Offer to Buy Cardiff Buses
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A N offer to take over Cardiff Transport Department's 179 oil-engined buses has been made • by the Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd., a company of the British Electric Traction group, A figure of £350,000 has been suggested. The department's 65 trolleybuses do not appear to be included in the proposed deal.
Whilst .neither confirming nor denying that the offer had been made, the chairman ofthe city council's finance committee, Sir William Williams, said that anything that had taken place was entirely unofficial The department has incurred a deficit of 015,000, largely due to thelast years of operation of the now-defunct tram ways. In normal circumstances, this loss would have been met out of profits over a period of years, but recently increased costs diminish the possibility of there being surplus revenue.
Should the proposed transfer materialize, corporation trolleybuses would have to compete with privately owned motorbuses, whilst private operators may acquire picking-up and settingdown points in the city for long-distance services.
The council has already stated its opposition to area schemes and its desire to retain its transport under muit icipa I control.
COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC RISES
COMPAR1NG 1938 and 1950, the number of coaches and buses on truqk and Class I roads increased by 34 per cent. and of goods vehicles by 59 per cent. There was art overall increase in all mechanically propelled vehicles of 6 per cent. on these ro'ads and 12 per cent. on Class 2 roads.
These facts were revealed by a pilot census taken at 266 points on trunk, Class 1 and Class 2 roads from August 14-20 last.
The average daily numbers of all vehicles on trunk and Class I roads showed an increase in England and Wales of 6.3 per cent., in Scotland of 1.4 per cent.. and in Wales and Monmouthshire of 11.2 per cent.
25,562 BEDFORDS EXPORTED IN 1950
ATOTAL of 88,745 vehicles was made last year by Vauxhall Motors, Ltd., of which 40,783 were Bedford commercial vehicles. In 1949 the output was 83,143 units.
Sales for 1950 totalled 87,454, and 70.3 per cent. of this number were exported, including 25,562 Bedfords. The number of Bedfords supplied to the home market was 14,867.
NEW T.R.T.A. SECTION
MENTION of the increasing pressure being brought to bear on the Government to restrict C-licensees was made by Mr. F. D. Fitz-Gerald, national secretary of the Traders' Road Transport Association, at the recent inaugural meeting of the Portsmouth and district section of the T.R..T.A. London and Home Counties area.