CHAR-A-BANCS NEWS AND COMMENTS.
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Matters of Topical Interest to Proprietors of Motor Coaches.
Touring in Derbyshire.
A Bird's-eye View of Passenger Services in the Switzerland of England. THE Switzerland of England—that is the euphonious and attractive description applied to the Peak District of Derbyshire, a county which is invaded daily by scores of chars-a-bancs from all parts of the surrounding country. In the short space of half an hour a representative of 'rite Commercial Motor noticed at Matlock Bath cars from seven different counties—and this he was informed was nothing unusual.
If there is anything that Derbyshire char4-bancs proprietors pride themselves on, itis the competence of their drivers. Wherever we met those who controlled fleets—and the two principal
centres are Matlock and Buxton—we heard the same, that the most careful discrimination is exercised in the choice 9 r drivers, who are.all, with very rare exceptIons, local men, thoroUghly familiar with the dangerous Alpine-like country through which they conduct sightseeing parties.
The gradients in Derbyshire are a good test of the efficiency of any vehicle, and amongst the machines we noted were Dennis, A.E.C., Napier, 'Coinmer Car, Fiat, Daintier, Maudslay, Lands, and
• Karrier. The accident whichbefell the Mandslay char-a-banes down in Devonshire has Joe paralled in Derbyshire. Special inquiries on the point elicited not. one scrap of information -that The Maudslay is not a good all-round service-able machine running on a very economic petrol consumption.
Mr. W. Furness, junr., at Matlock Bath, an ex,Setviee man, who, during the war, lost a leg, which has been replaced by an artificial limb, told its that he himself had been driving the Maudslay, and notwithstanding " this" —slapping his wooden leg—had been entirely free from a hitch or accident of c20. an description. "I have been running 7 miles to a gallon of petrol on this machine, and 8 miles an hour on fairly good road. The Daimler 22 seater is also an excellent machine. I get .nine miles to the gallon from this vehicle, an the Dunlop tyres now fitted have had 7,000 miles of -wear. The only replacement which has been necessary during the last six months has been a new sparking plug."
Of course, Derbyshire resorts eater for -a big influx of passengers who travel by rail, and then from the centre they have chosen, continue their excursion by char• it-banes. There are scores of beautiful 'drives to places known to mostpeople.
There are morning, afternoon, everting, and all-day tours everywhere, and although there does not appear to be much uniformity in hiring charges, pro bably owing to the fact that touring in this part is generally concentrated within the summer months, and is subject to weather conditions, nevertheless one did not -heat of less than 11-d. per passenger per mile being charged. • At Matlock, where there are a few institutions for convalescents, sometimes in the winter months, wh-en the weather conditions are favourable, patients ate taken on short outings in motor chars-kbancs to different parts of the 'district. At Buxton our flying visit was facilitated by the courtesy of W. R. Sanders (1920), Ltd., who by placing a car at our .disposal enabled us to view their spacious and well equipped repair and paint shops, motor body building shop, garages, and Ford service depot. They have several new chars-à-banes on order, and at the shops bodywork was being proceeded with. Primrose in colour, with a distinctive star on the sides, this is one of the most progressive services of chars-.banes in Derbyshire. In a forthcoming issue we shall deal with the more particular aspects of the Derbyshire cliar-a--bancs services from the Buxton and Matlock centres.
Motor Coach Charges.
Some of the Points that Proprietors are Talking About.
THE most outstanding feature of the business of running char-k-banes services is the disunity which seems to exist amongst proprietors concerning conditions -of hire, etc: To take rates, for example, we have heard of 'instances where proprietors of competing concerns have quoted prices which have varied be • tween a fraction over Id. to 2d. per passenger per mile. Here are a few concrete
cases:— '
A picnicking party wanted prices for a 94 mile run from Liverpool to Taimorley and Delemere Forest. When -,the -esti\ mate of 16s. per head was submitted by one local firm they were informed that a quotation of 10s. had been received.
To Blackpool from Liverpool, quotations have varied between 11s. 6d. and 16s., 6d. To the same destination one caSe was heard of where a picnic party , was taken one day and brought back the next, for 13s. 6d.
There is no doubt a great need Of standardization on a minimum basis in farts, not necessarily-to compete with the railway companies, but to ensure for ehar-k-bancs proprietors that margin of profit which enables them to carry on. their enterprises on a sound economic basis. What many proprietors, seem to overlook is that theirs is a seasonal business,and that when the months from April to September have passed, there as very little doing until the next year. Many vehicles lay up during the winter months, and their earning capacity is, therefore, concentrated between a given period. The -railways on the other hand are running all the year round and have a continuous income.
Scores of new char-k-banes companies , have put vehicles on the road this spring for the first time, and they may 'beachieving an easy success, but let them not forget that the "dog days" are corn-. ing, and that. in less than four months from now they may not be doing onetenth of the business that is now passing through their hands.
So far from wishing to discourage enterprises inthe domain of passenger services, we merely suggest the wisdom of • ganging success not on the prosperous season of the year but on the average of the twelve months.
Many char-a-banes proprietors are working on a, small margin because they hope to substitute a commercial body in place of the passenger coach in the winter season, and compete for haulage work. This idea may be pound in theory, but the fact must be taken into consideration that even now loads are not available for all the transport wagons that ply to and -from the big: centres of import and export. Furthermore, local fleets Of lorries are.,:being added to daily, and with the owners of proprietary 'articles running their own motors competing with haulage contractors the prospects of the " char-l-banes haulier" do not appear rosy. Char-a-bancs proprietors should fix up their own rates, locally according to the, country they cover, 'and they should be
so compiled as to be justifiable in the eyes of the public if questioned. Midweek bookings are not so numerous; the week-end they are very heavy, and proprietors generally charge id. per mile extra at this time. The country round Liverpool is rather flat, and the owners in this district consider 11d. per rnile per passenger (minimum) is a fair :rate for a full coach during the week, and 2d. on Saturdays, Sunday, Monday and hellditys. These prices would need to be advanced in hilly countries like Mail Wales and Derbyshire, where petrol consumption is very heavy. The Comtnerc,ial Motor was informed by a well-known motor concern in the north that they could not run a two ton commercial motor at less than Ls. Bel: per mile all round, and the figure corresponded to 3s. 6d. to 4s. with a motor char-Voancs.
Owners' Views of Char-a-bancs Drivers.
'The driver of the motor char-a-banes is the king of the read," the owner of a fleet in the north told a representative of The Commeicial Motor recently. . "Not only is his pocket well lined by passengers whom be is always willing to accommodate, sometimes at the expense of his employer, who has to foot his timebill, but he suffers from an eternal discontent. We want drivers to be courteous and good companions to passengers, but wlien they .put in extra mileage and perform services not specified in contracts and for which payment should be made, we sometimes wonder if the drivers are employed by the passengers OT by 1.1s1
" We cannot place ev,ery driver under
Sapervi6ian—we do not want to as a matter of fact—but we do think that the driver's first allegiance should be,to his employer, who is responsible for the vehicle and maintaining a good repute., tion. "In days gone by it was the practice of coaches to stop at nearly every inn on a e.ournryi road. There have been intprovement$ in that direction, but the maintenance of good conduct on a, coach, securing drivers beyond the influence of a bribe, and to improve the tone of charit-barms tours in general so far as falls within the view of a driver are difficult matters for the owner to deal with."
Through Snowdonia in a Char-a-bancs.
QEVERAL articles have appeared in LI The, Coritatercial. Motor recently ,anent the well organized and numerous char banns tours which cater for the holiday maker at the -North Wales resorts. Passing through Llandudno recently it was interesting to see some of these vehicles starting for their journeys and the strenuous advertisements nailing on the 'reader to "see Wales from an easy chair," etc. We were surprised, however, to find that even at a. relatively small place. like Lianfairfechan twochars-a-bancs were domiciled_ and were competing with the local horse vehicles for the patronage of the visitors. Two Daimler 25-renters owned by a concern called Tourist Hotels, Ltd., make Liamfairfechan their headquarters and provide an opportunity for numerous enjoyable runs. Some of these: are arranged in conjunction with hotels run by the company, and the passenger on a full day's tour is provided with luncheon and tea in one or other of their houses. All day, half-day, and evening trips are offered, so that an appeal is made to all 'tastes and purses. The tit-bit of the day's run is, of course, the tour of the passes in Snowdonia.; this casts 25s., including lunch. The route somewhat abridged is offered as an afternoon runat 12s. 6d., and a repre.senthtivie of this journal recently took the opportunity of going this trip. Leaving the Queen's Hotel, LIanfairfechan' at two o'clock, we went out along the BaAigor Road, and just before reaching that town turned left for Bethesda • and the Nant Francon Pass. The road through the Pass rises to over a thousand feet, but. the Daintier made light. of it in a way which Was a tribute both to the vehicle and the wonderful road snaking of Telford. We stopped at Lake Ogwen for ten minutes, and later at Capel Ourig, n:oting as we approached the latter place the three peaks of Snowdon shining rose. tinted in the sky. Here we turned up the Pees of Llanberis, climbing 'higher than ever, gazing at the Wonderful moun-, tain scenery on every side, until a long downhill lorought us to Llanberis and the foot of Snowdon. About an hour was spent here, part of wbich was utilized for having tea, and then back to Liamfairfechan by way of Carnarvon and Bangor. It was -a most enjoyable, ride and. was the next best thing to driving in one's own car.
The seats were well padded, but rather high for people of short stature, and a foot-rest would have been acceptable. For viewing scenery the elevation of the passenger in a char-a-banes is a decided advantage, and one is able to look over walls a.nel -hedges to the valley beneath or the scenery beyond in a manner impossible if one is in a low-built touring car.
There was no smell of petrol and no dust. In fact, the only criticism we had was with regard to tie doors. • Theso were on the near side only, and when the driver drew up on his correct Side of the road it was difficult to ctet out if a wall or hedge (as happened twice) was alongside, This trouble is not noticed in the towns where the vehicle polls up by the pavement, but in -the Welsh country districts, where grass-edged roads arc rare and stone walla comanon, it should be provided .against. The vehicle appeared very big on some of the narrow roads, but the driver seemed quite at his ease, and drove with consideration for the rights of other road users. Ile told be he was doing 12 miles to the gallon; a fig-are which 'seemed exceptionally good, , considering the nature of the district. As p, result of this trip it is simple to realize why -motor chars-a-bancs are so popular in North Wales, and if the services are properly organized and run, there is now, and in the future, much pleasure for the .passengers and, let us hope, profit for the proprietors.