Services Expand : Revenues Fall
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CHALRMEN of two major bus companies reported lower revenues at their annual general meetings last week.
Mr. J. S. Wills, Minst.T., Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd., said that receipts were 00.000 lower for last year than in the previous 12 months. The number of passengers carried (92m.) remained steady, but mileage run (23m.) was 750,000 lower. Mr. R. P. Beddow, M.Inst.T., Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., attributed his company's declining receipts to reduced public spending power and the bad weather.
Mr. Wills declared that the abolition of workmen's fares was long overdue. Peak-period traffic, he said, showed no sign of abatement and operation at such times would continue to be largely unremunerative, because of concessi-m rates.
"By no means the full effect of the increased costs . . was reflected in last year's results, but even so, 72 per cent, of our stage-carriage services, involving 41 per cent, of our total mileage, were operated at less than average cost," Mr. Wills stated.
He also said that IS new stagecarriage services had been established and frequencies on 35 routes increased. The pre-war association with P. and A. Campbell, Ltd., steamer proprietor, had been restored and combined bus-andboat tickets were proving attractive.
Ticket interavailability with the railways had been extended and there were 70 inter-running arrangements with other road operators. Joint operation with Cardiff Corporation had expanded in the provision of a new service between Cardiff and Lower Penarth.
In co-operation with Crosville Motor Services, Ltd., through bookings and connections with Aberystwyth services of the Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd., had been instituted, forming the first direct express road service between South and North Wales, Sixty double-deckers and luxury coaches costing over £220,000 had been added to the fleet during the year. Mr. Beddow also reported the addition of a number of new vehicles to the Ribble fleet-50 8-ft.-wide double-deckers, and 44 maximum-dimension 44-seat singledeckers.
Mr. Beddow referred to his company's tax burden of nearly £500,000 as "fantastic" for a public utility undertaking. Higher taxes and further increases in costs could only mean still more rises in fares, he declared.