Subsidy for Road Transport
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in Anglesey?
IN an article published in "The Commercial Motor on September 10, 1948, it was suggested that in each county where special trade development measures were necessary, a statutory committee should be set up with powers (inter alia) to finance the transport operations of new or developing industries by paying to the British Transport Commission, for a limited number of years, the additiOnal -costs above the normal involved in ,handling the new traffic. The committee would obtain funds to do this by means of a long-term loan from the Government, free of interest for the first five years and at a very low rate thereafter.
The island of Anglesey is a concrete case where something needs to be done. It is curiously little known to people in most parts of the country, although with an area of 276 square miles it is much larger than the Isle of Man and nearly double the size of the Isle of Wight. The landscape is an undulating pastoral one, with several considerable stretches of swamp, whilst round the coast are some attractive coves and sandy beaches which each year attract a certain number of discriminating visitors—mainly from Lancashire. Most of the roads are narrow and twisting, and, in fact, on some, on which bus services are run at fairly frequent intervals, it is impossible for two vehicles to pass.
The population in 1945 was 46,070. The county town is Llangefni (population 1,685) and the other towns are Holyhead (9,375), Amlwch (2,318). Beaumaris (1.860) and Menai Bridge (1,712)
B.14 Although Anglesey has always been mainly agricultural, for about 150 years, from 1762, copper was mined at Amlwch to the extent of 3,000 tons a year and the place was then a busy port. With the workingout of the copper, decay set in and as agriculture was in the doldrums at the same time, the plight of the island became serious. The general _depression of the 1930s. hit it still further and the population dropped from 51,775 to the present figure. Even in June, 1948. 7 per cent. of the adult population of the island was wholly unemployed—a high figure for these days.
The Government and local authorities, therefore, welcomed the decision of Saunders Engineering and Shipyard, Ltd., to use a factory at Beaumaris (which had repaired flying-boats during the war) for the purpose of building all-metal bus bodies. Under the management of Mr. W. P. Kemp, a staff of 820 has been built up and work is at present in hand for London Transport (250 bodies), San Paulo (91) and Buenos Aires (50), in addition to the reconditioning of a large number of pontoons for the Ministry of Supply. Seven or eight complete bodies are being turned out weekly Beaumaris is situated in the south-east corner of the island and has no railway service. It is impossible for most of the workers in the factory to find living accommodation in or near Beaumaris, and they come from all over the island and from places on the mainland. The expense, however, is formidable, as the following examples will show:—From Amlwch the fare is 15s. per week and from Newborough 12s. 6d. per week. Daily return fares are 5s. 6d. from Rhosneigr, 2s,.. 8d. from Llanfairfechan, 2s. 4d. from Caernarvon, 3s. 6d. from Llanberis and is. 11d. from Bethesda. These are all places from which considerable contingents come.
Conveyance from Almwch is arranged by the factory's hiring a bus outright and •then collecting the cost from the employees, but in all other cases passengers on the special buses which are run to the works pay their fares in the ordinary way.
War-time Assisted Travel During the war there was an assisted-travel scheme, whereby fares to the factory in excess of 3s. per week were paid by the Government, but this concession was withdrawn in May, 1946. If the scheme suggested in the article of September 10 were in force, Anglesey County Council, instead of subsidizing the manufacturer in respect of carriage charges, would be able to subsidize the workers in respect of their fares for a number of years until houses could be erected within reasonable reach of the factory.
Alternatively, advantage might be taken of the nationalization of the Crosville Motor Services, Ltd. As an instrument of national economic policy it could be instructed to carry workpeople to this factory at what were really (for the bus undertaking) uneconomic fares and, if thought fit, it could be subsidized by the county council, using the fund already referred to.
At this point it will, perhaps, be convenient to refer to the growth of the Crosville interests in the island. The Holyhead district was the scene of some of the early L.N.W.R experiments with buses, but the first regular motor services were probably those of the Beaumaris and District Motor Co., which began on August 1, 1910, between Beaumaris and Bangor. This company was acquired in the 1920s by Bangor Blue Motors (a concern then jointly owned by Tourist Hotels, Lancashire United Tramways and A. and R.. Motors). Bangor Blue Motors were themselves absorbed in April, 1928, by the Llandudno Coaching and Carriage Co (" The Royal Blue ").
Operators Bought Out About the same time, W. Webster, of Wigan, bought the four vehicles of U-Need-Us Motors, of Caernarvon. At that time the Llandudno company was running five times a day from Bangor to Holyhead. U.N.U. put on an hourly service to Holyhead and a two-hourly service to Llangefni via Newborough. At the extremity of the county, Holyhead Motors (Mona Maroon) were running from Holyhead to Valley, South Stack, Rhoscolyn, Amlwch and Benllech (via Llangefni).
The L.M.S.R., as the owner of Crosville Motor Services, Ltd., from October, 1929, bought Mona Motors on November 4, 1929, and on January 1, 1930, acquired U.N.U., which, by then, owned 12 buses. In November of the same year the Liangoed Red service from Bangor to Penman was bought and the Llandudno Coaching and Carriage Co. itself was transferred from B.E T. control to Crosville on February 18, 1931. Subsequent acquisitions have been: H. Williams, of Shop Ucliaf (Rhydwen-Holyhead); H. Williams, of Glyn Afon (Glyn Afon-Holyhead); Evan Owen, of Garreglefu (Amlwch-Llangefni); j. H. Roberts, of Trevos, and J. Roberts, • of Gwalchmai (both Llangefni-Holyhead), and G. R. Parry, of Llanddeusant (Amlwch-Holyhead), all on May 1, 1935; Mechell Maroon (Bangor-Cemaes and Holyhead-Cemaes), on June 5, 1935; D. Jones, of Newborough (Llangefni-Newborough), on June 15, 1936, and 0. Glyn Parry, of Benllech (LlangefniBenllech), on August 11, 1941.
• The position now is, therefore, that Crosville Motor Services, Ltd., is the sole stage-operator in the county, with the exception of F,. Pritchard, of Newborough, who owns four buses and, in addition to school contracts, works a stage service from Newborough to Llangefni, via Llangaffo.
There are other coach owners, but these all deal only with private-hire work. T. Jones and Sons, Menai Bridge, have 10 coaches, and the others—R. 0. Jones, of Llanfaethlu, W. E. Jones, of Llanerchymedd, Jones, of Benllech, and Rowlands, of Amlwch—have one or two each.
Three Crosville bepots Crosville has the three depots in the island, at Holyhead (16 vehicles summer, 12 winter), Amlwch (12 and 13 respectively) and Llangefni (12 and nine respectively), but much of the mileage is worked by Bangor garage, where 45 buses are stationed in winter and 64, plus two coaches, in summer. The whale area comes under the divisional superintendent at Caernarvon For the Saunders works, Crosville supplies a total of 11 extra vehicles, including the one from Amlwch referred to above, one from Llangefni and two from Caernarvon. The bus company also runs two specials from Amlwch to the recently established factory of the Anglesey Clock Construction Co. at Holyhead. Other services into Holyhead are duplicated for this purpose, but the problem there is not so difficult as at Beaumaris because of the larger resident population of Holyhead, the existence of the railway connection crossing the island from Bangor, the smaller size of the factory, and the use of double-deckers on the main road from Menai Bridge • War-time shortage of rolling stock delayed the introduction of double-deckers into the island until March 26, 1945, and, in any case, it would not have been possible to run a through-service of such vehicles before the reopening of the Menai Bridge on December 31, 1940, after rebuilding. The old bridge had a weight limit of 4i tons, which necessitated the use of light single-deckers. Twenty-seaters were normally used, but vehicles with 26 seats were run at one time. Even with the 20-seaters, most of the passengers had to walk over the bridge.
It was certainly not safe in its later years and swung so much in a high wind that one night the holding bolts on the Caernarvon side snapped. A bus was actually on the bridge at the time and only by clever judgment was the driver able to get it on land. At that time, too, a toll had to be paid of 3s. 6d. per bus and id. per passenger for each crossing. Recently a tie-bar on the bridge has had to be raised to allow full-height double-deckers from Saunder's factory to cross.
Crosville wants to use double deckers on the Beaumaris route and Saunders Company is pressing for them in the interests of workpeople. The operator, however, is faced with a difficulty which people outside the trade might not appreciate. The road is narrow and twisty, but, provided the trees are kept pruned back, double-deckers could safely be operated as far as Beaumaris.
A Double-decker Problem
But that is not the terminus of the route. In order to provide a half-hourly service without excessive lapover, buses continue beyond Beaumaris over three short lengths of road so as to tap the villages of Glanyrafon, Penman and Llanddona on successive journeys. Doubledeckers cannot be operated over these lengths, so what is to be done if the double-deckers be put on to turn at Beaumaris?
Although the influx of visitors in the summer is small compared with that experienced in the Isles of Wight and Man, the ordinary services do need strengthening and a number of "summer only" services to run. An interesting one is that in conjunction with Caernarvon Corporation. The corporation works a ferry across the strait to Foel and five times a day a bus connects with it, so as to give three through-journeys to Rhosneigr and short workings to Malltreath and Aberffraw.
Llangefni, the county town, is the scene of the island's biggest market, held on Thursday, to serve which extra buses are operated from most parts. On some of these services special market returns at reduced rates are issued. On the ordinary services there is interavailability of road and rail tickets in the usual way. There' is now no passenger service on the Holland ArmsBenilech and Red Wharf Bay branch line, and buses meet the principal trains at Bangor in the summer.
There are no large haulage fleets in the island, the biggest, probably, being that of the Milk Marketing Board, based on Llangefni. Eighteen vehicles are available for local work, although only 15 are scheduled for regular runs. One 2-tonner and two 5-tonners are engaged in deliveries of milk to the schools, whilst 12 5-tonners collect from farmers all over the island. There' are 23 collection rounds, 11 lorries doing two rounds each per day. The collection vehicles leave the depot at 7.30 a.m. and return with the first load about 9 a.m. and the second about 2.30 p.m.
Milk Tankers to Liverpool
The trunk service to Liverpool is worked by nine 1,500-gallon tankers, with one spare. Four are E.R.F. and six A.E.C. The round trip of 193 miles occupies 12 hours, including an hour's break at Liverpool, where the tanks are steamed out. As the vehicles weigh 12 tons gross when loaded, it is not possible to send them direct over the Conway Bridge, so they have to make a great detour 'via Bethesda, Bettios, Llanrwst, Talycafn and Glan Conway. On the return trip, being empty, they can use the Conway Bridge, but have to pay a toll of 7s. 6d.
Weekly maintenance work on the vehicles is done at Llangefni and (at 3,000-mile intervals) such jobs as changing sump oil, adjusting brakes and tappets, checking wheel alignment, etc. For work beyond this the vehicles are sent to Clitheroe.
The Milk Marketing Board's fleet is, of course, operated .under C licences. There are no A or B fleets anywhere near such a size. T. Jones and Sons, of Menai Bridge, already mentioned as coach owners, have a lorry and four furniture vans. The firm have an extensive overhaul works for such a relatively small undertaking, so that engineering work can be, and is, undertaken for other operators. Wm. Owen and Sons, also of Menai Bridge, have two furniture vans. Chadderton, of Dwyran, with four lorries, is engaged in livestock and general agricultural work, as also are Harper, of Holyhead, and Rowland, of Ty-croes, with three vehicles each. F. N. Rowlands, of Beaumaris, has four on general work. The livestock operators run frequently to the mainland, generally to Liverpool, and vehicles belonging to Lancashire operators are often seen entering the island.
F. D. Hulse, of Liverpool (a subsidiary of Topham Bros.), operates a regular service for smalls, which appears to be the only one of its kind serving the island, although larger split deliveries are handled by P. L. and
G. Harris, of Lostock Gralam. The railways run cartage services from the principal stations.