OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects, connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be on one side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted.
Omnibus Facilities at the British Empire Exhibition.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[22661 Sir,—The attention of the readers' of The Commercial Motor is directed to the following matter :— " Written answers to questions in the House of Commons (vide Hansard of June 26th, 1924).
"MR. BROAD asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that at Wembley on WhitMonday night the London General Omnibus Company were obliged to obtain permission from the official in charge of the char--banes park ' to allow the company to park over 120 omnibuses to enable them to convey the people away, and that this occurred at a time when the police regulations prohibited other omnibuses from picking up passengers at all ; and in view of the strong public feeling that undue preference is being given to this company, whether he will con ,• sider the revision of the regulations.
"Ma. HENDERSON : It is known that the London General Omnibus Company did make arrangements for a-number of omnibuses to stand in the char:a-banes 'park,' and so far as the police are concerned it is open to the proprietor of any omnibus to make similar arrangements. • The regulations which were in force only prevented omnibuses omnibuses stopping in the Wembley Hill Road south of Raglan Gardens. No preference whatever has been onwill be given by the police; and it is not proposed to revise the regulations which have secured the object for which they were made."
Writing on behaii of nearly one hundred independent omnibus proprietors, I must state that the answer as given is most unsatisfactory, and for the following reasons :- The arrangements referred to in the reply concern private-hire vehicles, whilst Mr. Broad is asking about public-hire omnibuses, and I believe it is a fact that, owing to the splendid presence of mind of the char-à-bancs " park " officials, a large number of " combine " vehicles were permitted to leave the south-west entrance via the private "park;" thereby avoiding a very ugly and critical situation and relieving pressure and congestion. So far as the independent omnibuses are concerned, thanks to an arrangement made between the Exhibition authorities and the L.G.O.C. whereby no passenger-carrying vehicle can approach the southwest entrance except those belonging to the " combine," it has been necessary for this Association to make arrangements for the use of the char-k-bancs " park " or stop away, because a large number of our memhers inform us that they cannot get a tuiningpoint sanction.
As for the police regulations, is Mr. Henderson aware of those issued by the Acting Commissioner of Police, dated New Scotland Yard, June 11th, 1524, which datewas two days later than Whit-Monday? We must also point out that, on March 19th last, this Association drew the attention of the Minister of Transport to the potential danger which would inevitably arise eiving to the inadequate and unfair arrangements due to the virtual conferring of a monopoly upon the " combine."
Apart from this aspect of the case, are the authorities aware of the fact that, to enable the public to be brought away from the Exhibition, it frequently becomes necessary for the L.G.O.C. to
diATert their vehicles from all over the Metrepolis? This state of affairs from an organization which has made such a song about independent omnibuses runfling to no settled plan (vide Lord Ashfield, February 21st, 1924), particularly when such tactics, where they have taken place, have been directly due to the " combine " policy of flooding routes, speaks for itself. ,
The members of this Association wish the British Empire Exhibition every success, but they must protest against monopolies with which they ai e in no way connected, either from a financial or a manufacturing standpoint.—Yours faithfully, ASSOCIATION OF LONDON OMNIBUS PROPRIETORS, Lm., VERNON H. BURTON, Assistant Secretary. Room 18, 59-61, New Oxford Street, London, W.C.1.
Roadside Accommodation for Drivers.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2267] Sir,—I was pleased to see, in your issue of July 1st, an article dealing with the subject of roadside accommodation for commercial-vehicle drivers.
I think it is high time that something was done in this respect and, as a driver who has frequently experienced the hardships resulting from inability to find suitable wayside accommodation, I would •like to be allowed to put forward a suggestion.
Could not the Commercial Motor Users Association help drivers by compiling a list of names and addresses of hotels, inns, private houses, etc. where accommodation could be obtained? It would be quite an easy matter to compile such a list from names and addresses obtained from the employees of its members. This list would be of great service, especially to drivers covering new routes.
It is always a matter of great difficulty to obtain suitable accommodation, especially when undertaking a new route, and what has proved of great service to me in such cases is the list of theatrical boarding houses. This list contains addresses covering England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and I think that a similar list could quite easily be compiled by the C.M.U.A. or some other association Or person taking an interest in the comfort of commercial-vehicle drivers whose work often involves an absence from home for three or four days at a time. Another point I might mention is that, although I have carried the C.M.U.A. badge for years, I have never yet found that it brought any assistance in the case of a breakdown on the road, and I have often contrasted this with the facilities which are offered by the Automobile Association. I think a little help in this direction would do a great deal of good for the C.M.U.A., especially round about my neighbourhood, viz. the Glasgow district.—Yours faithfully, Glasgow. SPARKS.
[2268] Sir,—I am glad someone is thinking of the troubles that drivers of lorries are often in, and hope that, now the subject has been mentioned, a discussion of the difficulties will help us to get some better accommodation and more organized assistance on the roads. In the past three weeks I have slept four nights on the van, and I do not mind admitting that the experience is a long way from being -.pleasant. Once, if I had only gone another five miles--as found out the next morning—I would have come to an inn where it had a sign out saying that drivers of commercial vehicles were specially catered for, and I saw there was a good yard where I could have put the van. Who will prepare a list of such places ?—
Yours faithfully, J. T. TIMPSON.