Passenger-Vehicle Topics.
Page 8
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Trams Would Cost a Lot More.
The Wood Green Urban District Council has decided that motorbuses have damaged a portion of the high-road under its control, and it has decided that a sum of £10 be devoted to snaking good the damage.
A Curious Order for a Cab Company.
A well-known cab company had a telephone call quite recently from a firm of removal contractors, who required a steam tractor for the purpose of towing two fully-loaded pantechnicons from Islington to Gerrard's Cross, the railway companies having refused the work owing to the dislocation of their services by the strike.
The Affairs of the General Motor Cab Company.
Two debenture holders applied last week in the Chancery Court for the appointment of a receiver and manager to protect the interests of the debenture holders in the General Motor Cab Co., Ltd. Mr. Justice Eve consolidated the two actions, and appointed Mr. Peale manager and receiver to the company, the appointment, to be for a period of three months.
A Severe Test for an Argyll Taxicab.
The photograph exclusively reproduced here serves to illustrate the difficulty of cab-testing during the heavy winter months. In addition to the atrocious road surface— well shown in the photograph-these Argyll taxis are tried out on gradients of from 1 in 12 to 1 in 4, the latter being on Stoney Mullen, which has achieved a certain amount of fame as a well-known rendezvous for hill-climbing competitions.
Vinot Motorbuses in Montreal.
Montreal has now a service of Vinot motorbuses, and these are run by the Montreal Autobus Co. The vehicles have run practically all last winte,r, and at one period there was a, snowfall of 16 in. The greatest. difficulty, our local correspondent tells us, occurs when the snow begins to melt, and forms into a very adhesive paste : then the tires fail to grip the surface of the road, and starting is consequently difficult. The Vinot engine is 12 h.p., and has proved equal to carrying a large number of passengers over roads not of the best. For illustration, see page 113.
Warrington Won't License.
The Tramways Committee of Warrington Town Council has recommended the Watch Committee to refuse the application from the Lynton Wheel and Tyre Syndicate, Ltd., for a licence to run motor vehicles as hackney carriages in the borough. The Watch Committee has decided to act on the recommendation.
Paraguay makes Motorbus Duty Concessions.
Congress has passed a Bill admitting buses free of duty. The only restriction is that the admitted vehicles must seat at least eight.
persons, a id must enter the country during the present year. This concession follows on an agreement recently made with an English company for a regular motorbus service through the city of Asuncion, S. America.
Should Have Subsidized the Bus.
Our Cape Town correspondent writes that recently one of the Cape Electric Tramway Co.'s Leyland buses took a load of passengers to Mairstsbury Agricultural Show, a place about 40 miles from Cape Town. It did the journey, over very had roads, in 2 hours, this being only slightly longer than it. takes by train. It is interesting to note that the Malmsbury Agricultural Society, having guaranteed the local railway company against any loss which might accrue from running an excursion train, proceeded to get up an agitation against this motorbus service. An attempt. is to be made to prevent it. from running there on future occasions. A feasible solution of the cab difficulty in Paris seems to lie in the possibility of a special reduction of the petrol duty as it applies to taxicabbies. The drivers allege that the increase in this tax, the incidence of which they have had to bear, was the sole cause of the strike.
The German Army will Use Motorbuses.
It, is anticipated that during the German military mariceuvres this year motorbuses will take a prominent part. Each bus will carry 50. soldiers, and will have a speed of 16 m.p.h. The experiment was tried on a small scale last year, and gave the greatest satisfaction. The men were conveyed to their positions more quickly than by other methods of transit, and were much fresher and readier for the day's work on arrival. Similar tests have been carried out in England, it will be remembered.
Double-deckers for Toronto.
A service of British motorbuses is to be run in Toronto. Montreal has already its service of lrinot buses, to which we refer in another column, but greater things are promised for the capital of Ontario. Messrs. Sharp and Raiford, of London, England, propose to put on 50 buses of the double-deck description early in May, and have secured the co-operation of the city eouncii in finding storage accommodation. The firm applied for the use of the Machinery Hall of the Exhibition Park, and this will he granted on payment of £105 for three months.
The British Motorcab Co., and the Strike.
The Board of Trade has been asked to appoint a Court to which shall be referred several points still in dispute between the B.M.C. Co. and its men. The -points are : (1) Whether the company is in any way bound by the terms of the award of 8th March ; (2) whether the conditions of service and regulations for the drivers of the company, which have been for 12 months and are now in force, are smooth in working and equitable as between the company and the drivers ; (3) whether the interest of either party will be served by the substitu 1 ion of the terms of the said award for the above-mentioned conditions and regulations.