London Buses Stuck in the Gluepot Ring
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THE effects of congestion on London's red bus services in 1964 were worse than ever before, Mr. E J. Lloyd, central bus operating manager, told the Sussex section of the Institute of Transport on Monday. He said that freer traffic flow in the _heart of London had been offset by the growing congestion in the gluepot ring" of inner suburbs at places like Bow Bridge Canning Town, Finchley Road and Shepherd's Bush.
Recommending that road priorities should take account of the number of people being carried and not the number of vehicles passing, he put forward a 10-point plan for improving London's bus services. His 10 points were: 1, Tidal-flow clearways on all main trunk routes at Monday-Friday peak times, with parking meters temporarily closed ; 2, restrictions on turns into these routes during peaks (buses excepted); 3, further peak-hour restrictions on right-hand turns (buses excepted); 4, bus-only lanes, with or against
the traffic flow; 5, enforcement of lane markings and lane discipline; 6, no stopping or parking by other vehicles at main-road bus stops; 7, siting of bus stops to suit passengers' wishes; 8, extension into the suburbs of the parking meter zones; 9. commercial vehicles over a certain size or weight to be excluded from certain areas. and their usage controlled during peak periods; 10, better interchange facilities between rail, tube and bus.
Earlier, Mr. Lloyd had said that the lost mileage of central _buses (turned short to maintain services) rose from 2m. in 1962 to 3-5m. in 1964. In the 10 years 1954-64, cars entering central London between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. daily had risen by 31,100, while buses and coaches had declined by, 1,600. , Yet the cars carried only 42,600 extra people while the buses had lost 78,000 passengers.
He suggested some sort of road rationing. using time as well as space, so that peak passenger movements hat' priority at those peak hours.