Summaries of road transport papers presented at the U.I.T.P. Congress this wee
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Forward Thinking at Vienna
Separation of Public and Private Transport THE need for, and means of, separation of public transport from other traffic were examined in a paper presented by Prof. Dipl.-Ing. A. BockemOhl, of Stuttgart, and Dr. F. Bandi, of Berne, under the auspices of the International Traffic Committee.
It appeared that the staggering development of motor transport, and in particular private cars, was an aspect of a problem of historical evolution which would continue. An estimate of the number of cars in West Germany indicated that the 1962 figures would be doubled by about 1968 and be trebled by 1977.
The business people in the town centre must bear in mind the fact that the motor traffic which enters represents the "purchasing traffic ", and we had the apparent paradox that future car traffic in the town centre must be restricted to enable it to be maintained. • The parking space required for a car, allowing for space to manceuvre, was approximately 22 sq. m. and the car carried on average 1-5, and at peak hours 1-9 passengers. This meant that the space required to park the car corresponded to the average area its occupants required when at work. Universal use of private cars would mean the provision of a multi-storey garage of the same size as, and in close proximity to, each multi-storey office block, which was clearly impractical.
The private commuter traffic which makes use of public parking spaces on a long-term basis must make room for the shopper who only parks for a short time. The areas in the town centres which can be made available to pedestrians and from which motor vehicles were to be banned, are not large; parking space must therefore be provided in the immediate vicinity. For this reason, multi-storey car parks must be situated on the city ring roads where they could be easily reached by the vehicles.
The authors reviewed the part to be played by various forms of public transport, estimating the capacity on each section to be between 6,000 and 12,000 passengers per hour for railways; 40,000 passengers per hour for underground railways; 24,000 passengers per hour for underground tramways; 16,000 to 18,000 passengers per hour for tramways, and 5,000 passengers per hour for motorbuses. These figures referred to each direction.
It appeared that the car is the representative of an altered way of life which is more obvious to the eye than any other. This transformation of the whole of social life had been in preparation for a long time and it was only recently that it had come to public notice. A French political economist, Fourastie, estimated that the final result would be that 80 per cent of all wage and salary workers would be employed in undertakings providing services (banking, a38 commerce, transport, insurance, real estate, and domesti and public services) and only 10 per cent each in agricul Lure and industry. In France and Germany today, th " services " group represented 35 per cent of the total, an in the U.S.A. it represented 60 per cent.
The separation of public from private transport gay punctuality, higher speeds and regularity to the former, an additional road space and the alleviation of traffic con gestion to the latter.
Horizontal separation implied special rights-of-way fo trams or special lanes for buses. It was only relativel; seldom that the latter could be used. Either the specia lane was placed in the centre of the road, where the bu must be overtaken on the right (with a keep-to-the-righ rule of the road) and passengers had to walk over to joit the vehicle there, or it was at the side of the road, when i must be protected by a general restriction on stopping Experience in Chicago had, however, proved satisfactory Special lanes had been introduced in 1956 as an experimen on an 800-yd. section of a one-way street. It was fowl( possible to reduce peak-hour running times by approxi mately 15 per cent, whilst the remaining traffic ran mon smoothly and quickly, although the space available to was not as wide as before. It was therefore recommended in appropriate cases, that a special lane should be provide( for buses, preferably in the centre of the road.
The authors considered that the most radical and effec. tive form of separation was that into different levels, anc said that tramways were the means of transport whict should operate underground. Trams required no specia ventilating equipment, such as would be necessary for motoi vehicles, whilst they could negotiate sharper curves ir following street layouts in town centres than undergrounC railways.
The Progress of Automation
THE degree to which automation, in the form of mechanized accounting or electronic computers, had been introduced in the administrative departments of public transport undertakings was the subject of a paper by Dr. A. Martinetto, of Turin, submitted to the U.I.T.P.'s Automation Committee.
At the last U.I.T.P. Conference, held in Copenhagen in 1961, the question of the extent to which automation had been introduced in public transport undertakings was asked, and Dr. Martinetto's paper was intended to provide the answer. A questionnaire was sent out and 78 replies were analysed.
The answers were divided into groups from "large ", "medium" and " small " undertakings, as determined by staffs of over 5,000, between 1,000 and 5,000, and less than 1,000. Analysing the answers revealed that, whilst only 5 per cent of the " large " group did not possess their own
:counting-machine or electronic computer departments, 3.71 per cent of the medium-sized concerns did not do so id 62.97 per cent of the " small " group did not. Use of :ntres belonging to other concerns was made by 5 per cent, 22 per cent and 25.92 per cent of the three groups respecvely. Accounting-machine departments were possessed v 35 per cent of the large, 32.26 per cent of the mediumzed and 11-11 per cent of the small undertakings. Eleconic computer departments were to be found in 5-5 per :nt of the large, 25.81 per cent of the medium-sized and Dne of the small undertakings.
Of the data processing carried out, the two most aportant categories, payrolls and stores accounting, are trried out to the extent of 94.74 per cent and 89.47 per cent f undertakings with computers respectively. Calculations I a technical nature, such as details of mileages covered, reakdowns, fuel consumption and 'selection of vehicles to e sent in for inspection after having covered a given iileage, are carried out by 52.63 per cent of the ndertakings. The replies did not enable an estimate to be lade of the degree to which use was made of integrated immaries with the object of ascertaining such informaon as the type of vehicle with the highest commercial 3eed, lowest consumption and subject to the least number I breakdowns.
Statistics covering originating traffic were made in 10 ndertakings (52.63 per cent). The use of computers for le calculation of timetables was being, examined by 10 ndertakings, whilst one had already commenced certain ages of their preparation. The allocation of turns of uty by automatic means was being examined by five ndertakings, four are considering the possibility of autotatic replacement of absent staff and one has already made rovision for automatic allocation and replacement of staff. 'unched cards used for this purpose can constitute the asis for calculating the pay of operating staff, provided le introduction of any exceptions has already been odified.
;tandardization of Buses 'HE International Commission on Standardization of L Motorbuses presented a report on its work, by Irof. Ing. C. Guzzanti, of Rome, together with others elating to the position of studies on standardization of ruses in different countries by M. M. Floner, of Paris; egulations governing bus construction in different ountries, by Hugo Bjiirck, of Stockholm, and the characeristics of standardized buses for urban and regional passenger transport operation, by M. A. Flury, of witzerland.
The report by Prof. Guzzanti stated that, although liscussion of the general definition of the problem coninued, the following conclusions had been reached: the tudies concerning standardization are to be confined for he present to urban motorbuses; efforts are to be directed n the first place towards complete standardization of the 'chicle body, allowing for fitting different mechanical parts aid units; the possibility will be studied of laying down tandard "modular elements" on the basis of which the limensions of all parts of the body of urban motorbuses :an be determined.
Prof. Guzzanti stated that the Commission was repreented by three of its members at the meetings of the Economic Commission for Europe Working Party for the -2onstruction of Vehicles, in Geneva. They had intervened m behalf of the Commission in connection with standards ma braking and emergency exits. On braking, the U.I.T.P. -epresentatives found that by the time they joined the meetings the Working Party had already approved a project -ecommending braking standards which they considered
could cause inconvenience and injury to standing passengers. The U.I.T.P. proposed an amendment reducing the required braking performance for used vehicles (i.e., those in service). A general standard for emergency exits had been agreed.
M. Floner's paper reviewed the position concerning standardization of buses in different countries. In Germany, there existed " standards " of the Motor Vehicle Industry Federation, but conformity with them was not compulsory. Some degree of standardization had been achieved in practice, but in official circles it was considered that decisions on the subject were premature. In Belgium, a Royal Degree laid down standards of comfort, door dimensions, etc., as well as defining standards of construction leading to three motorbus designs, of which two may be built in several variants.
In France, progress had culminated in the establishment in 1960 of detailed specifications for an II-metre-long bus permitting some variations without causing interruption of production; delivery of three prototype buses complying with this specification was made in May, 1962.
A technical committee of the Municipal Passenger Transport Association in Great Britain had studied the extent to which standardization of double-deckers was desired by operators and appeared economically profitable. The conclusions were not in favour of standardization, but the council had sent the question back in the opinion that there remained a possibility of achieving economies in certain directions.
In Italy, new regulations concerning motorbus bodies were being studied, but the question is governed at present by a memorandum of 1949, partly modified by other regulations and memoranda published in 1959 and following years.
The Swedish Association of Public Transport Undertakings laid down standards only for the layout and position of the driver's seat and controls and for battery dimensions, outside the official regulations. Research had been carried out on the standardization of motorbus designs, but only in recent years had this given positive results as regards a 70-to-75-passenger one-man-operated urban bus with a length of 10-5 to 11 metres. Manufacturers had been asked to consider the construction of a prototype, In Switzerland, the Union d'Entreprises Suisses de Transport appointed a Commission to deal with the question. A draft design for a two-axle vehicle has been adopted in which the entrances may be placed according to seven variations without interfering with mass production.
The paper by Hugo Bjorck reviewed the principal constructional regulations in different countries. It was evident that the length of 11 metres (36 ft.) and width of 2.5 metres (8 ft. 21( in.) was now permitted in most countries. Maximum axle loads varied, however, and methods of estimating the number of standing passengers and the calculated weight of passengers were by no means uniform between countries. A tendency to bring regulations into spheres hitherto unregulated could now be traced. Power steering had now become compulsory in West Germany for all vehicles with front-axle load exceeding 4-5 tons, but in Italy it was compulsory for all vehicles with a total weight of more than 10 tons.
M. A. Flury, in his paper, examined the degree to which standardization had been brought about. Questionnaires had been sent out and details had been received of some 9,000 vehicles operating all over the world, although the majority were in Europe. These were analysed on a nation-by-nation basis, as there existed, on questions of manufacture, a form of nationally circumscribed independence. Many undertakings considered that they made use of the most suitable type of vehicle for their own services, basing this view on the well-known motto that conditions differ according to the undertaking concerned. This was not intended as a reproach, but it was just these assumed specific peculiarities which stood in the way of standardization. On the other band, the undertakings were not so basically different, as they carried passengers, not freight. Differences did exist, notably concerning fares, topography and particularly old, well-established habits.
It was proposed that a vehicle be assumed which, given a stated height, length and width, could provide the maximum seating capacity. In order to measure this capacity and make useful comparisons it was necessary for standards for the area required for seated and standing passengers, distances between seats, etc., to be established, and M. Flury gave as an example the Swiss standards. He said that they were the key to standardization and should be recognized as legally binding.
One-man-operated and Articulated Buses AN analysis of the degree to which one-man operation of
buses and the use of articulated buses had been adopted was made in a paper by Prof. Ing. Guzzanti, of Rome. Questionnaires had been sent to 88 transport undertakings in 21 countries and the following picture emerged from the answers: nine undertakings had no one-man vehicles in use and did not intend to change over to this system; two undertakings had no one-man vehicles at present but intended to adopt them; 25 undertakings have one-man vehicles in use in which the driver sells tickets without special machines or installations; 44 undertakings use oneman vehicles with special machines for cancelling or issuing tickets, etc., or giving change; nine undertakings operate articulated motorbuses with a crew of two; no undertaking uses articulated motorbuses with one-man operation.
Further inquiry showed that, with the exception of a few small-capacity buses operating on a flat-fare basis in Paris and Munich, no undertaking yet operated one-man buses with passenger self-service by means of special automatic machines. On both the Paris and Munich routes in question passengers pay into a coin box. At Milan an experiment is being made with automatic machines capable of both issuing and cancelling tickets. This is being carried out in three stages, during the third of which the conductor can be dispensed with altogether. Similar experiments were to be carried out in Rome.
Should Rolling-stock be Reconditioned or Replaced?
THIS problem was examined by M. J. Meyer, of Metz, in
a paper dealing with the subject largely from a mathematical point of view. The conventional solution to the question of whether to replace or not was based on the principle of replacing when the partial cost of the old equipment reached the same figure as the partial cost of new equipment, increased by the amount of capital charges. The capital charges on new equipment cannot be determined unless the period during which the equipment is to remain in service is known, and this depends on subsequent technical and economic developments. It was necessary to make an assumption in regard to the future.
Belgian, American and French schools of opinion on calculated economic life were analysed. Actual information from 81 undertakings was summarized. Replies as to periods at which vehicles were renewed varied between live and 25 years. The average period appeared to be in s40
the region of 12 years, and towards the middle of di; period a thorough overhaul was generally given. Thei was a tendency to increase the life to 15 years at least, 1 the idea of obsolescence or out-of-dateness had been stak to be practically non-existent by the great majority c concerns.
Fare Collection APAPER entitled "Simplification and mechanization c fare collection on public transport vehicles" wt presented by M. L. Quarre, of Brussels. It was self-evidei
that, whilst operating receipts were essentially the numb of passengers carried multiplied by the average far operating expenditure consisted for the major part in dire, or indirect remuneration of staff. The total expenditui on staff represented, in the majority of cases, between f and 80 per cent of the costs per kilometre.
Possible indices of productivity included the number c seat-kilometres or vehicle-kilometres provided per yea compared with the average annual total of active stal The most important, M. Quarre considered, however, wt the number of passengers carried per year, compared wit the annual average total of active staff.
Productivity could best be increased by ensuring that ti duties devolving upon one member of the crew covered to 100 passengers instead of 25 to 50 as at present. Sinc 1955 two trends had been apparent: the use of vehicles c average capacity (80 to 100 passengers) operated by or man, and the use of vehicles of large capacity (125 to 22 passengers) operated by two men. M. Quarre considere that the average-capacity one-man vehicle gave rise to le! difficult problems in regard to profitability than .the larg articulated vehicle.
In either case, simplification of fare collection wa essential. Closely related to this was the ease of passengt entry into the vehicle. A low floor height, reduced numbc of steps and increased number of points of entry into th vehicle were desirable. Some operators considered tht one extra step involved an increase of one second in th time taken to board. An increasingly large number c operators had recently begun to specify a double entranc door at the extreme front through which two streams c passengers could enter.
A questionnaire sent to 98 undertakings revealed that th number of tickets sold separately expressed as a percentag of the total number of passengers varied from less tha 10 per cent in seven undertakings, mainly in France, to ove 90 per cent in 13 undertakings in Britain, Spain an Australia. Ticket carnets were extensively used in Franc and multiple-journey tickets elsewhere. Ordinary seaso tickets were favoured in Germany and Switzerland. Th replies to the question, "Do you sell tickets outside th vehicle?" were almost unanimously in the affirmativc except for those from the British undertakings. Automati cancelling machines were used by several operators, s arranged to permit passengers already in possession o tickets to cancel them as they enter, whilst other passenger simultaneously present their fares or season tickets to th driver.
In his conclusions, M. Quarre stated that the followini were the most important means of simplifying am speeding-up fare collection from passengers: the prior sak to the maximum possible extent, of tickets outside th vehicles, in order to do away with the use of money a the vehicles; a lower floor level; the provision of a double entry door in front of the front axle; the use of automati cancelling machines operated by passengers; the use o easily identifiable season tickets, the holders of whicl should enter by the doorway nearest to the driver; and th threat of heavy penalties for fraud.