Is the Passenger Told Too Little?
Page 20
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AS a mere fare-paying bus passenger, may 1 register an emphatic protest against certain comments in the article "Is There an Ideal Destination indicator?" published recently in ." The Commercial Motor." To suggest " educating the public" to accept route numbers as adequate indication of.the route of a. bus is, I suggest, all too typical of the moderifattitude of skimping service to the customer In the past a-Landon bus carried large boards at front and rear -detailing its route, with the aid of which a stranger could readily find his way about. After boarding his correct bus, this innocent abroad purchased a ticket, upon which the stages of his route were detailed, a miniature guide by which he could follow progress to his alighting point without needing to trouble the busy conductor for information—he could also check that he had been charged the correct fare!
To-day, route-indicator boards are being abbreviated towards vanishing point, so that a stranger at a request stop can only guess which bus he should hail. Further, on boarding the bus, he is sold a ticket which may serve as a receipt for his fare, but which carries only incomprehensible code numbers to inform him concerning the route of the' vehicle.
May I suggest that these changes are not appropriate to a decade when conductors, generally, although fortunately not invariably, are becoming less helpful to passengers—when, in fact, it seems that union rules may ultimately prohibit even the intrusion of sitting passengers into what were once known as "public service vehicles."
Please do not hasten the day when I shall be turned off a bus with the words "registered customers only," but rather campaign to help the occasional traveller.
London, E.C.1 J. LOWRY.
DESTINATION INDICATORS: A WRONG IMPRESSION MAY I correct a wrong impression caused by my "'failure to make it clear that the switch for the powerdriven blind on pre-war Newcastle Corporation vehicles was fitted outside on the front of the cab? Contrary to the suggestion made in the article in "The Commercial Motor" of April 22, this equipment was fitted to at least 45 buses and about 40. trolleybuses.
With regard to the photograph of the bus bound for Chester on the first page of the second article, it seems to me that, far from being "unique," the design of indicator shown is probably the most widely standardized type in use at the moment. It is the pattern adopted by 12 out of the 17 Tilling companies for postwar vehicles. One .operator—United Automobile Services, Ltd.—has 250 vehicles equipped in this. way, and the total must be something like L000, if not more, over the whole country.
As with Mr. Humpidge's preferred type, the destination portion is the only one requiring to be Moved for each journey. Almost always, when the route number is being changed, the " via " screen must also be altered. so they may as well be on one blind. Not only Coes this eliminate one set of winding gear—meaning less expense, both initially and in upkeep—but it also makes for economy of space, as the proportion of space allotted to the route number can be altered to suit, for example, service number 1 or 200. Together with the 1314 -fact that both destination and ".via" screens are very wide, this means that very long place names are easily accommodated. . A. A. TOWNSIN. London, N.21.
POPPING THE QUESTION• REFERRING . to the second item of "Passing Comments." in your issue dated April 22, we wonder whether we may take the liberty of pointing out that the Chobert Rapid Riveting system has also proved to be a quick and secure method of fabrication in connection with light-alloy vehicle construction.
We are privileged to include almost every cab or body manufacturer in this country among our hundreds of eoachbuilding customers, including Scammell, Leyland, Dennis, Braid, Seddon, Duple, Standard, etc.
It may be that by mentioning " pop" riveting you intended to include both forms of fast, blind riveting used• in this country, namely "pop ", and the "Chobert," but we should be 'glad if your records could be adjusted to include our system. The characteristics of the Chobert system will be clear from our advertisement, which is currently appearing
in your journal. ' LESLIE E. KING, London W.C.1. Sates and Development Manager. (For Aviation Developments, Ltd.) [The reference to "pop" riveting was made in a general sense, and was, of course, intended to include the well
known Chobert riveting process—En.] •
A CASE FOR 30 M.P.H. FOR HEAVIES 'f THE raising of the 20 m.p.h. speed limit is long
HE and your leading article (April 8) in support of its abolition was exceedingly sound. Although the brakes on heavy vehicles have been proved to be at least as efficient as those on other vehicles, the better maintenance usually afforded to these more expensive vehicles would make for braking power above average. Moreover, drivers of heavy vehicles are usually among the most experienced and reliable on the road. As heavy vehicles rarely observe the 20 mph. limit, how much safer it would be if the drivers could concentrate on the road ahead, instead of watching the rear for a possible police car. The average heavy vehicle does not pun efficiently and smoothly in top gear at a speed as low as 20 m.p.h., and all gradients immediately require a gear change. Drumming in the cab and transmission vibration are symptoms often• encountered in connection with a heavily loaded, slowly running engine, and arc as tryine to the driver as to the vehicle.
The 20 m.p.h. speed limit must influence vehicle design in a way which is detrimental to the comparatively high-speed requirements of the export markets.
Finally, faster schedules for heavy vehicles would be a great asset to the road transport industry and to the economic recovery of our country.
Why, then, the delay in raising the speed limit for heavy goods vehicles to 30 m.p.h.?
London, S.W.9. W. A. BRAY, A.1.R.T,E., :A.