Healthy future for Municipal Transport

18th September 1964, Page 95

18th September 1964

Page 95

Page 96

Page 95, 18th September 1964 — Healthy future for Municipal Transport

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Keywords : Light Rail In The United States, San Francisco Municipal Railway, Bus, Fare

IWO widely differing subjects were discussed at the Municipal Passenger Transport Association Conference in Blackpool this week—" Competition" and ' Accident Claims ". The many ways in which municipal passenger transport could compete with the private car vere discussed by Mr. A. C. Barlow, general manager of he St. Helen's Corporation Transport undertaking, in his laper "Facing our Competition". He was confident that he industry would face fairly and squarely the challenge if a forecast 25 per cent decline in business over the next 6 years. The suggestion that all persons injured in road ccidents, in circumstances unfavourable to them, should ie compensated, was made by Mr. S. A. Webb, Claims Meer with the London Transport Board, in his paper Carrying Our Own Risks".

'ACING UP TO COMPETITION

AFORECAST of a 25 per cent decline in business over 16 years is a serious challenge, and is one which I m confident the industry will face fairly and squarely."

o said Mr. Barlow in his paper on the subject of facing p to the decline in passengers carried by bus, and increasis competition &dm the private car. Mr. Barlow had nalyzed the reasons for the continued decline in passenger 'affic during the past decade, and quoted from the M.o.T. ublication "The Transport Needs of Great Britain in the ext Twenty Years" in which the 25 per cent drop was precast.

Mr. Barlow remarked that the main competitor was bviously the motorcar, and that he would confine his ;.marks to that particular aspect of the problem. It was stimated that by 1970 there would be 18m. licensed ehicles, including 12m. cars, and by 1980 27m. vehicles 19m. cars), compared with a total of 10-1m. vehicles in 963. It was important to note that nearly half the total icrease was expected within the first 10 years, and that le industry's problem, therefore, was immediate. Mr, arlow was sure that the majority of undertakings repre!rued at the conference had already taken steps to combat is competition.

The speaker suggested that the problem could best be ealt with under three main headings: (I) Staff; (2) 'chicks; (3) Organization and administration.

tatus of Staff Dealing with staff Mr. Barlow reproduced a table showag details of expenditure in the St. Helens undertaking, tieh revealed that drivers' and conductors' wages ccounted for a little more than 50 per cent of working K pen ses. The undertaking was selling seats, and its staff 'ere the salesmen. The quality and quantity of the staff etermined the service given to the customers, and the nage of public transport was portrayed by its ability to rovide what the passenger required. Unfortunately, there

was a continual shortage of staff, the standard of recruitment was far from satisfactory, and the labour turnover high. On the credit side, however, he continued, the industry had retained a hard core of "transport " men who, by their unfailing loyalty helped to keep the wheels moving. The reasons advanced for the inability to recruit sufficient and adequate staff were: (I) Non-competitive rates of pay; (2) Shift and week-end work; (3) Awkward journeys to and from work; (4) Variation between schedules.

In Mr. Barlow's opinion by far the most important reason was the status of the individual, and he quoted paragraph 40 of the Phelps Brown Report which reviewed the pay and conditions of employment of London Transport busmen. This paragraph discussed the social changes since the last war, and the problem of maintaining morale in a contracting service, which was bound to lower the busman's pride in his job and his estimation of his own standing in the community. Mr. Barlow felt that the recent wages award in the municipal field had gone far in solving the question of non-competitive rates of pay, and the industry's efforts must now be directed towards the improvement of the status of the operating staff.

Ways of achieving this improvement without inereasing operating costs were discussed by the speaker, who outlined the changing pattern of habits at weekends, when the biggest drop in passengers was felt. These changing patterns could be utilized to improve working conditions over the week-end, he suggested. If the industry was to play its part in the new motor age, it must publicize its activities, achievements. and above all, what it had to offer.

Encouraging Bus Travel

Turning to the vehicles themselves, Mr. Barlow discussed ways in which the car commuter could be encouraged to travel by bus.. Increased speeds would follow the many suggestions made to reduce congestion, he said, and he quoted five paragraphs from the leaflet published by the M.P.T.A. entitled "The Public Service Vehicle in Relation to Planning and Redevelopment ". These called for an adequate road system in central areas for use by buses; the need for the bus to reach pedestrian precincts to give passengers the same facilities as the private motorist; adequate kerbside stop facilities; the consideration of special lanes for buses; and " no waiting" restrictions on bus routes to provide for satisfactory movement.

Mr. Barlow also called for more attractive vehicles, and considered that heated buses were essential, whilst the general introduction of fluorescent lighting would enable the passenger to do something he could not do when driving his own car-that is, read his newspaper or his correspondence. Interiors could be made more attractive by the use of colour impregnated plastics or glass-fibre, which required no painting during the life of the vehicle— a worthwhile saving in maintenance costs, as well as enhancing the appearance of the vehicle. The need to consider sacrificing a few seats in order to give more comfort. rather than crowding them in, was also mentioned by Mr. Barlow. In recent years many undertakings had introduced large-capacity vehicles, and economies of operation had been obtained by reducing headways. Whilst the economies of such operation were obvious in large cities, the balance in medium-sized undertakings was, he felt, marginal. Whilst the object must always be to maintain fares at the lowest possible level, reductions in frequencies to avoid increases in fares should be avoided.

Research into Vehicle Design

More research into the possible vehicle of the future should be carried out, Mr. Barlow suggested, and as it was imperative to add comfort and speed to the services operated, should not the industry be looking more deeply into the question of large-capacity, single-deck vehicles with semi-luxury seating (possibly of a standee type) to accommodate the peak demand, he asked. Staggering of working and school hours should be encouraged, and as it was estimated that the cost of one additional vehicle in the fleet was £4,000 per annum, it was apparent that any move which would either lead to a vehicle being saved, or lead to an increase in the annual mileage per vehicle per year, would lead to substantial economies and would, in the long run, enable fares to be stabilized and make public transport " relatively cheap ".

Regular fleet replacement was essential if an undertaking was to maintain an up-to-date fleet, Mr. Barlow continued, a regular annual intake providing the undertaking with an opportunity to incorporate the latest developments, as well as stabilizing replacement costs. He was sure those undertakings which have to resort to loan sanction to purchase vehicles would soon follow the lead of one municipality which, by hiring 20 buses from a finance company, would save C..28,000 in eight years—a considerable economy. Abolition of the fuel tax was, he felt, preferable to the introduction of road pricing, as it would emphasize still further the ability of the p.s.v. to carry out the role for which it was best suited.

Operational Research

One of the subjects which Mr. Barlow discussed under the heading of "Organization and Administration" was operational research. In his view the tremendous growth of motor traffic in the next decade, and the physical inability of re-planning towns and cities to accommodate it must lead to a deliberate limitation of the number of vehicles on the streets. Whichever method was chosen, he suggested that municipal transport could fill any void which might be created. Mr. Barlow quoted the Leeds experiment of " park and ride "—accepted American practice—as one solution. In smaller towns such ambitious schemes were not possible, but he was confident that interurban services operated by single-deck vehicles with semiluxury seating on an express basis would not only attract, but also retain many commuters.

Dealing with fare levels, Mr. Barlow remarked that he could see no justification for id. stages remaining in their fare tables, and asked would the Id., 2d. and 3d. pre-war fare be unreasonable at 3d., 6d. and 9d.? On the subject of organization, he asked if the time had not arrived when the present organization could be overhauled in the light of modern circumstances? Mr. Barlow favoured further co-ordination and co-operation such as the GrimsbyCleethorpes merger, rather than area boards or large-scale organization. The latter, in his opinion, would not lead to good, cheap transport.

Healthy future for Municipal Transport

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