Strong Opposition to Higher Fares
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Ov Monday, the East Midland Traffic Commissioners granted an application by Nottingham Corporation to .substitute buses for trams on the Nottinghttm-Arnold route. Considerable opposition was forthcoming, objections being lodged by Arnold Urban District Council, Arnold Ratepayers' Association, and 340 residents in Sherwood and district, mainly against the proposed bus fares.
During the proceedings, it was revealed by the town clerk (Mr. J. E. Richards) that the trams were operating at a loss. Last year the loss was £5,473, and this year it is estimated at £7,895.
For the corporation, Mr. Richards said that if the application succeeded, the last of the trams would be abandoned and the whole of the city served by motorbuses and trolleybuses. . He stated that the objections were principally that children's .fdres would in many cases be increased by 100. per cent., that return adult fare's Would be 7d. on the buses instead of '4d. on the trams, and that there would be no
fare less than 2d. on the outward journey, whereas the minimum train fare is ld.
Mr. J. L. Gunn, general manager of Nottingham Passenger Transport Department, said that the trains were carrying only eight passengers per mile —one of the lowest figures in the country—and if they were not replaced by buses, further passengers would be lost.
Mr. H. Thompson, for the Association, declared that public feeling at Arnold was such that several hundred people had joined the Ratepayers' Association with the object of supporting this particular objection. It was also alleged that before the Traffic Commissioners came into being, the corporation secured a monopoly on the route by undercutting other operators and forcing, the latter off the
• road...., The Commias;oners held that the pror posed fares were not unreasonable and pointed out that they had no power to compel the corporation to continue to run trains.
U.A.S. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT LIKELY
FOLLOWING a deputation from the employees, United Automobile Services, Ltd., Darlington, has agreed to consider the grievances of the bus drivers and conductors regarding working conditions. The men threatened strike action unless their complaints were rectified, but a settlement will, it is expected, be reached without resorting to drastic measures.
Spread-over duties are the main cause for complaint. In some cases, they are said to have resulted in the actual working day extending over 13 hours. It is understood that the men receive payment for only eight hours' work. Another grievance is that no payment is made for lay-over time.
"SEASONS " MUST BE SIGNED IN INK.
nECISION has been issued by Sheriff
Macdiarmid, of Glasgow, in an interesting case affecting the signing of bus season tickets. Glasgow Corporation brought an action in the Sinall Debt Court against a passenger whom it sued for 8d., being the amount of fares due for journeys undertaken with a season ticket which did not bear the holder's signature in ink.
A condition on which these tickets are issued is that they must be signed in ink. The defendant had signed in indelible pencil and contended that he was conforming with the regulations.
The Sheriff states that a reasonable interpretation of the condition means that the ticket must be signed with a pen in ordinary blue-black writing ink and that a signature in any other medium does not comply with the condition. He found for the corporation.
DANGEROUS TRAMS: PROTEST.
I N the opinion of Bedworth Urban District Council, the Coventry-Bedworth road is " a little better than a death trap," and, in the interests of safety, Coventry Corporation should, at an early date, replace the tramways on the route by a bus service. •
LATEST MUNICIPAL BUS RESULTS
THE following are the latest results
of municipal transport operation during the past year:—
%gallium—line to a decrease in receipts of a little over £1,000 and an increase in working expenditure of some £4,600, the gross profit on the motorbus undertaking dropped from £42,624 in 1934-1935 to £36,908 in 1935-1936. Nevertheless, the number of passengers carried increased from 25.170,293 to 25,446,236. Loan charges swallowed up nearly 50 per cent. l the gross profits on the bus eY:orein• canibe.—A successful year was experienced, the gross profit having risen from -415,844 in 1934-1935 to 416,260 last year. The net profit increased from £8,175 to £8,644, whilst the number of passengers carried rose by 355,021.