Observations on the Royal Commission's Final Report
Page 60
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The First Instalment of a Number of Interesting Extracts From the Various Contributions
AS promised by the Minister of Transport, communications received from certain organizations in response to the request for their observations on the conclusions of the recommendations of the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Transport have been incorporated in a publication obtainable from ELM. Stationery Office at Is. 6d. net. Much of the matter is not relevant to road transport, but we give extracts from those parts which colicern this industry.
The Non-County Boroughs' Association quotes a communication from the town clerk of Darwen, which states that the cost per engine-mile must be at least 2d. less than the cost per lorry-mile, and that the goods train can haul an average a 200 tons as compared with a road-vehicle average of 5-7 tons, so that there is plenty of scope for the railways to revise their goods rates.
With reference to the competition of road vehicles for passenger carrying, the railways have not, until recently, made a real effort to combat it, and then it was only after they had themselves obtained "road powers" and had large financial interests in competing bus companies.
Rail Facilities Abandoned.
Before the war, many much-used facilities were available in the evenings to seaside resorts from industrial towns 20-30 miles from the coast. The failure to re-introduce these facilities has put considerable traffic on to the roads.
Two or three years ago the Corporation of Bedford, as an electricity undertaking, built sidings to the generating station -at a cost of £14,000, on the understanding that 20ton coal wagons would be available. Failure to introduce these on this railway system has materially reduced the savings which the corporation hoped to 'effect.
It is urged by the Association that more containers should be used, especially the type on wheels which can be run off the trucks and hauled by tractors.
The Association protests emphatically against the practice of railways in compelling the road authorities to acquire easements and pay wayleaves when widening a bridge carrying a road over a railway.
It suggests that the licensing of road hauliers should be made compulsory as soon as possible, and referred to the Traffic Commissioners. A system of licensing would, no doubt, remove unfit vehicles which damage roads and, by breakdowns, cause serious obstruction.
The Association is in complete agreement with the view expressed by Viscount Stopford, who points out that, instead of one form of transport looking upon the other as an enemy, more should be done in the way of co-ordination and co-operation between railways and motors, not by the railways embarking, except in certain cases, on road traffic. If greater facilities could be given on the railways, cheaper fares, more convenient time-tables and general efforts made to attract the traffic rather than to wait for it, the railways would recover much of what they have lost.
Nationalization Against National Interests.
The Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom is convinced that nationalization, enforced combination, or any other form of monopoly would not be in the best interests of the nation.
The Tramways, Light Railways and Transport Association points out that a tramway faced with the necessity of abandonment is not only in the serious position of losing all its assets represented by capital expenditure, but, in addition, is faced with the cost of reinstating the road, and it is felt that the abandonment should be without cost to the tramway company in such circumstances.
Mr. George Cadbury, of Cadbury Bros., Ltd., 'who gave evidence before the Royal Commission on behalf of the National Council for Inland Waterways and the Federation
of British Industries, points out that the Commission devoted a considerable part of its report to the question of the co-ordination of transport and recommended the immediate appointment of a permanent advisory council to give official consideration to all problems concerning every branch of transport. No steps appear to have been taken to form this council.
The Railway Companies' Association suggests that the railways have not incurred large capital expenditure in establishing road services in competition with their rail-. ways. They have acquired a financial interest, but not a controlling interest, in the principal road undertakings, one of the objects being better to effect the co-ordination of existing road and rail services. The railways have to bear in mind the activities of road competitors, and their experience is that traffic developed by heavy capital outlay on electrification has been, in some instances, so affected by road competition, assisted, as they claim, by national and local funds, as to deprive the railways of reasonable remuneration for the cost.
The railways object to transferring to highway authorities the ownership of the structure of all bridges carrying public highways over railways. They claim that no public interest would be served thereby. The repairs and renewals to such structures frequently involve interference with the working of railway traffic, and should remain in the hands of the railway companies: whilst the railways would not accept responsibility for the safe conveyance of the public if the maintenance of such structures were in other hands. They should, however, not be obliged to maintain in perpetuity the roadways on and approaches to those bridges. The railways' view is that road transport should bear the whole of the cost which it involves in the direction of construction, improvement, maintenance, the policing of traffic or otherwise, and the proposals for the revision of duties on heavy vehicles are supported.
Railways Recommend Licensing Hauliers.
The companies urge that it is in the national and public interest that the road-haulage industry should be placed' under a system of licensing and regulation, and until this has been done there can be no general co-ordination of transport. The railways suggest that hauliers' licences should be subject to cancellation in the event of the haulier transgressing any regulation, such as by exceeding the maximum laden weights prescribed.
The Omnibus Owners' Association states that the widening and improvement of roads, especially at road junctions, the strengthening of weak bridges and the freeing of toll roads and bridges are matters which should come before any scheme for the construction of new arterial roads. The continuing of weak bridges on classified roads has been one of the blots on the otherwise efficient policy of the Ministry, and should be dealt with immediately. The Association considers that all vehicles and bicycles used on the highways should contribute to the cost, with the exception of horsed vehicles used for agriculture.
The idea of forming a permanent advisory council on transport is approved, but at least two-thirds of the members should be representative of those engaged in the transport industry and should be nominated by the various interests, such as the railways, road passenger transport, road goods haulage, etc., and the public members by representative trade associations, such as the Federation of British Industries. The members of this council should be appointed for periods of three or five years, and one-third
or one-fifth should retire each year. The Association is not in favour of the nationalization of road passengertransport undertakings.