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MOTOR COACHING IN RETROSPECT.

11th November 1924
Page 25
Page 25, 11th November 1924 — MOTOR COACHING IN RETROSPECT.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

What the Past Season's Working Has Revealed. Factors Which Have Played Their Part in 1924 Developments.

AT THE close of another motor coaching season—not by any means a prosperous one generally—the opportunity again presents itself of bringing Into focus the trials and tribulations which the industry in general has had to bear. Speaking broadly, it may be said that the industry, never well equipped to face such difficulties (mainly economic) as were encountered, has not proved itself quite so adaptable and responsive to the problems which, this past season, have been particularly

accentuated. This is not the occasion for recounting the experiences of individual coach owners.

At the outset it must he confessed that whilst external conditions have never been more acute, the public has had a small surfeit of cash which it has shown a readiness to expend on travelling for pleasure. That being so, why, it may lge asked, has the motor coach owner not had a more prosperous season? In endeavouring to answer this question one is compelled to take immediate cognizance of the great counter attraction in the Metropolis, where the British Empire Exhibition attracted a huge provincial clientele. It was inevitable, therefou, that a certain amount of trade should have been lost to the seaside coast resorts, with the result that motor coach owners in those towns suffered. Some of them endeavoured to go with the swim by organizing tours to Wembley, but so far as reports in general are concerned, the returns have not been altogether satisfactory. The element of support has been a very fluctuating quantity, and owing to the extraordinarily cheap railway, fares, lovers of the open read found it impossible in many instances to resist the allurements of excursion train.

So much for the superficial and obvious aspect of odr review. It may be a coincidence, but it is none the less true, that this year coach owners in the North spent less money on advertising than ever before. Even enterprising concerns whose prosperity has been built up by a regular expenditure on publicity on the hoardings, in the Press, and by booklets, etc., have admitted that this year they did not feel justified in spend% mg even the normal amount. They felt that the return from this form of propaganda did not justify the initial outlay. Owing to the absence of an understanding amongst competitive owners it has frequently occurred that journeys have been maae by rival concerns to the same destinations each day. In such circumstances often happened that neither of them was able to procure a full load. Operating motor coaches becomes distinctly unprofitable when working at low rates, and owners do not appear to be sufficiently alert to the preservation of their own interests, by taking precaution to avoid the possibility of the duplication of journeys. This applies less to owners running from holiday resorts than to owners in industrial towns from which, as a rule, there is not a great variety of choice in the matter of the tours selected.

For private party work, which is usually looked upon as profitable work, the competition during the past season has been extraordinarily keen. Although individual journeys have not involved a great mileage, the number of tours has been well up to the average

for shorter distances. This seems to point to the fact that the public has not evinced the desire exhibited in previous seasons to go on long tours completed within a day. Not Only have rates been cut for these contracts, but inducements held out to party organizers and to booking agents, such as by free seats and commissions, in order to obtain business.

Slowly but surely a position is being created by which the stability of the motor coach industry will be assured. Already it is being shorn of some of its trappings, and the fact is being driven home that it does not as a rule pay coach owners to launch out as hotel proprietors unless they have a clientele to patronize them independently of the motor coach department. One has in mind the enterprises of some concerns in the North of England. Some owners in a flush of enthusiasm have tried to follow too closely on the lines of the railway companies, by endeavouring to make themseltes independent of the hotel' facilities offered by private enterprise. Had traffic been sufficient they would have prospered, but the seasonal nature of motor coaching completely militated against the desired end being reached.

The process of elimination in the

motor-coaching industry continues, but it is, indeed, remarkable how well some of the small owners have held their ground. The reason, no doubt, is that many of them have catered directly for a smaller and known clientele. They. have developed goodwill, and their familiarity with their patrons' needs assures them of bookings, when perhaps larger owners who advertise

liberally fail to secure it. This also must be said. It is easier for an owner of one vehicle to secure a full load than a proprietor controlling a fleet of, say, ten vehicles. If the single owner only books 14 passengers 50 per cent, of his available accommodation (supposing the vehicle to be a 28-seater) is taken up. It follows, therefore, that the large coaching companies have to work hard if their returns per coach are to be equivalent to those of the owner of a single vehicle.

The race for success in the operation of motor coaches is to the swift and to the strong. Enterprise is needed, but injudicious enterprise is apt to result in failure. Sooner or later, the industry will have to come down to a surer level of economic stability, and the mad rush for business at any price definitely eschewed.

The remarkable developments which have taken place in the operation of motorbuses points a lesson. In all parts of the country services have been developed, largely by big fleet owners who have been discerning enough to seize opportunities. Rival companies have frequently agreed upon definite areas of operation, with the result that through running is often assured at rates which, on every part of the jour ney, are consistent. It is not denied that the remarkable long mileage of some of these routes might have encroached on the business of coach owners; but, even so, it is difficult to conceive that the time will ever arrive when the public will be willing to forego the pleasures of road travel by motor coach.

How the successful continuity of

motor coaching is to be placed beyond the range of doubt is a matter to which coach owners themselves must apply their attention. At present the coach owners are divided amongst themselves. They have much in common, chiefly the fact that they are in business to make a livelihood. The remedy is obvious. Before another coaching season comes round they should spare no effort to establish in each territory an association through which may be .controlled those peculiar irregularities which are not only costly in themselves to individual owners but which promote an element of discord far-reaching in its effectsIf there be half as much co-operation as there has been competition amongst proprietors, the industry would be in a far healthier state.

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