Commissioners Advise Bus Hiring to Provide Feeder Service
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THE best way to provide a feeder service for excursion passengers between Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester would be to hire vehicle from the licensed stag: operators. This, said the North Western Traffic Commissioners, at Manchester, last week, would provide a service to the -public without fear of abstraction from the day-to-day operators.
They were dealing with an application by R. Holt and Co., Ltd., Rochdale, for a feeder service from Ashton to their originating point at East Street coach station, Manchester, and the suggestion came when the Commissioners adjourned the hearing for discussions between the company and the objectors, Ashton
under-Lyne and Manchester Corporations, S.H.M.D. Joint Board and the North Western Road Car Co., Ltd.
Mr. S. Moss, for Holt's, said the feeder was sought to connect with four-day tours to Weston-super-Mare, Wales and southern Scotland, starting from Manchester on Mondays from May to October. Originally passengers booked in Ashton were conveyed free of charge to Oldham—where they joined the Rochdale-Manchester feeder by an associated company, R. Wood and Sons (Tours), Ltd.
They had been informed by the Traffic Commissioners that, although strictly legal, they regarded the arrangement as a breach of good faith, and plans were made for passengers to be conveyed by rail. The British Transport Commission confirmed that between July, 1958, and April, 1959, 698 passengers had been conveyed by this means.
The train service had now ceased, and Holt's wanted to convey pre-booked passengers direct to Manchester.
Mr. J. O'Donnell, general manager of Ashton-under-Lyne Transport Department, said their Manchester-Glossop service provided a 30-minute frequency from Ashton to East Street, Manchester. Ashton Corporation also ran a trolleybus service at four-minute intervals to Manchester and a five-minute service to Oldham. They were already catering for displaced rail passengers at a loss, and further abstraction would be serious. They were prepared to duplicate at short notice if informed of the number of passengers booked by Holt's. A grant would set a precedent to other operators of excursions and tours.
Mr. Moss submitted that excursion passengers would be conveyed only during the morning peak period and could not possibly be abstracted from the objectors.
Mr. F. Williamson, chairman, said it was unreasonable to expect the normal services to handle the traffic, but the Commissioners foresaw no licensing difficulties in placing a special bus at Holt's disposal. If the parties failed to reach agreement a decision would be given.