ITS NEW BUSES
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BY NORMAN H. TILSLEY
To say that Maidstone likes its new Atlantean buses is almost an understatement. After spending a day in and around this small county town, travelling on the various routes, talking to the travelling public, the crews and the management of the Corporadon's transport department, I came to the conclusion that they all but love their new light blue and cream rear-engined, doubledeck 72-seaters.
Serving its 71,000-odd population which resides in the 6,194 acres of the town, plus the many thousands who flock in from the surrounding Kent countryside on market day, the Corporation runs a modest fleet of 53 public service vehicles. It comprises 37 motorbuses, mainly of the Leyland brand—there are only three old Daimler "outsiders"—and 16 trolleybuses, both Sunbeam and BUT.
The 72-seater Atlanteans mentioned earlier currently number eight—four of which were introduced on December 1 of last year, and four on January 1 of this year. These,yehicles represent the first part of a two-stage conversion of the town's trolleybus routes to motorbuses. The second stage—the provision of a further eight large-capacity Atlanteans which are now on order— will be completed in April and May of next year. By that time
16 Atlanteans will have replaced a total of 24 trolleybuses on routes plying between Banning on one side of the town and Loose and the Park Wood Estate on the other, travelling right through the centre of Maidstone.
Public transport in Maidstone, so far as the Corporation's undertaking is concerned, dates back to 1904 when the first tram route between High Street and Banning was started. Sanction to run omnibuses within the borough boundary was obtained in 1923, the first service actually being inaugurated in April, 1924. In 1928 the first trolleybus travelled along the original tram route and, two years later, the last trams in the town were taken out of service, being replaced by trolleybuses.
Unlike many other towns and cities in the country which have scrapped trolleybuses route by route, Maidstone—because of its size and the fact that its routes do not lend themselves to the conversion of any particular section—decided to maintain all its trolleybus .routes until the completion of both stages of its trolley-to-motorbus replacement programme.
The reasoning behind general manager Walter Kershaw's decision to keep his trolleybuses running to the last moment was basically threefold. By that time all senior electrical mainten ance staff and the few long-service trolleybus drivers who have not obtained p.s.v. driving licences will be due for retirement. Indeed, the whole timing of the conversion from beginning to end has been carefully designed so that nobody will become redundant. In addition the Corporation's new combined depot and offices, to be situated on the southern side of the .town near the Wheatsheaf, will be ready for occupation. (The depot and offices now in use are al: the original tram depot at Banning.) The trolleybus fleet, in any case, is nearing the end of its life— the oldest dating back to 1943, the youngest having been manufactured in 1953. And with a service mileage for these vehicles in 1965 of 658,675, the spares problem has become acute.
When the proposition to convert the routes to motorbuses was put to the Council early in 1964, Mr. Kershaw enumerated the advantages and disadvantages of the trolleybus as compared with its diesel-engined counterpart as follows:—
Advantages: operated on home-produced fuel; freedom from fumes; latitude and less legislative restrictions in operating; less noisy; protective fares; longer vehicle life; smooth and rapid acceleration; no fuel consumption when vehicle is stationary; use of traction poles for carrying street lighting—one of the department's responsibilities—and other street "furniture".
Disadvantages: lack of mobility; routebound, with particular reference to Maidstone's growing one-way-street systems; vulnerability to power failure; subject to a high rateable value with regard to the poles; spares difficulties; high cost of new overhead equipment, and the cost of operating two types of public transport.
Once approval had been given and the new £7,000-plus vehicles ordered (they were purchased out of a reserve fund, the undertaking being debt free at the moment) steps were taken to train drivers so that they could obtain p.s.v. driving licences. Consultations were held with union representatives who proved to be most co-operative.
Eventually the vehicles arrived and were put into service, eight trolleybuses being withdrawn one to be cannibalized for spares, the remainder to be sold by tender.
When the public and staff were sounded to ascertain their reactions, Mr. Kershaw reached the same conclusion that I did when I carried out my incognito investigation. The travelling public praised the heating, the brightness of the interior Formica trimming and the roominess in general.
As for the crews, they, too, are well pleased—in particular the conductors who, on routes that have many stops, are now able to devote their full attentions to fare collection, the drivers having taken over the platform drill. One thing in particular that I found had "caught on" was the new light blue and cream livery which was introduced with the first Atlantean.
Compared with the brown and cream of the remaining trolleybuses and the other motorbuses, the feeling was that this, coupled with the introduction of new buses with fares that seem ridiculously low (3d. minimum and 10d. maximum) was certainly a positive step in the right direction. The public definitely are attracted to travelling on these vehicles in Maidstone.