STRIKE THREAT IN SCOTLAND
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ASTRIKE of bus workers is threatened in Scotland as a result of the dispute which has arisen between the Scottish Motor Traction Co., Ltd., and its employees on the question of better wages and conditions.
Following the recent delegate conference of the Transport and General Workers' Union, in Edinburgh, at which the company's offer of increased wages and longer holidays was rejected as inadequate, all the Lanarkshire branches of the Union have decided to call for a strike ballot on the question.
Thecompany offered to increase the wages of conductresses by id. per hour, and to increase the rates of conductors, over 22 years of age, by id. per hour. Drivers would receive at least id. more an hour, whilst the general levelling-up of wages, in the Northern areas of Scotland, would mean an increase of icl. per hour on the present scales. The company also offered an increase in the annual holiday period from eight to ten days with pay.
The employees, however, are demanding a wage of is. 6d. per hour for drivers; an increase, to Is. 2d. per hour, for conductors over 22 years of age; a rate of 11d, per hour for conductresses; and 14 days' annual holiday with pay.
COMMON EMPLOYMENT DOCTRINE JUDGMENT.
JUDGMENT was delivered recently in the House of Lords upon the appeal to decide whether Ribble Motor Services, Ltd„ of Preston, was respon
E118 sible for the death of one of its drivers who was accidentally killed by another driver, also in its employ.
The chief point for decision was whether the doctrine of common employment applied. The appeal, which was against a judgment of the Court of Appeal reversing an award by Mr. Justice Hawke, at Liverpool Assizes, of 21,589 8s. 6d. and £500 for loss of expectation of life, to the widow, was heard by Lord Atkin, Lord Macmillan and Lord Wright.
The widow had been given leave to appeal to the House of Lords as a poor person, but she had died shortly before the appeal was heard.
The appeal was allowed with costs. Lord Atkin. giving judgment, said that Mr. Justice Hawke found, on the facts, that the doctrine of common employment did not preclude the widow from recovering damages and with this he agreed. Judgments were delivered by Lord Macmillan and Lord Wright agreeing with Lord Atkin, and the judgment of Mr. Justice Hawke was restored.
SCOTTISH BUS MERGER SANCTIONED.
A PPROVAL of a Highland bus I—trnerger was given at a sitting of the Northern Scotland Traffic Commissioners, in Inverness, last week. It was intimated that the Highland Transport Co., Ltd., had acquired the business conducted by Mr. George S. Begg in the Wick and Thurso area, and, with two exceptions, the licences held by Mr. Begg were transferred to this operator. The other two applications were adjourned, on the grounds that they had not been lodged in time.
SALFORD SOLID FOR BUSES
BV an overwhelming majority, Salford Town Council has voted for buseS and the gradual abandonment of tram services. An amendment, that trolleybuses be introduced, received only two votes.
In its report, the. transport committee explained that its undertaking was not self-contained, as neighbouring authorities, which used buses, had interrunning facilities. Hence the introduction of a system of trolleybuses, that would entail provision of expensive overhead equipment in those other areas, was undesirable. The report added that it was desirable to secure, so far as possible, the advantages of standardization in one form of transport.
'Mere was some criticism of Swinton and Pendlebury Council, it being alleged that it had shown preference to outside operators, by conceding to them facilities which Salford had had to buy out at considerable expense.
• JOINT WORKING PRODUCES PROFITS OF £22,810.
PROFITS of 222,816 will be available for constituent authorities in Burnley, Colne and Nelson joint transport undertaking, as a result of the past financial year's working. Burnley will receive £13,547, Colne 2.3,565 and Nelson £5,704. The whole amount, however, will not be available for the relief of rates, for each authority is still meeting annual loan charges on outstanding debts incurred before the formation of the joint committee.
Burnley's charges amount to £7,227, leaving a balance of £6,320. The amount received by Colne and Nelson will not meet the sum required. With £6,861 to find, Colne still needs £3,296 when it has received its share, whilst Nelson's profits will be only £187 more than required to meet loan charges.
The profits in 1937-8, for distribution, amounted to £24,954, of which Burnley received 214,816, Colne £3,899 and Nelson 26,861.
BUS TRAVEL POPULAR IN IRELAND.
SPEAKING at the annual general meeting of the Great Southern Railways. Ireland, held in Dublin, last week, Sir Walter Nugent, chairman of the company, said that the popularity of bus travel still continued to increase, the company's receipts, for 1938, establishing a record.
The number of passengers Carried amounted to 25,742,778, an increase of 705,123 compared with 1937. The total figure of gross receipts was £629,212, an increase of £18,884 over 1937.
During the year under review, the company had put into service 35 new buses and further reorganization in the method of construction and repairing of the company's vehicles had been effected, so that the efficiency of the road services would be still further increased this year.
GLASGOW TROLLEYBUS REPORT
THE sub-committee which was set up by Glasgow Corporation to inquire into the investigation, by the officials of the department, of trolleybus operation before the presentation of the report on the subject. to the corporation, had a meeting with the general manager on Monday last. The convener, Councillor William Reid, afterwards stated that the committee was satisfied with the information given by Mr. R. F. Smith, transport manager, on the specific points which were raised by Councillor Victor D. Warren.
It was brought out, in conference, that the annual report of the London Passenger Transport Board was not available when the manager's report was submitted. The London report was not issued until a fortnight after the question was before the corporation.
Councillor Warren said that the further information supplied by the manager, in reply to his inquiries, gave a more favourable impression of the operation of the trolleybus in England, and he indicated that he hoped, in due course, to have the question of a Glasgowexperiment reopened.
CHANGE-OVER FROM TRAMS TO BUSES IN DARWEN.
ACHANGE-OVER from trams to buses, in Darwen, -is within sight, 4nd this may affect the Blackburn section of the tram route because the two authorities have joint running arrangements. It was reported to Darwen Town Council that a special transport committee had considered the future of municipal transport, together with reports of the borough treasurer and traffic superintendent, and it decided to recommend the transport committee to make the change during the next 12 months. It was recommended that the changeover should come into operation on April I, 1940.
RAILWAY ATTITUDE OF "ARROGANT SELFISHNESS."
THE social advantages of road travel over rail travel were stressed during the hearing, at Birmingham last week, of a railway appeal against a decision of the West Midland Traffic Commissioners in favour of the continuation of a Birmingham road service to North Wales holiday resorts.
Mr. Burrell-Davis, for Stockland Garage, of Erdington, Birmingham, accused the Great Western Railway of wanting to monopolize the holiday traffic between Birmingham and Bala, Dolgelley and 33armouth, the resorts which Stockland Garage had been authorized to continue to serve for weekly holidays from July 29 until September 2.
" Arrogant selfishness " was Mr. Burrell-Davis's description of the railway attitude. He submitted that there were many people who, if they could not go by road, would not go at all.
" I think," said Mr. Burrell-Davis, " that it should be recognized, just as a human fact that, to a certain class of person, road travel is more desirable and more interesting. They are a party from start to finish. It is impossible to get that happy and cheerful companionship on railway journeys."
"Why not? " remarked Mr. M. L. Dix, for the railway company.
"I am going to tell you,"
replied Mr. Burrell-Davis. " With passengers getting in and out at the different stopping places the atmosphere is constantly being changed.and any party spirit broken up."
Mr. Dix submitted that the railway facilities were adequate to meet the public need.
Mr. Burrell-Davis countered this with a definition of adequate in the terms: "Commensurate with. prevailing tastes." It was not questioned that the railway facilities were adequate for those who wanted to use the railway, but the public had the right to express a reasonable choice,
BLACKBURN MAKES A--PROFIT OF £3,421.
T"profit for the past financial year on Blackburn's bus undertaking was £3,421, and the estimated profit for the year 1939-40 is given at ,t1,495.
OBJECTION TO PLACING CONTRACTS IN ENGLAND.
OBJECTIONS to the allocation of bus body contracts with concerns in England, were raised at a meeting of Glasgow Corporation last week. The supply of bodies for 57 buses had been under consideration by the transport committee, and in connection with the proposed contracts a deputation from the National Union of Vehicle Builders was heard by the corporation. The spokesmen urged that a share of the contracts should be placed with Glasgow builders. Unemployment in the vehicle-building industry in Glasgow and the West of Scotland, it was pointed out, was greater during the past winter. Many concerns in the West of Scotland were quite capable of handling the work.
It was also emphasized that wages and conditions in England were inferior to those under the Scottish wage agreement. A letter on the subject was also read from Cowieson and Co., Ltd., of Glasgow, in which surprise was expressed that at least part of the contract had not been placed with it.
Councillor William S. Reid, convener of the transport committee, who moved approval of the minute, asked that the contract for Metropolitan CamineilWeymann Motor Bodies, Ltd., be adjourned for a fortnight in order that a statement made by the deputation could be considered, and this was agreed to.
The contracts placed with R. Y. Pickering and Co., Ltd,, of Wishaw, and with the English Electric Co., Ltd., of Preston, were approved.
BRITAIN'S BIGGEST FOUR-WHEELED BUSES
AN order has been placed by Coventry Corporation for four of the largest capacity all-metal bus bodies ever built on a four-wheeled chassis in this country.
The bodies will be built by Brush Coachwork, Ltd., of Loughborough, and whilst each will accommodate 60 passengers, the full laden weight of the vehicles will be within 10itons, as stipulated by the regulations laid down by the Ministry of Transport.
OLDHAM NOT TO HAVE TROLLEYBUSES.
AFTER a debate lasting an hour and a half, Oldham Town Council has reaffirmed its resolutions to give the passenger transport committee approval to pursue its policy and programme, which was in favour of the introduction of buses as opposed to trolleybuses. The question as to whether the buses are to have oil, engines or not, will be decided later.
The Mayor: "I hope we have now heard the last of that issue. It should not have been raised again; it resulted merely in a waste of the council's time."
BUS SERVICE THROUGH MERSEY TUNNEL?
N"T week Merseyside Co-ordination Committee will consider the voluminous report which has been compiled by Messrs. Arthur Collins, Frank Pick and A. R. Fearnley, who were appointed to examine the public transport services of Merseyside and to furnish recommendations. They think that the time is not propitious for setting up a transport board for the Merseyside area, on the lines of the London Passenger Transport Board.
Their conclusions embrace the following points:—
(11 That a co-ordination scheme it needed and that it should be brought into operation upon a voluntary and advisory basis.
(2) That, under present conditions, the time is trot propitious for establishing a Merseyside Transport Board 021 the lines of the London Passenger Transport Beard. Reliance should, therefore, be placed upon voluntary measures in the hope that they may be stifEcieney effective. 131 That, subject to co-ordination arrangements being made an the lines indicated in this report, in matters of common interest, all local services on each side of the river should remain
under the jurisdiction of the present authorities.
(4) That the co-ordinating body should encourage every tendency to reach the greatest possible degree of standardization of the fares and stages of the various undertakings, and to promote through-bookings widely, especially il buses be MR through the tunnel.
151 That, gradually, the co-ordinating body should substitute co-operative working and joint time tables over larger areas, instead of allocating relatively small local districts to one operator. (6) That the co-ordinating plan should encourage free movement of traffic from various points on one side of the river, to various appropriate points on the other, via the tunnel and/or terry. (7) That the most urgent need for co-ordination lies in the management of crass-river services, and that a trial be given to a tunnel bus service, to be. undertaken at once, in a scheme to be prepared for, and submitted to, the Traffic Comonstioners.
181 That the transport services to, and in. certain outlying districts, be specially considered by the co-ordinating body, in order to examine the case for through train or bus services and for internal services not. otherwise obtainable.
19) That l3irkenhead and Wallasey Corpora tires be invited to consider the advantages of a joint undertaking to cover their respectivi districts.