PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
Page 26
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
STOCKPORT'S PROFITABLE SERVICES.
The Municipal Transport Accounts for the Past Year Point to the Successful Operation of the Corporation's Buses and Trams.
THAT the passenger-transport ser.vices of the Stockport Corporation are a profitable undertaking is disclosed by the recently issued annual report of the general manager of the tramways department for the year ended March 31st last. The actual net surplus on the revenue account for both trains and buses was £60,140, equal to 5.614d. per vehicle-mile, and towards this sum the buses contributed £1,574. During the year with which we are dealing, 85 tramcars and 18 buses were in use, but since the close of the municipal year additions have been made to the bus fleet which, according to the analysis of municipal bus services published in our issue dated May 22nd, then consisted cif 80 vehicles, made up as follow :-25 Leylands, 3-84-seaters, 22 21)-seaters; 5 Vulcans, 2 26-seaters, 3 20-seaters.
On March 31st last the total route mileage served by the Stockport fleet was 60.82—buses 35.01 miles, trams 25.81 miles—the figure including routes operated under running agreements with other authorities.
Details of the working of the buses are included under the tramways revenue account, but it is possible to ' dissect them from it. 0,n the debit side traffic revenue brought in £18,426, -whilst outgoings totalled £16,852, made up as follows :—Traffic expenses, £9,506; cost of maintenance and repairs, Including renewals out of revenue, £2,880; cost of petrol, £2,404; general expenses, 12,062. Reduced to a per-mile basis, revenue was 10.038d. and ex-' penditure 9.179d. •
Dealing with the municipal passenger transport system as a whole, the total revenue amounted to £182,113 and the total working expenses to £121,973. No charges had to be met for interest or repayment of loans, but an income-tax liability on profits accounted for £8,017, the rent of leased lines £3,386, expenditure on buses £3,870, a contribution in aid of the rates £8,000, these items and two smaller sums being shown on the debit of the tramways net revenue Account and totalling £24,593. The other side of this account totals £69,243, made up of £60,140 transferred from the revenue account, £8,000 the balance
brought forward, £963 bank interest, and a smaller item of £140. Thus the net balance is £44,650 and the chief allocations made from it are as follow: —To the reserve and renewals account, £28,152; in aid of the rata, £8,000; to the replacement of motorbuses account, £4,08; new car shed and offices account,
£2,873.
During the year under review the buses covered a mileage of 440,529 and the trams a mileage of 2,130,405, the number of passengers carried by the former vehicles being 3,121,855 and by the latter vehicles 28,969,059.
The total borrowing powers sanctioned in connection with Stockport's municipal passenger transport service amount to £332,347, of which sum nnexhausted. powers total £84,347. The capital expenditure on the system has amounted to £383,503, £209,482 being out of loans.