Wheels Across the Sea
Page 24
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NOTHER breach in national insularity was ftforced last week, when the East Kent Road Car Co., Ltd., and Europabus began reciprocal coach services between England and the Continent. The link was made possible by the simple expedient of extending a service from Brussels to Ostend to connect with the ferry.
It is now possible to travel in first-class comfort by coach for less than third-class rail fare from England to many parts of the Continent, using only one ticket and with prior knowledge of the total cost of any journey. The Europabus organization is known in all centres of the Continent and represents such a variety of services that tours can be arranged with little limitation on the areas to be visited.
Coach touring on the Continent has been a strong feature of post-war development in British passenger transport and many people who would not otherwise have been able to travel abroad have gained a wider outlook. The new service ' supplements the more expensive, organized tours and should promote the exchange of visitors between Britain and Europe.
Some goods-vehicle operators are now running vehicles to the Continent and slowly the barriers between England and Europe are being broken down. The present ferry service could not deal with a large increase in commercial-vehicle traffic, but the facilities would undoubtedly be increased if the demand arose.
The Economic Commission for Europe is working towards the unification of the European transport system. Britain is taking part in the deliberations and recognizes the importance of a free interchange of traffic Customs procedure is still an impediment to easy movement across frontiers, but if the efforts that are being made to simplify it succeed, much will have been done to establish international amity.