"End the Sectiona Approach Transport"
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Sir Reginald Wilson's Plea at Institute of Transport Congress: Strong Demand for Better Roads pUBLIC transport suffered more than almost any other commercial community from the disease of sectionalism, Sir Reginald Wilson, comptroller of the British Transport Commission, told the Institute of Transport Congress in Glasgow last week. If that disease could be wiped out it would be a good thing not only for the customer, but for the operator. Members of the public were becoming tired of transpon's civil war.
"Let us not imagine that sectionalism of this kind between very large groups that have monopolies -behind them is the equivalent of full and fair competition," said the speaker. It would be useful to think of public transport as a whole with a view to promoting a less partisan approach to the matter.
Highly organized and regular public services accounted for over half the total transport of the country. Such services were essential to the country's existence and the community had to organize for them and protect them.
There was no easy or spectacular solution of public transport problems. Certainly, neither complete public monopoly nor wholesale private competition, taken by itself, would provide the answer.
£809m. Spent on Transport
The total expenditure on British transport in 1951 he estimated as £809m., road having a rather bigger share than rail in that sum. In round figures, about £13 per head per annum was spent in London and about £4 elsewhere, bringing in £158m. gross receipts to the urban and suburban passenger networks. National services, which represented Mint, were the kind that most needed regulation. With £327m. receipts, irregular services offered ample scope for enterprise among small units.
In the dozen instances where railways in Britain had a large stake in the transport of a dense population, the problems were so great that all arms of transport needed to work together. In many cases of country passenger services the road operators had a virtual monopoly. Looked at from outside the industry, many long-distance coach services appeared to be highly competitive but, for excellent reasons, they were in fact operated on the lines of cartels.
In the past year or so, the licensing system had shown distinct signs of cracking. It was a bad thing if the law of the country was not observed and if, in fact, one did not know what the law was. At the moment, competition between rail and long-distance coaches was on price, but it was an artificial price, because with the railways, as in any regulated public service, it was necessary to average costs over a fairly wide field.
Sir Reginald said he had put coal and heavy traffics in the area of unregulated transport and if a monopoly existed it B6 25 per cent, of vehicles were concentrated in the hands of 1 per cent. of hauliers, whilst the next 10 per cent. were owned by another l per cent. of operators. Thus, it was not true that long-distance road haulage was the exclusive preserve of the small man.
Mr. E. R. L. Fitzpayne (Glasgow Corporation) thought it wrong that municipal operators should be confined to the corporation area. He viewed it as unfortunate that power for West Bridgford to operate contract carriages should have been denied by the House of Lords. Municipal operators appreciated the way in which the British Electric Traction organization had protested against the iniquitous tax on vehicle fuel. Had they enjoyed the support of the nationalized operators, the scales might have been tipped in their favour.
Mr. R. W. Birch, chairman of the Potteries Motor Traction Co., Ltd., and director of other B.E.T. companies, observed that Sir Reginald Wilson had endeavoured to give a balanced picture, but, nevertheless, appeared to look upon railways as the chosen instrument of long-distance travel.
Traffic a Living Organism Sir Reginald's paper (summarized in The Commercial Motor last week) rather suggested that traffic could be apportioned between various sections of the industry. Traffic was a living organism which could be cultivated. grown and even killed. It could not be assumed that new activities would tend to choke existing forms. Most privatehire work was genuine, but he thought that problems had been created by unfortunate and perverse decisions of the courts.
Operators of large bus fleets regarded the small man as a useful spur to local managements. Where a business was so big as to be unique, neither the concern in question, nor the customers, had any means for measuring its performance.
Whether the country had to have railways or not was the first problem to be solved, said Mr. M. F. Barnard. transport officer of the British Iron and Steel Federation. If they were to remain, consideration should be given to the basic system to be employed. The 1953 Act had put the railways in a competitive position. The C-licensee had the advantage of carrying assured traffic with his own vehicles, but, at the same time, of being able to compel other organizations to deal with the difficult loads.
Although coal was home produced, oil was now of outstanding importance to the national revenue, said Mr. A. Hardie (Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd.). It was true that crude oil was brought into the country, but the amount of refioed 'oil exported was infinitely greater than , the tonnage Of coal, The ancient
philosophy behind Sir Reginald's suggestion that the oil-fuel tax was a proper contribution to general revenue, and that coal should be placed in a special position, ought to have been buried years ago.
Tax on oil fuel today was not a legitimate charge on the industry, coinmcnted Mr. J. Amos, chairman of the Scottish Omnibuses Group. Unless it was reduced or eliminated it would be necessary to withdraw unremunerativc and border-line bus services.
The time was coming when the future extent of railways would have to be decided. Given the right conditions, long-distance coaches could be run at very low fares.
In replying to the discussion, Sir Reginald said that he was without bias, never having been employed by road or rail and having gone direct to the Commission. He did not regard the railways as the chosen instrument for longdistance travel, but thought it would be stupid to kill them where they would be economic.
Licences might be impermanent, as had been suggested by Mr. Birch, but they had proved extrerriely durable in practice. How many individual bus licences had been withdrawn since they were first granted?
Pilot Motor Road Would Prove its Worth
WHAT effect a specially built motor VV road would have on a busy route was not known with certainty, said Dr. W. H. Glanville, director of road research, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. lf properly sited, it would undoubtedly speed up the flow, generating new and profitable traffic. Dr. Glanville said he would like one such road to be built as soon as possible and he would be surprised if it did not prove not only its own value, but also the need to build further motor roads.
By a process of roughening stone-sett surfaces at four junctions in Glasgow, the accident rate had been reduced by two-thirds. At the zebra pedestrian crossings, white sections should be smooth and the black of rough surface, because under certain lighting con ditions it was the texture that showed up, and not the colours.
Demonstrating, with the aid of diagrams, the variation of average braking standards for different types of vehicle, Dr. Glanville urged the desirability of common operating standards for all.
More improvements could be incor porated in commercial vehicles if the authorities would give a little more latitude in the matter of weight, said Mr. H. H. Crow (Crow Carrying Co., Ltd.).
' During the ensuing discussion it was urged that the behaviour of road users was more important than the state of the roads themselves.
With regard to a reference about Glasgow's traffic moving slower than London's, Mr. Fitzpayne said they would like to know something of densities and cross-river communications. Glasgow had been trying to obtain a new bridge that would divert certain traffic from the congested area but they had been sidetracked by the Government. Glasgow was likely to keep its trams for some time to come.
Replying to the discussion, Dr.
Glanville said that as intersections had to exist, they must be made as efficient as possible. He thought it quite probable that where Glasgow traffic speeds were lower than in London, the block system of building layout, with its frequent cross-roads, might be responsible.
He welcomed a suggestion that his department should maintain close con tact with groups of road users, discussing matters with them as they did with motor manufacturers, tyre makers and others.
Dr. Glanville did not think that concrete roads were a thing of the past; that form of construction would be used for motor roads. Automatic road-making machines produced since the war had achieved such good results, however, that it was difficult for the jointed concrete road to compete. The cost of a modern dual-carriageway road might at the present time average about £250,000 a mile.
Dr. Glanville thought that the finest way to get the 20 m.p.h. speed limit changed was to cause the police to enforce it—a situation that would leave nobody satisfied.
Treasury Must Pay Up
lk/TANY users could not dismiss from al their minds the idea that the money contributed by road operators should be used to provide roads, said Mr. C. T. Brunner, president. The Treasury must disgorge some of the money that had been received for the purpose.
He thought that Dr. Glanville showed extreme moderation in wanting only one motor road. Mr. Brunner said he would like to see the building of the 1.000 miles of motor roads that were promised seven years ago. The estimated cost of a bridge over the Firth of Forth—It 3,500,000—could be met in a fortnight from the present road taxes if they were devoted to the perpose for which they were fundamentally intended.