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London' s Annual Traffic Report.

15th January 1914
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Page 10, 15th January 1914 — London' s Annual Traffic Report.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The Traffic Branch of the B.O.T. Presses for Further Road Facilities as the Only Effective Means of Relieving Congestion. There is Evidence of a Desire to Make the Best of the Tramway Trouble.

It is our custom each year to devote considerable space to a resume of those points which are contained in the annual report of the London Traffic _branch of the Board of Trade that obviously arc of interest to the industry with which we are sive:fie-ally concerned. Last year, in our issue for the 27th February, when we were reviewing the London Traffic Reportfor 1912, we had occasion to regret the lack of publicity which was then officially given to the epoch-making success which the motorbus had by then achieved in the Metropolis and elsewhere.

Tells Us Little of the Motorbus.

After caref idly and with considerable pains absorbing the mass ot information which was contained in that Blue Book, as with most others of the kind, we weie left with an unpleasant impression that -those who were responsible for its production were under some restraint in respect of the amount of enthusiasm they were allowed publicly to record for the motorbus, as compared with the competitive tramcar.

The report for 1913 is under the same cloud. Were the average man of London's 7,251,358 population to be asked what was by far the most important phase of London's internal traffic facilities at the present time, he would indubitably reply "The moterbus." Of that we have scarcely any doubt. It has with mushroom growth overtaken its long-established rival, the tramcar. It has provided the Metropolis with unrivalled point-to-point travelling facilities, and it has forced the tramway authorities to-day to effect alterations which, had they been concerned to improve their services to the utmost without delay, should have been instituted many months and even years ago. The Tubes themselves felt the opposition of the L.G.O.C. and of the few other companies to be so potent of harm to their own prospects, that they did not hesitate to secure financial control in order that this new and powerful traffic factor might be with -them and not against them.

The report of the London Traffic Branch of the Board of Trade for 1913 devotes very nearly one page and a quarter, of its 114 folios, to the omnibus. The rest is given over to an academic discussion of desirable. new road schemes, to the bringing up to date of statistics which have appeared in previous annuals, to nine pages concerning the tramway systems of London, and to twelve pages on the tube and suburban railway network.

Tribute is again paid to the rapid strides which are being made in respect of the supersession of the horse by the motor in the delivery-van world, and, indeed, the tables which are included in the appendices to the report are confirmation of this tendency.

London's Vast Population. Some Figures.

The report proper opens with a number of interesting figures in respect of the vast population of the greatest city in the world and its surrounding districts. It was something of ashock to the writer to read that Greater London, which coincides with the Metropolitan police district, comprises an area of no less than 692.84 square ,miles, and that. within those bounds there is contained a. population of 7,251,358. or considerably more than the. entire population of the Dominion of Canada. The Commonwealth of Australia. in 1911, only contained 4,920.000 people. New York. with a population of 41 million, houses 26 persons to the acre ; London accommodates 60 in the same area.

c=_1 The Londoner Travels More and More.

The Londoner's travelling habit, and with him must be included his many friends andvisitors, is still increasing. Front the vast mass of statistics compiled in respect of the number of journeys carried out by the various means which are to his hand, it is how ascertained that, during the whole of 1912, the nurnher of journeys per head, based on the population figures

we have quoted, wa-s 2-43.9, as against 223.8 the previous year and as little as 144.9 but a decade aL;:to.

Cause of Traffic Congestion.

Considerable space is given to the consideration of the regulation of street traffic, and in this connection such problems as the insufficient width of streets, the use of centre standards in roadways, the breaking up of streets, and the unloading of standing vehicles are amongst the subjects discussed. In respect of the brea.king up of streets, we. should have liked to have seen emphasis laid on the necessity for collating the requirements of the various authorities who have the right to do " what they like when they like " with the public road surfaces. The ridiculous state of affairs which allows a hydraulic company to pull up-a. length of road which has only just been closed by an electriclight undertaking should cease without delay. Requirements should be made known to a central authority well in advance, and, once the street is up, annt only then, should repairs be allowed to be effected to the underground conduits. pipes and what not, Still a Vast Field to Motorize.

We have no space to discuss at any length the useful traffic censuses which accompany the statistics: which are. tabulated with such care every year in these reports, but we ina-y indicate the trend of their development by culling the following figures. In 1913, six per cent, of the passenger vehicles which were observed were horse-drawn, compared with 11 per cent. in 1912, and 73 per cent, in 1911. In 1913, 88 per cent, or Om trade vehicles were horse-drawn, compared with 91 per cent. in 1912 and 94 in 1911. These figures, if they do no more, serve admirably to illustrate the contention we so frequently make that the commercialvehicle industry, busy as it may seem to be at the moment, has, as yet, only touched the fringe of its potentialities.

Fewer Public-carriage Licences Than Ever.

Turning now to the tabulated particulars with regard to public-carriage licences, we find that a state of affairs has now been reached, although the statistics go no further than the end of 1912, wherein the total number of four-wheeled hackney-carriage lieences issued in 1912 was 10,354, or over 1000 less than were issued in 1903, in which year every one of them, with one exception, was horse-drawn. Again, with omnibuses, in 1903, when there were only 13 motorbuses, there were 3636 licence-s issued during the twelvemonth. In 1912, when there were 2908 motorbuses, the total licences issued were over 300 less than 10 years previously.

With respect to the number of passengers carried by the tramways, the information, which we published at the time, with regard to the carrying of 512.652,653 passengers during the year ended the 31st March, 1913, for anet profit of £497 9s. 3d., is recorded, and this in spite of the fact that, the car-miles had been increased by nearly three and a half million over the previous year. There was a decrease in the number of passengers of over 20 millions.

Trolleybus Development is Slow.

The report has nothing cheering to say as to the prospects of progress of the much-boomed trolleybus, nor does it tell us the result of the working of the London County Council's experiments with trailer cars, or again with the self-propelled, petrol-driven equipments, which it was understood wore to be the subject of experiment in the Woolwich district.

The Ramifications of the Tubes.

We are not concerned, in this journal, other than relatively, with the internal and analytical examination of the many pages which are devoted to discussion of the plans and achieved developments of the tube and suburban railway systems, although they make interesting reading for the whole of the travelling public. At any rate, the tube interests cannot be amused of diminishing vigour if their endeavours are revealed by the pages of this report.

Street Accidents. A Missing Table.

Much space is given to the subject of street. accidents, and a great deal of evidence which was given before the recent Select Committee on the subject is reproduced. We notice, however, that a most informative table, published as Appendix C-Vi in the 1912 Report, is missing from this year's Blue Book. The table showed " the number of accidents to persons or property known or reported to the police as due to the presence of tramlines and tramcars in the streets." We consider this to be a most, significant omission at the present juncture ; we hope to ascertain that this alteration in the contents of the Annual Report is due to no desire to minimize the tramway dangers at the expense of the motorbus.

Traffic Over the Bridges.

We perhaps may conclude our rapid survey of the publication-in question by again, as in previous years, considering for a moment the traffic census figures over the principal river bridges. We have always considered that these points of observation are particularly useful, as they are so little liable to temporary variation from unexpected causes. We find that the latest figures, taken, as a matter of fact, on one day in 1913, reveal that the Tower Bridge is again at the top of the list in respect of the total of trade vehicles. It also heads the list for the number of steam wagons and similar machines. BIackfriars Bridge is next, and then London Bridge. It will be recalled that we have commented, on previous occasions, on the fact that London Bridge by no means occupies prior position in respect of so many classes of traffic. Considering for a moment the ascertained totals of passenger vehicles, we, find that Westminster Bridge shows a greatly increased total, and stands at the head of the list of public and private passenger vehicles, which include trams, omnibuses, cabs and carriages. Next is Blackfriars Bridge, and London Bridge has third position. In respect of motorca,bs, Westminster is first, Waterloo second, London Bridge third, Blackfria,rs fourth. Almost alone in precedence, London Bridge can claim to 'be top of the list in respect of motorbuses, Westminster carrying over 1000 less on the day of observation.

Finally, we may notice the statistics as to the relative danger to pedestrians of wide and narrow roads. During the six years ended 1912, the fatalities per mile were ;—.29 on roads under 32.5 ft. wide ; 42 on those between 32.5 ft. and 36 ft. ; 1.04 on those be.tween 40 ft. and 50 ft. ; and 1.10 on roads over 50 ft.


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