shopping parts of the town. The tramways cam mittee has also resolved to seek further powers for omnibus operation.
A start was made' with a service to 'vValshaw in February last, and the other routes were established as vehicles were delivered. The total length of routes at present covered is approximately seven miles, all of them being within the borough boundaries. The ' average fare charged is at the rate .75d. per mile, and the routes are divided into penny stages.
The present fleet consists of four 30 h.p. Leylands on pneumatics. The vehicles have front entrances and are all of the one-man-operated pattern. Two of the veltieles provide a 20-minute service on the Walshaw run., One of the others runs to Ainsworth every 45 minutes, whilst a similar schedule is worked between Brandlesholme, Bury Centre and Heywood Street.
A further bus is on order, the purchase of which has been considered essential in order to maintain a maximum service and to allow for proper attention being given to the buses, which have at present to work every day for 18 hours, except Sundays, when a later start is made than during the week.
These buses were not the first municipally owned vehicles to be run in Bury, for a service connecting that toWn with Rawteristall, via Edenfield, a distance of eight miles, has been run by the Rawtenstall Corporation for a considerable time. This Authority kas held powers to operate motor-omnibus services both inside and outside its own borough since 1907, and exercised its powers from 1908 to 1910, when the service was discontinued. Soon after the war, however, buses were again purehased.
The fleet of tire Rawtenstall authorities is also chiefly composed of Leyland vehicles, eight of them being 40-seatee single-deckers of the driver-beside-engine type. These buses are shod with cushion tyres, but another Leyland with a 36-seater body, on a similar chassis, is mounted on pneumatic tyres. The two pioneer vehicles of the post-war corporation services are 26-seater singledeck Thornycrofts on solid tyres.
• Some six years ago a new tram depot was constructed and a portion of the older tram shed has now been allocated to the buses. This is situated within 250 yds. of the tram and bus centre.
Two other routes, besides that to Bury, are worked, making a total of about 13 route miles. Orie runs to Burnley Summit, connecting there with the Burnley Corporation tramways, whilst another runs to Nowchurch.
The buses start early and finish late, and a 30-minute service is maintained after midday between Burnley Summit,
encloses the opening; the height of the first slip from ground level makes for safe and easy entrance to and exit from the interior.
The seating is arranged on conventional lines. The seats all face in the forward direction, each of them aecommo Rawten stall and Bury. Additional buses are run on the Summit section, and also to Edenfield, where connection is made with the trolley-buses 'worked by the Ramsbottom Corporation:
By the issue of joint tickets an allocation of takings is made with Bury in respect of passengers carried over the tram route of that authority between Walraersley anti the town.
Rawtenstall has recently been faced with competition from a private omnibus company, whose buses also run over one of its tramway routes ; vehicles similar to th'ose of the corporation are used. In addition to the usual destination indicators a large letter " C," which is illuminated at night (denoting " Coeporation "), has been fitted to the front of the Rawtenstall buses.