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Operating Aspects of

16th December 1939
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Page 45, 16th December 1939 — Operating Aspects of
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Passenger Transport

S.M.T. ANNOUNCES RECORD PROFITS

PROFITS of the Scottish Motor Traction Co., Ltd., for the past year amounted to the record figure of £378,880, against £292,430 in the previous year. This is revealed by the company's preliminary statement of accounts, which also announces a dividend on the Ordinary Stock of 10 per cent., free of income tax, for the year ended October 31, 1939. This dividend is payable on the capital as increased by a scrip bonus of 25 per cent. made

in 1938. Last week, a proposal to make a further 25 per cent. scrip bonus • was announced.

The present capital of the company is £1,858,000.

AVOIDING CONGESTION ON LONGDISTANCE SERVICES

AN important plea to passengers is being made by Midland " Red" and Railways Joint Motor Services, and it is one which may apply to others. While reduced services are in operation, those wishing to travel for only short distances are earnestly requested to do so on services especially arranged for them. Thus they will avoid crowding out passengers who desire to travel for considerable distances on vehicles provided particularly for their convenience.

CONCESSION TO LEEDS CAB DRIVERS

G0 V ER. NMENT approval has been given to Leeds City. Council's proposal to introduce a by-law which aims at helping the city's taxi-drivers during war-time difficulties. The by-law allows them to make an extra charge up to two miles, the amount not to exceed ls. 9d. for the distance covered from the taxi stand to a point where the passenger is picked up. Formerly, a driver could be involved in travelling a considerable distance to pick up a passenger without being able to make any extra charge.

LEICESTER TO RUN OIL BUS ON GAS

EXPERIMENTS carried out by the transport department of Leicester Corporation to utilize coal gas as a fuel for oil engines, without introducing an electric ignition system, have proved successful and a single-decker bus is now being installed with a 1,000cubic-ft. gas bag which will enable it to run 50 miles with the additional aid of two gallons of oil fuel. It would travel 91miles on oil alone.

The gas costs little, but it is on the grounds of saving oil fuel that it is being introduced. The loss of power with gas as an additional fuel is stated to be in the region of 20 to 23 per cent., although it can be decreased by raising the proportion of oil fuel.

Further experiments are being conducted by the department with another form of fuel, details of which are to be kept secret until the experiments have reached a further stage.

DARWEN'S NEW STATION IN USE FrHE new central bus station of

Darwen Corporation came into use on December 11. Every Corporation passenger-transport service now starts from this station, which has taken over six months to erect.

BLACK-OUT CARE REWARDED

ALL bus drivers and conductors employed by West Hartlepool Corporation, who are paid by the hour, are to receive an additional day's pay at Christmas, as a reward for an absence of serious accidents since the black-out started.

SOUTHPORT'S PREFERENCE FOR MORNING BUSES ASUGGESTION that Barrow-inFurness buses could be run less frequently between 9.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., which would provide enough petrol for 24 vehicles to run between 10.30 p.m. and 11 p.m. was rejected by the town council last week. It was pointed out that, at the moment, the transport committee could not consent to further strain on drivers at that time of night.

PLEA FOR BETTER MINERS' SERVICES A/TEETING last week, Swansea Chamalber of Trade deplored the great reduction of bus services in and around the town and resolved to approach the companies to provide more services at Christmas. The " winning " of coal is of first-class importance during wartime, but reduced bus services are sharply reacting on the miners' problem of getting to and from work.

Area No. 1 of the South Wales Miners' Federation has set up a committee, in Cardiff, to review the position of obtaining better services for miners travelling to work in the Welsh valleys. Hundreds of miners in the Amman and Swansea valleys have to walk many extra miles to get to work, owing to reduced services.

WALLASEY TRYING OUT COAL-GAS BUSES WALLASEY Transport Committee is VV making arrangements for the adaptation of two buses to coal-gas propulsion, with the prospect, subject to the experiment proving satisfactory. of a similar adaptation of a further five

-buses. •

MORE PAY FOR PROVINCIAL BUSMEN

ON Thursday of this week a union delegate conference was due to be held to consider the proposals under which 60,000 employees in municipally owned tram and bus undertakings throughout the country will receive a wages increase of 4s. a week. This figure is that recommended by the National Joint Industrial Council for the Road Passenger Industry, which met in London some days ago.

On the following day, the unions concerned were due to confer with representatives of the bug companies, when reports on discussions that have been proceeding with those interests were to be considered.

London, as already intimated, is being dealt with separately.

GREEN LINE COACH SERVICE RESTORED

ON Wednesday last, London Trans‘.../port restored one of its most important Green Line coach routes— that running from Corbets Tey,

Upminster, to Aldgate. The service was suspended on August 31, when the Government requisitioned all Green Line coaches as ambulances, and its resumption has been made possible by the release of a number of vehicles from war duty. Fares and facilities on the route will be as before the war, and weekly tickets will be obtainable.

MANCHESTER'S BUS-STATION PROJECT DEFERRED ifANCHESTER'S projected £60,000 albus station, near the Exchange Station, is deferred as the result of a resolution of the corporation transport committee. This is in pursuance of a general instruction from the Government for the shelving of nonessential schemes of capital expenditure.

When carried out, the scheme will entail the building of a huge bridge or platform over the River Irwell. The bus station built by Salford Corporation, some months ago, is only a few yards away. Manchester's aim is to provide adequate facilities for bus users on the north side of the city.

BUS DRIVER FINED FOR LIGHTING BREACH

RECENTLY, a St. Helens Corporation bus driver was fined £2 for a breach of the lighting regulations by flashing a fog lamp. He pleaded that the lamp was used in the interests of public safety.

Members of the local branch of the Transport and General Workers Union held a meeting on Sunday last and passed a resolution viewinrr° the conviction with alarm and demanding that the transport department pay the fine, fit the maximum lights allowed by law, and render inoperative any lighting equipment that is not normally allowed by law. The resolution also stated that if these requests be not granted the buses should not run during the hours of the black-out after to-day (Saturday).


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