No Magic at St. Helens !
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Extra £.50,000 a Year Added to Wage Costs Will Not Affect Service Frequencies or Fares Because Methodical Man
agement is Exercised Says A Special Correspondent
AS reported in The Commercial Motor on July 15, St. Helens Transport Department is to absorb the extra £50,000 a year resulting from the recent wage award and the reduced working week without disturbing the low
fares applying on its services. "The Hawk" suggested there was an element of magic in this achievement, but a visit to the undertaking has convinced me that the apparent wizardry can be fairly simply explained by the detailed, methodical approach by the management to every aspect of its operations.
Typically of all modest, efficient men I have met, the general manager at St. Helens, Mr. John C. Wake, was rather alarmed when I descended upon him to find out how a bus undertaking can do the sort of thing he accepts as normal commercial practice in a world of rising costs and, generally speaking, diminishing traffic—factors which apply just as well in St. Helens as in most other parts of the country.
In fact, he was a little petulant about that £50,000, because, having brought the undertaking to a state of complete freedom from debt, he was planning to pay cash for a new £180,000 garage and it now looks as though he may have to get a short-term loan for part of that amo tint'
Low Rate of Increase
A clue to the St. Helens achievement is the low rate of increase-5.52d. per busmile between 1952 and 1959—in costs. This is significantly less than in the industry as a whole. Now let us look at relevant figures from the traffic and revenue statements for the financial years ended 1959 and 1960.
There was a slight rise in route mileage in 1960—from 239.94 to 240.45. Mileage operated drooped from 6,175,711 to 6,014.758, the fall in the number of passengers being 608,529 (from 56,725,897). Revenue declined by £8.260, yet in terms of vehicle-miles it increased from 31.196d. to 31.701d. Working expenses were up slightly from 26.833d. per bus-mile to 26.896d., yet after loan and amortization charges of £58,416 (£57,871 in 1959) there was a net surplus of £62,01.3 (£54,396 the previous year).
St. Helens has not had a deficit since 1952. Coincidentally, or so Mr. Wake would have it, that was the year when he was appointed to the undertaking. Further inquiry revealed that no municipal undertaking of which he has been in charge for a minimum of 12 months has ever had a deficit. This Mr. Wake modestly attributes to "good fortune."
I think the " secret " lies in Mr. Wake's approach to the job, and the fact that his background embraced engineering. traffic and accountancy. The under c16 taking, which is about average municipal size in terms of vehicle mileage, operates more than 6m, miles a year—an average of about 42,350 miles per vehicle per year, which is indicative of the intensive approach to the full employment of capital expended.
He is the first to suggest that the relative size of the undertaking enables the general manager to exercise a great deal of personal supervision, but I would not say it was so small that, given certain circumstances, the top could not lose sight of the bottom.
Mr. Wake has, as it were, hacked away at the undergrowth to ensure that the wood can be seen. Clearly defined channels of communication on every aspect of the department's operations have been laid down from bottom to top, so that, whilst the specialist officers are left to do their jobs within carefully predetermined limits and without interference, the general manager is fully aware of everything that is going on.
The bus routes and frequencies arc kept under constant surveillance; in fact, on average, a route changes in some form approximately once every three years. Each is examined microscopically on its individual merits. Service is always the prime consideration, not only because this is a municipal undertaking, but. also because Mr. Wake believes implicitly in the dictum that "service pays."
Greatest Economies
Proof of the pudding is in the eating, and certainly it is in the services that the greatest economies have been made in recent years, but in all cases adequate facilities have been maintained, with strict regard to traffic potential.
Duty schedules are regularly examined to ensure that platform staff arc being employed in the most effective way within the terms agreed by the unions.
Savings have accrued from vehicle standardization. There was a mixed fleet, including several makes of trolleybus, when Mr. Wake took over. Trolleybus operation has since been abandoned, and there are now only two makes of motorbus.
" Whilst I believe in standardization," Mr. Wake commented, "I do not believe in standardization on one make. Nor, for that matter, does it necessarily follow that I shall keep to the makes I have at present. If something better came from another manufacturer, careful assessment would be made of the benefits to be obtained after taking into account the disadvantages of introducing another make into the fleet. And one must always also remember that when vehicles are replaced on a 10-year-life programme, it is a long-term policy involved in making complete change as distinct from an introduction on an -experimental basis."
Two Makes of Body
This policy has obviously cut down stores costs, both in terms of capacity and time. For the same reason the undertaking has also standardized on two makes of lightweight metal body, but, here again, these are subject to review each year.
The great improvement in vehicle design in recent years, particularly in respect of the diesel engine, is lessening the time and effort once spent on maintenance. There are still set docking periods, but whereas new piston rings were fitted after 42.000 miles, engines are now kept in service until performance, fuel and lubricating-oil consumption figures indicate that attention is required. Each bus is thoroughly checked every fortnight. and engine oil is changed at 7,000-mile intervals.
Mr. Wake keeps a close personal watch on fuel-consumption figures. He sees a weekly return of fuel and lubricating-oil figures for each vehicle, and the department is continually experimenting to make improvements.
From his own observations, for example, Mr. Wake has concluded .that the C.A.V. N-type pump, with two-speed hydraulic governor, is worth 0.2 m.p.g. Consequently, although it is not standard equipment on one of the makes of vehicle he employs, his undertaking has standardized on this unit. The slight extra cost is well justified. He also flies in the face of manufacturers' recommendations by having his own setting for the fuel pump.
He likes the large engines (9.6-litre and 9.8-litre) in his fleet. but iterates them to produce 112 b.h.p. The undertaking has just started experiments to try to determine the effects, if any, on fuel consumption of different makes and types of tyre.
Low-viscosity oils have been tested over many years, until the St. Helens fleet is now on S.A,E.10 all the year round. S.A.E.90 oils are employed for the transmission. There are constant experiments with different brands of fuel. The blend now being used to good effect is a mixture of two, one with a low and the other with a higher sulphur content. So many different factors affect the matter, however, that, although the results produced under test conditions may appear to be conclusive, they can also be misleading.
Brake linings also receive the general manager's personal attention. With these, as with many other parts, a specification of St. Helens' requirements is sent to all manufacturers every six months, to ensure that the undertaking is not missing anything that might be the means of cutting costs still further.
Mr. Wake is kept informed of the overall picture by a four-weekly profit and loss account which. if necessary, can be brought up to date in a few hours at any time, Readers who are not familiar with St. Helens need not think that the department's operating area provides any magical ingredient that unduly assists the undertaking's Success. It is a heavily industrialized region with dense peak periods which have not been improved by the recently introduced 42-hour week.
Services are not limited to the town's 112,000 residents. The undertaking has operational rights in a number of adjoining local-authority areas. It also has joint services with the municipal transport departments of Liverpool, Widnes, Warrington, Wigan, Leigh and Salford, as well as with Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., Crosville Motor Services, Ltd., and Lancashire United Transport, Ltd. Last year, 32 per cent, of its bus mileage was run outside the borough boundaries.