The Motor Omnibus World.
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Comparison of the " Vanguard " report with Prospectus Statements.
The long-expected report of the directors of the London Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, was issued on the 9th instant, and it has been received, all round, with guarded expressions of opinion by the Press, The. principal difficulty in the way of criticism lies in the fact that the directors have elected, probably not without sufficient reasons, and, maybe, for the protection of their own shareholders, to lump together maintenance and depreciation. A careful examination of the Profit and Loss Account justifies our saying that the results cannot be looked upon as anything but encouraging, having regard to the notorious difficulties which are invariably associated with the inauguration of an entitely new system of conveyance. Whilst the directors are by no means " out of the wood," we feel that the many difficult and uncertain situations through which the management has passed, since the formation of the company in January, 1905, have been met with ability and discrimination. The gross revenue and profits from all sources" amount to £124,939, and our calculations, so tar as the receipts side is concerned, have been based upon the estimate that £120,000 of this has been the net sum derived from passengers' fares : we must admit, however, that the proportion of receipts from special hiring contracts may slightly vitiate this assumption. As it is stated that the average number of motorbuses "on service throughout the period," from March 27th, 1905, to June 30th, 1906, a total of 460 days, has been 38.25, we get a yield per omnibus in service of £47 15s. per week, and, as the estimated £35 per week, given in the company's original prospectus, was based upon the total number of omnibuses owned, it must be pointed out that the average number of vehicles owned by the company throughout the fifteen months in question was, approximately, 58: using this figure as the divisor, we get so average weekly earning of £31 10s. per vehicle, the discrepancy being sufficiently accounted for by the relatively large proportion of omnibuses employed for the training of drivers. The total number of passengers carried was 18,351,098 ; hence, the average fare per passenger carried was 1.57d.
Although the company bad in actual service only an average of 38A5 omnibuses, it had, according to our fortnightly censuses over the period, "in commission" an average of 53.0 omnibuses. It should not be overlooked that, of the 53 vehicles "in commission," as many as six, at least during many months of the period covered by the accounts, were engaged in connection with the teaching and training section of the company's organisation. It is, therefore, evident that the company's estimate
that it would be able to keep SO per cent, of its vehicles on the road has been exceeded, notwithstanding the disadvantageous circumstances which attend the creation of staff and personnel.
Turning, next, to the question of mileages, it is interesting to note that the company's original prospectus put forward the estimate of a "minimum average running" of 510 miles per vehicle owned per week of six days. This basis, however, in the prospectus offering £200,000 six per cent, cumulative preference shares to the public, which appeared in November last, was varied, and the estimated mileage was increased, by 70 per week, to an average equivalent to 610 miles per omnibus owned. The new approximation was " an average of 109 miles per working motorbus per day" .(seven days per week), it being reckoned that only 80 per cent, of the vehicles would, on the average, be in service, whereas the original calculation was on the basis it 90 miles per day for each and every vehicle, but based on only six days per week.
Returning to the report, an average of 38.25 buses kept in service on 460 days, at an average of 109 miles a day, yields a total vehicle mileage of 1,917,855, and this we have accepted as the second of our bases of calculation. We are, thus, enabled to state, with a close degree of accuracy, that the receipts per vehicle mile have averaged 15.01cI., whilst the total expenditure works out to 13.67d. per vehicle mile. It should be noted, in this connection, that the principal feature in both the prospectuses, and the estimate upon which the company appealed for its capital, was, that " a profit of 2d. per mile," before provision was made for administration, dividend, or reserve, might reasonably be expected. This estimate, we are pleased to note, has, presuming the provision for depreciation to be sufficient, and we refer to this vital subject later, been fully borne out during the period under review, for the actual corresponding margin of profit amounts to 2.32d. per vehicle mile.
The expenditure items disclosed are : traffic department,
£49,536 (say, 6.20d. per vehicle ; maintenance of motorbuses and depreciation, £49,090 (say, 6.14d. per vehicle mile); general expenses, 17,838 (say, 0.98d. per vehicle mile) ; and sundry amounts written off formation expenses, fixed plant and machinery, etc., £2,792 (say, 0.35d. per vehicle mile). The amount carried to the balance sheet is £15,682, or 1.34d. per vehicle mile, but this, as explained above, is to be increased by 0.98d., incurred for general expenses of administration, which the directors did not originally group within the estimated margin of 2d. per vehicle mile.
We are now brought to the crucial point of the allowance that has been made for depreciation of the company's motorbuses, and we must express regret at, though not questioning the policy of, the directors' decision to oblige their friends and opponents alike to make deductions on this subject.
The company had taken delivery of not less than 140 chassis at June 30th last, and some of these, of course, were undergoing the somewhat tedious process of body fitting, police exam ination, and the finishing touches for the road. They are shown, in the company's balance sheet, after the deduction of depreciation, at £115,030, but, in order to arrive at the approximate percentage allowance for depreciation, we must, naturally, pay due regard to the delivery dates. With 38.25 buses in ser 53. "in commission," and, say, an average of five received but undergoing the necessary equipment and finishing touches for the road, we have an average total; quae capital account, of 58 motorbuses. Taking these at an inclusive first cost of £900 each, which yields a total of .C52,200, it will be apparent that, if provision has been made for depreciation to the extent of 20 per cent. per annum, a sum of £10,440 must have to be allocated from the joint total of £49,090, which is set down in the Profit and Loss Account for maintenance and depreciation combined. We believe, although unable to do more than to make a careful estimate, that the directors have wisely made an even larger provision than this, and our reasons for holding this opinion are as follow :—'The combined amount for maintenance and depreciation is, as stated earlier in this review, 6.14d. per vehicle mile, and it is highly improbable that the cost of maintenance, including tire renewals, has exceeded 4.5d., in which event 1.64d. per vehicle mile is left for sinking-fund purposes. If we are correct in this analysis, the amount so kept in hand is £13,105, or at the rate of 25 per cent, per annum on the first cost of the rolling stock. Appreciably less would be unsafe! Finally, if we take the average fare at ld. for 1.67 miles, we get the average length of trip per passenger as 2.62 miles. This yields the result of 9.57 passengers per vehicle mile, and of 25.0 passengers per omnibus per mile, or more than 73 Per cent. of occupied seats on the average. Dividends absorb £10,729; £4,000 is to be placed to reserve; and 1953 is to be carried forward. Altogether, this is satisfactory, and reduced working costs, in the future, should balance the greater competition for patronage. We should, none the less, have regarded the declaration of a smaller dividend as more in accordance with the dictates of sound finance, having regard to all circumstances.
The adjourned hearing of the summons against the driver of a " Pilot " motor omnibus, for alleged reckless driving at Stoke Newington, came before Mr. Fordham on the t4th instant, when Mr. Curtis Bennett prosecuted on behalf of the police, and Mr. Clifford Gosnell defended. The summons was dismissed, it being held that no reckless driving had been proved.
A private company has decided to run motorbuses next summer between Salzburg and the Spa of Reichenhall. Salzburg lies in Austria, near the southwest border line of Bavaria, while the Spa is situated just over the frontier. Whether the service will be continued through the winter and spring depends on the financial results of the summer runs. Other motorbus projects for this part of Austria are being discussed. . The applications for motor omnibus licenses at Cardiff, to which we alluded in our issue of last week (page too), were lodged by Mr. H. Tudor Thornley, of 25, West Bute Street, Cardiff, and Mr_ J. Barber Glenn, Secretary of the Provincial Tramways Company, of Moorgate Station Chambers, EC. Mr. Glenn is also secretary to the Great Eastern London Motor Omnibus Company, Limited. Consideration of both applications is deferred until next month, when the Cardiff Cabs Committee will be merged into the Watch Committee of that authority.
Through the courtesy of Mr. George Grimshaw, of the Critchley-Norris Motor Company, one of our staff, after a visit to the Blackpool meeting, had a country jaunt, by motor char-A-banes, down to St. Michaels, about 14 miles from the Lancashire resort. He boarded a 38h.p. Critchley-Norris vehicle, along with 23 other passengers, and was carried to his destination in a period of time which must not be printed, whilst he reports that the comfort of the journey was equal to any touring car on pneumatic tires. The ease of control, and the quick way in which the engirth " picked up " after a stop, were most creditable to the designers, The road to St. Michaels is a winding one, and those who sat at the extreme back of the vehicle, thought the driver was taking Some of the " hairpin " corners a trifle too quickly, but the ex celIent balance of this motor coach was proof against all curves. It is readily understood by him, now, why these Critchley-Norris vehicles are proving to popular for country sight-seeing trips.
The Great Eastern London Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, is now running a service between Leyton and the Elephant and Castle, in addition to the two original services between Upton Park and Oxford Circus, and Leyton and Oxford Circus.
The London Gen&al Omnibus Company, Limited, will open, on or before Monday next, a new service, through Whitechapei and Mile End, to -Bow. ThiS will be worked by De Dion omnibuses, from Barnes at one end, and by Clarkson steam •omnibuses, which will stand. at BOW, where a new yard is being built specially for them.
On the 3rd inStant, as announced in our last number, " Vanguard No. Service 4 " was cut down to run only between High Street, Wandsworth, Hammersmith, Shepherd's Bush, Notting Hill, and Oxford CircusThe omnibuses taken off this service were made into a new " No. 7 service," through Wormwood ScrubbS and Oxford
Circus, and this has since been extended to Peckham, via Holborn, the Bank, and London Bridge.
Fortnightly Census.
Our fortnightly census, to Monday last, discloses a net increase of only 19 omnibuses " in commission " throughout the Metropolitan area. We must, once again, in view of the apparent neg. lect, by some parties, of our repeated statements to this effect, point out that no vehicle is admitted to our lists until the chassis has been fitted with its body, passed by the police, and put into
actual service. This has a material effect upon some of the figures, as compared with the number of chassis delivered by the makers. For example, we might indicate that the StrakerSquire and Bussing vehicles would require, except for the delays inseparable from their due equipment for the 'road, owing to causes entirely beyond the control of the builders, to be increased by upwards of 40, and similar, though smaller, additions should be credited in several other cases. TABLE A.,OWNERS. London Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd. 159 London General Omnibus Co., London Road Car Co., Ltd. ... 126 Great Eastern London Motor Om nibus Co., Ltd. ... ••• ... 47 London Power Omnibus Co., Ltd. 46 London and District Omnibus Co.
Thomas Tilling, Ltd. .
Associated Omnibus Co., Ltd. Star Omnibus Co., Ltd. Birch Bros., Ltd. ...
Motor Bus Co:, Ltd. ... ... London and-Provincial Motor Bus and Traction Co., Ltd. ... ... JO
New London Suburban Omnibus London and Westminster Motor Co.; Ltd. ... ... ... • ... to Bus Co., Ltd. ... ... ... 9
Patrick 'learn ... ... — 9 Victoria Omnibus Co., Ltd. 8 London Standard Motor Omnibus
Co., Ltd. ... ... 7 Burtwell Brothers ... 6 Henry Turner ... 6 Sharland. Brothers 4 Tom Hearn ... ... 3 Fred Newman ... 3
Balls Brothers, Ltd. 2 27
23 35
.13
TABLE 13.—MAKERS.
Milnes-Daimler, Ltd. 240 Sidney 'Straker and Squire, Ltd., and Bussing ... 2os De Dion-Bouton, Ltd. :.. ... 86 Scott-Stirling, Ltd. ... • ... 46 DUrkopp 32 Clarkson Ltd.
Lacoste and Ballmann 2()
Scheibler ... 16 Eug6ne Brillie and Co., Lad. ... 16 Lancashire Stearn Motor Co., Ltd. J3
Orion ... • ... ... 30 MaudsIay Motor Co., Ltd. Ducornmun „. ... 4 Motor Omnibus Construction CO. 3 Germain
John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd. Dennis Brothers, Ltd_ Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Co. Turgan The Birmingham motor omnibuses are licensed only to the end of November next, and the matter of renewal has been engaging the attention of the Watch Committee in the Midland city. We are pleased to note that more intelligent treatment is to be meted out to these vehicles, at Birmingham, than has been the case at Manchester, and the Watch Committee has announced its intention only to withhold licenses from the "weedy ones." It is reported that a number of new 4011.1). vehicles will be available by the end of next month, or shortly after that date.
The Rev. Canon Jephson has tabled the following motion for discussion by the London County Council : "That, having regard to the fact that rates are levied in respect of tramway tracks in the County of London, and as it appears inequitable that other public vehicles driven by mechanical traction should be exempt from taxation in respect of their use of public roads, particularly as the extensive use of such vehicles has had the effect of increasing the cost of maintenance of roads, it be referred to the Local Government Board Records and Museums Committee to consider and report as to the best means of imposing additional taxation
by a tax motor omnibuses." As reported in "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR of May i7th and June 21st last, Mr. Jephson unsuccessfully endeavoured to get a motion of this kind passed by the Southwark Borough Council. Although the reverend gentleman is Deputy-Mayor of the body named, and although the party to which he belongs has an overwhelming majority in the Walworth Town Hall, the members were practically unanimous in shelving the proposal. His unsubstantiated accusations against motorhuses will also be remembered by our readers.
It transpires that the licenses of the Manchester Corporation's omnibuses also expired on Tuesday last, and the Chairman of the Watch Committee, doubtless having regard to the obvious difficulties presented by any other course, gave notice to the Chairman of the Tramways Committee to discontinue the use of the vehicles. If the motorbuses belonging to the Manchester Corporation are withdrawn, that body will at least deserve to be credited with consistent action, but the larger question of strangling the motorbus movement in the district is left unsettled. The Manchester and District Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, initiated a legitimate effort to couple up the terminal points of several tramway routes, in which course it was attempting to serve the convenience of suburban residents. Practically all the complaints arose from that portion of a particular service along which the company's motorbuses were required to travel, under the terms of the licenses from the Manchester Corporation, in order to avoid overlapping with the Corporation's tramcars : had the omnibuses been allowed to keep along the front roads, fewer complaints, if any, would have been heard. Further, although indirect allusions were made by members of the licensing sub-committee to" unsuitable types," the diretors of the company have been wholly unable to secure any guidance, notwithstanding their willingness to fall into line with whatever this committee regards as desirable modifications of design or pattern. It appears as though municipal influences were at work to make out a fictitious case. against the motorbus !
The steam omnibuses at Blackpool appear to have been driven judiciously they did not beat the petrol vehicles by more than a few yards, although clearly able to have finished with a larger margin in hand.
Omnibus Engineers.
The winter programme of the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers Is now definitely announced, as follows : tot. October 29th.—Opening paper of session ; by Mr. Douglas Mackenzie: "The conditions affecting motor omnibus control in London, with particular reference to the proposed-new regulations." The chair will be taken by the Honorary President, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, at 8 o'clock.
November 26th.—Second paper ; by Dr. H. S. Hele-Shaw, F.R.S., LL.D., M. I nst.C. E., M.1 nst.Mech. E. "The theory and practice of power transmission in public service vehicles."
December 17th.—Third paper; by Mr. A. A. Campbell-Swinton, " Some commer cial aspects of motor omnibus undertakings."
1907. January 2 ist.—Fourth paper; by Messrs. E. W. Hart and W. P. Durtnall : " Petrol-electric transmission systems for road vehicles, in comparison with purely mechanical systems."
February 18th.—Fifth paper ; by Mr.
• W. Worby Beaumont, M.Inst.C.E., Minst.Mech.E., M.I.E.E. : "The evolution of the motor omnibus, and a forecast of its ultimate lines of development."
March r8th.—Sixth paper; presentation of Report on the Society's lubrication investigation.
The first of these meetings will be held at the Hotel Cecil, Strand, W.C., at 8 o'clock on Monday week next, when admission will be limited to members, associate members, associates Of the Society, and their guests.