A PASSENGER TRANSPORT PARADISE?
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By C. S. DU N BAR, Minst.T.
4 4 ERSEY, Guernsey, Alderney arid Sark " runs the
schoolboy's jingle to help him recall the names of the Channel Islands. Then, in the right season, the sight of Jersey tomatoes is of further assistance in bringing to mind these semi-independent islands, lying nearer to France than to Britain, and depending largely upon the export of tomatoes and potatoes for their livelihood Both these commodities come from Jersey in some quantities, whilst Guernsey, farther south, exports grapes. Both islands have a quarrying industry, but ii is to tourists that both turn for much of their income. Visiting Jersey and Guernsey in October last year, I found the road transport situation most interesting. It was necessary to forget both 1930 and 1933 as far as legislation was concerned, nor was the effect of the railways on the industry to be considered, for there are no longer any railways on the islands.
Both islands are independent of each other and are semi-independent of Great Britain In this respect they greatly resemble the Isle of Man, except that the equivalent of the Manx Tynwald is the States, a local parliament held in each island.
Jersey measures roughly 12 miles from east to west and five from north to south. Its area is about 62 square miles, compared with 276 square miles in Anglesey, 227 in the Isle of Man and 147 in the Isle of Wight. Jersey possesses 400 miles of road, of which 150-160 are main roads Of a total population of about 57,000, half live in St.Helier.
The operation of public passenger carrying vehicles is 1312 controlled by the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1935, which somewhat resembles the British Road Traffic Act, 1930. Public service vehicles are, however, classified as omnibuses, chars-a-barics and cabs.
An omnibus corresponds to a stage or express carriage on the mainland, a char-a-bancs to.a vehicle on excursions and tours, whilst the term " cab " not only includes taxis but any bus on contract work. Licence plates are issued for all three classes and are carried on the near side of the back panel; they have to he illuminated at night.
In adition, all three classes of p.s.v. must have a licence to ply for hire (costing Is. per seat) and a certificate of fitness issued by the Inspector of Motor Traffic. The c.o.f. is valid for one year only. This provision was important in the days of unregulated competition when the standard .of maintenance was not very high, but nowadays such a short period would seem unnecessary.
Applications for road service licences, which authorize. the routes and fares in the case of omnibuses, but are not needed for the other. two classes, are heard at public sittings of the States Motor Traffic Committee in March and September.
Applicants have to advertise in the local papers at their own expense and pay SA with each application form. P.s.v. drivers are licensed by the Motor Traffic Inspector, but conductors do not need a licence. Ordinary driving licences are issued at 2s. 6d. per annum (after a test) by the Constables of the parishes. Here I must digress again to explain that in Jersey there are no municipalities or county councils. The island is divided into 12 parishes, each with a whole-time elected execu Live officer called the Constable. This official also issues cycle licences, for the law requires all cycles to carry a licence plate costing 2s. 6d. per annum.
Prior to the Motor Traffic Law, a licence to ply for hire entitled the holder to run anywhere, and consequently there was cut-throat competition. Before motorbuses came on the scene, the islanders were entirely dependent on horses and on two small railways—the Jersey (eight route miles from St. Helier to Corbiere) and the Jersey Eastern (61 miles from St. Helier to Gorey). Oil April 1, 1922, the Jersey company started feeder services from St,. Aubin and Beaumont Stations to outlying villages in the north-west. In the following year Lt.-Cdr. Hare, of Devon Motor Transport, sent 10 Bristol and two Thornycroft single-deckers to the island to begin operations on April 2, 1923, as the Jersey Motor Transport Co., Ltd. On most routes, the minimum fare was fixed at 2d. and in some cases more.
In August, 1928, the undertaking was purchased by Jersey RailWays, which in 1930 also acquired the Yellow Bus Service. The Jersey Eastern Railway also started buses as feeders, but its efforts were unsuccessful. The buses were withdraWri and the railway closed in 1929. The Jersey Railway was thus covering the whole island in competition with other operators
-Complications were much reduced by an agreement operative from October 26,1934, whereby J.M.T. operated in the western part of the island, Mr. E. Slade (Blue and White Bus) took over certain north-eastern routes and the Safety Coach Service the remainder. The latter concern started with an la-seat Morris-Commer.
cial in November, 1927, on a St. Helier town service (which had the novelty of id. fares) and gr'adually grew by acquisitions and by the starting of new services Among them was a through Gorey-St. Aubin service via St. Helier. on which both S.C.S. and J.M.T. were working from 1930 onwards. One unfortunate result of the area agreement of 1934 was the breaking or the through service
Mr. G B. Pitcher, running Tantivy Coaches, latei became a party to the agreement and secured the services due north of St. Helier to St. John's. The only other operator at the outbreak of war was Mr. J. 0. Manning, working a service taking in the northern part of St Helier under the name of Joe's Bus Service. Under the agreement, the weighbridge by Queen Victoria's statue became the terminus of all J.M.T. routes, S.C.S. ran into the cutting formerly occupied by the Jersey Eastern Station at Snow Hill, Tantivy turned at the cenotaph in the Parade, and Slade's at Minden Place. Services on the railway were finally withdrawn in 1937, leaving the island entirely dependent on buses.
During the German occupation skeleton services were run by vehicles using producer gas, but soon after the liberation a reversion to liquid fuel was made. The rule of the road, altered by the Germans to conform to Continental practice, also reverted to the British custom.
J.M.T took over the Slade services on May 1, 1946, S.C.S. services on November 2, 1946, and Tantivy (stage services only) on March 15, 1949 A monopoly, except for Joe's Bus Services and the Boulevard service run in the summer by Mr. S. G. Le May along the front of St. Aubin's Bay from West Park Slip to Bel Royal,-was thus secured
Scale of Annua Motorcycle, solo .. — ..
Motorcycle, combination .. .. Cyclecar, under 800 lb. .. .. ..
Motorcar, not exceeding 2 cons and 20 h.p. Each extra h.p. or part over 20 h.p. ..
Each # ton or part over 2 tons .. ..
Traffic Disparity This two-miles route is worked by two open Karrier Bantams seating 25. In addition to his original town service, most of which is not competitive with J.M.T., Mr. Manning (J.B.S.) on April I, 1949, started another in the eastern suburbs from Dicq to Grands Vaux.
As in other holiday resorts, the main problem facing J.M.T. is the disparity in the volume of traffic between summer and winter months There are no factory peaks to contend with, but there is an appreciable movement into St Helier in the morning and out again in the evening The capital is a magnet, too, on Saturday afternoon and evenings, and even in winter the Saturday afternoon services call for 51 buses.
A good feature of the working arrangements is that on all last departures from St. Helier all passengers are cleared, even if duplication is necessary. Regular headways only apply to the St. Aubin service (every 20 minutes) and the 18a town service (every half-hour). On other services, each of which is operated in winter only, one, or at most two, buses are required, departures from St. Helier depending on the running time of the round trip. Apart from Saturdays and a few extras on Wednesdays, about 24 buses are sufficient to run the basic winter time table, but another 20 or so are required for duplicates, school buses and the like. One or two spare buses are kept at the St. Helier termini for use at the inspiNtor's discretion.
Buses are allowed to carry standing passengers up to 25 per cent. of their seating capacity. Scheduling of duties is greatly facilitated by the absence of any statutory control of drivers' hours, and this enables an agreement with the Transport and General Workers' Union to be worked whereby split shifts are practically avoided. It is also an advantage in dealing with the problem of summer peak and winter trough. J.M.T. keeps a permanent staff sufficient to work the winter services, and these men cover the summer workings by what would be regarded in Britain as excessive hours
Buses ..
Chars-1..bancs Taxis Lorries Vans Tractors ..
Ambulances, fire tenders, • Private cars • • Motorcycles and autocycles • • Fares are normally based on 2d, per mile single ol lid, per mile return, but in some cases are higher, e.g., St. Helier to Bonne Nuit Bay (51 miles) costs Is. 2d. single, ls. 9d. return. To St. Brelade's Bay (5 miles), the fare is Is. single and Is. 6d. return, whilst fractions of a mile are calculated to the next highest penny. There. arc no penny fares except on route 5, which was recently taken over from Tantivy. Fares are thus dearer than in England but the operators contend that this is necessary having regard to traffic conditions on the island.
In 1948, J.M.T. buses ran 1,144,379 miles and carried 5,138,796 passengers. The week ending August 4 was the peak week of the year, when 37,743 miles were run and 196,698 passengers were carried.
The through south coast service from Gorey to St Aubin's, broken in 1934, has never been restored and is not likely to be io i) owing to the awkward lay-out and
2 0 0 congested nature of the central streets
3 0 0
5 0 o in St. Helier. This is a pity, since 7 6 1 0 0 the termini of the two groups of
routes are some way apart, and while it is possible to ride from Snow Hill to the Weighbridge on the town service it is not possible to ride in the reverse direction.
The acquisition of Slade's and Tantivy has improved connections by cutting out two stands. The Snow Hill station is interesting, because, as has already been said, it is on the site of the former Jersey Eastern Railway terminus. It is in a long narrow cutting and as there is insufficient room for turning, buses have to be reversed on a turn-table.
To an outsider, it seems that there ought to be scope (at least in summer) for a few buses a day on a service across to the north side of the island from Gorey to L'Etacq, for all routes, at present, radiate from St.
Helier. Such a service is successfully worked in Guernsey, where routes radiate from St. Peter Port. As can be surmised from the way the company has been built up, the J.M.T. fleet is a mixed one. There were 57 single-deck buses (49 petrol 1949 and eight oil-engined) and 14 doubledeckers (six petrol and eight oil) in service in October, 1949. In addition. seven single-deckers were out of service and four new vehicles (two doubleand two single-deck) were on order. The company also owns 15 12,712 coaches, which were laid up for the
81 78 151 2,116 1,325 713 12 6,594 1,639
winter and in fact only five of these are likely to run next summer.
Of the buses actually in service, 42 are Leyland, 11 Morris, six Albion and the remainder Dennis, Bedford. A.E.C., Dodge, Commer and Thornycroft. Seating capacities range from 20 upwards. There is only one lowbridge double-decker, as there is really no need for this type in the island; there are no overbridges to negotiate.
Maximum permissible dimensions in the island are 7 ft. 6 ins, width and 26 ft. length, but by special dispensation some 27-ft. 6-in, vehicles have been allowed. Dennis vehicles are employed on the town service with
7-ft. 4-in, wide bodies and 21 seats. These are used partly because of the narrow streets and partly because a conductor need not be carried on a vehicle with a seating capacity of less than 25. Generally speaking, 16 ft. is the maximum desirable wheelbase, owing to the sharp corners on the country roads.
Being semi-isolated and having Customs duties to contend with, J.M.T. has become almost entirely self-contained in regard to engineering work and literally everything in the way of maintenance and overhaul is done by the company's own men Day-to-day main tenance is carded out in sheds adjacent to the termini at the Weighbridge and Snow Hill, whilst the major work is handled on the siteof (he old Jersey Railway terminus.
There is no system of major and Minor docks or complete overhaul at fixed mileages or at a definite time. Al] vehicles are continually under examination in conjunction with drivers' reports and are brought in for work as it is required. The buses present a smart appearance in their green and cream livery. But the advertisements displayed in the usual position, along the side panels of the upper deck and alongside the company's initials, on the lower deck panels and even surrounding the front indicators, tend to spoil the effect. Route number boxes are now being fitted in an unusual but effective position on the near side of the front bulkhead just above the waistline.
In addition to Mr Le May's two Bantams already mentioned. there are Mr Manning's five vehicles to be included in the total of 78 vehicles providing the island's summer stage fleet.
Chars-a-banes for Touring J.M.T. has practically gone out of the coaching business, hut the touring public is well served by a fleet of 83 chars-h-bancs, including five which J.M.T. keep in service. Other owners with three or more vehicles are: Mascot Motors (Mr. Bagot), 16; Tantivy Motors (A. A. Pitcher, Ltd.), 12; Blue Coaches (Mr. G. A. Gandhi-I). 11; Red Line (Mr H. Swanson), seven; Waverley Tours (Mr. U. V Noel), four; Pioneer (Mr. Alio), three; Pioneer (M(. Gordon), three; Majestic (Mr. A. Rautier), three; Favourite (Mr. F. Hopkins), three.
There is no control of excursions and tours as in England, but all the owners, except J.M.T., are in an association and agree on fares. They also have an unusual gentlemen's agreement, whereby routes over certain narrow roads are only worked clockwise at certain hours of the day and anti-clockwise at others, the object being to avoid the possibility of coaches meeting where they Cannot pass.
Certain stands are allocated for coaches, but in practice most of the work is obtained from hotels and boarding houses in return for a commission, or from agencies in Great Britain, which arrange inclusive terms for visitors. The season lasts from about Whit-Monday to the end of September, but there is a fair amount of private party work in the winter to keep skeleton staffs busy. The coach owners, unlike the bus company, depend on being able to obtain additional labour in the summer, and last year, I understand, some of them experienced difficulty owing to the counter-attraction of high wages for tomato picking.
The figure for " cabs " given earlier includes a large number of boarding-house cars and other vehicles used for private work. There are actually 75 "rank vehicles," 50 being entitled to stand in Broad Street and the others distributed over the town. The " rank vehicles" correspond to the English taxis, and a fare control system applies to their operation.
Fares Controlled
These fares are one of the many items set out in the comprehensive regulations for the control of highways and other public places issued in 1947, which, inter aka, not only prescribe taxi fares but forbid people to bathe without costumes, to roll hoops, to roller skate on the roads or to beat carpets in the streets between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.
It is not possible to say much about commercial vehicles. There is no licensing as under the Road and Rail Traffic Act in Great Britain, and so no fleet statistics and no differentiation of users. I have, however, been told on good authority that the biggest fleet has 12 vehicles and that few exceed six.
The great bulk of owners have a Single vehicle only, and those who earn a living by haulage depend entirely on seasonal woi k They carry potatoes and tomatoes in the appropriate seasons, and in the winter collect seaweed from the beaches The latter is an important job in Jersey, as great quantities of weed are thrown up and it is much in demand as a fertilizer. Furniture removal seems to be done mainly by the furniture stores. There is no definite parcel service, nor even vehicles of the country carrier type.
Many parcels are carried by bus, and for smalls to and from the mainland, services are provided by British Railways' lorries, which are stationed in the island for general collection and delivery work.
The situation in Guernsey, which I shall describe next week, is even more interesting, for there serious attempts at co-ordination are being and have been made.
It must not be thought that these attempts in any way resemble those undertaken in this country They are more in the nature of operators' pacts for convenience