Suburban buses 'country style'
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By Derek Moses
FOR SOME YEARS now it has been the policy of London Transport to allow private operators to take over some sections of outer suburban bus routes which have become particularly unremunerative for the Board. These routes vary in length and intensity of service, but perhaps the most notable example has arisen as a result of the London busmen's ban on overtime and rest day working in January and February, 1966. This is the 98B service operated between Rayners Lane Station and Ruislip Station by Elms Coaches, of Westfield Lane, Kenton. At just over seven miles, it is the longest independently operated bus route inside the London Transport central area.
When the overtime ban was imposed, London Transport withdrew 45 weekday services, leaving about 40 miles of LTB's total of 1,680 route miles without buses. One of these services was the 98B from Feltham Station to Rayners Lane Station. In an attempt to provide services for passengers who would otherwise be stranded in bus-less areas, private operators were invited to run over withdrawn sections of route, though on a day-to-day basis, with LTB retaining the right to reinstate its own service at 24 hours' notice.
Surprisingly, despite these conditions, many independent operators did show interest and a number of temporary services were introduced. However, not much interest was shown in the 98B, which, beyond Ruislip, runs in a sort of inverted "U" via Pinner, Hatch End, Headstone Lane and North Harrow to reach Rayners Lane, a point only about two miles from Ruislip as the crow ffies.
World Wide Coaches did attempt a service between Pinner and Ruislip, but it was withdrawn after taking only £5 in a week. By March 29 1966 virtually all the withdrawn routes had been reinstated by London Transport and the independents had been given their marching orders. But LTB stated that it did not intend to reinstate the Rayners Lane-Ruislip section of the 98B, and with the Board's blessing, attempts were made to find a private operator willing to run the service.
On May 2 1966 Valliant started a service from Ruislip to North Harrow Station on a three weeks' experimental basis. Valliant (now part of Valliant-Cronshaw Ltd.) had had some success with other services operated during the busmen's ban. An hourly service was provided in place of the former 20-minute frequency and the company was allowed to pick up and set down freely over the whole route, including the section between Headstone Lane Station and Pinner where the route ran in direct competition with London Transport's 209 service.
At the end of the trial period Valliant decided that it could not operate the service on a viable basis, but agreed to run for an extra week while attempts were made to find other firms willing to have a go. H. F. Cheek and Sons, trading as Elms Coaches, had already shown an interest in the service, and it was agreed that this company should be allowed to take it over. This obviously could not be done overnight and eventually August 1 1966 was chosen as the starting date.
Even then, the company was hard pressed to find suitable vehicles and recruit drivers in time for the start. But any further delay was considered undesirable as the route had now been
without a regular service for nearly six months. It was inaugurated on August 1 with three buses, only one of which was really suitable for one-man operation. A 30-minute frequency was chosen, better than the Valliant service, and making better utilization of the three vehicles used.
New green and gold "Elms 98B" bus stop signs were made, to replace the London Transport signs, and full timetable sheets were posted at all the stops. As a further attempt to attract passengers back to the service and, indeed, "recruit" new passengers, timetables were also sent to schools, shops and other outlets and 12,000 pocket timetables were produced and distributed by the local residents' associations, shopkeepers and so on.
Several breakdowns were suffered in the early weeks of operation, but despite this Elms managed to get replacement vehicles on to the service, more than three miles from their depot at the nearest point, with little or no actual delays to passengers. Traffic gradually built up to the point where between 1,500 and 2,000 passengers a day were using the service.
On November 28 1966 the section from North Harrow to Rayners Lane Station was restored, although with an 8d minimum fare as a protection for London Transport buses on route 230 which traversed the same roads. Over the remaining sections standard LTB fares were charged, with a through fare of 2s 6d.
Progress to date
What is the position of Elms Coaches now, 18 months after the introduction of the service? To find the answer I went along to see Mr. Cheek, senior, and chatted with him about the prospects for
the future and some of the difficulties he has had to face. Is the 98B service really a going concern, and if so, how has Elms Coaches succeeded where London Transport failed?
The answer is that things are not so rosy as might be hoped. Mr. Cheek told me that the service was "50/50" at the moment —in other words just about covering itself. He was quite frank about the fact that a shake-up was needed to put the business on a sound financial footing.
Mr. Cheek is looking to this year to see an improvement in the service, which he considers is now on a 12-months' trial basis. He is fairly confident, however, that he will make it a going concern and has returned from semi-retirement and taken over from his son to do just this.
One of Elms Coaches' biggest problems is finding good driver /conductors. He admitted that he had lost a lot of money through one or two indifferent drivers and is looking for "new blood". He has, however, two very good drivers who have gone out of their way to build up passenger goodwill. The trouble with some of the other drivers was bad timekeeping when reporting for duty, resulting in late-running vehicles. This is a feature not to be tolerated, as it was one of the regular passenger complaints when LTB operated the service.
Elms Coaches maintains four vehicles to operate the 98B service. Three are Harrington-bodied Commer Contenders exMaidstone and District and the fourth is a Bristol /ECW LS single-decker. The former vehicles retain their green and cream livery and the latter vehicle its red and cream. A 36-seat Bedford with driver-controlled doors is retained as a standby vehicle.
All the regular buses have been fitted with new blinds showing "Rayners Lane and Ruislip Station via Hatch End and Pinner" and retaining the number 98E. Standard Bell Punch Ultimate tickets are issued in denominations of 2d, 3d, 4d, 8d and is.
Unfortunately the Commers have proved rather unreliable, being heavy on maintenance, and spares are hard to come by. It is the long-term policy to standardize on Bristols, and a number of the 15 vehicles operated by Elms Coaches are Bristols, including four lowbridge double-deckers. Remaining vehicles are all Bedfords, including a smart 29-seater luxury coach with Bedford 330 engine and the last body to be built by Thurgoods of Ware, which only recently entered service.
In addition to the 98B, Elms run contract services for Bristol Siddeley and J. Lyons; also schools and private hire work such as theatre parties. No less than 90 per cent of the maintenance of Elms vehicles is done on the premises and two full-time fitters are employed. Maintenance costs are described as being "very high", as also are insurance costs. And, of course, all the vehicles have to be kept up to the rigorous standards required of p.s.v.
In common with most independent operators, Mr. Cheek is worried by Mrs. Castle's proposals. They make the future "very uncertain", he told me. Publication of the Transport Bill has done nothing to allay these fears.
However, one good thing which the Minister has done from Elms Coaches point of view is to introduce the breath tests. This has brought the company an upsurge in business, a natural reaction, felt by many operators to be to their benefit.
To return to the 98B route. One of the modifications proposed by Mr. Cheek to produce economies is to reduce the Saturday frequency from 30 to 45 minutes, thus saving a bus and driver /conductor. The 30-minute Monday to Friday frequency will be retained, buses starting about 7 a.m. and running until about 7 p.m.
Mr. Cheek claims that some unwanted competition is being received from London Transport who "appear to have stepped-up the 209 service". Between Headstone Lane Station and Pinner, Elms Coaches are running in direct competition with the 209 route. "Sometimes you get a 209 double-decker running immediately in front of our bus", said Mr. Cheek.
To the passenger using the 98B, one of the advantages since Elms took over is greater consideration from the drivers, particularly the good ones. Drivers go out of their way to wait for intending passengers, rather than drive away as a last-minute passenger arrives on the scene. They also wait for the arrival of trains at the terminal stations. This has built up a good deal of passenger goodwill. Reliability must be the keynote of modern passenger services.
Indeed, the 98B has become literally a "country bus service" running in the heart of the London suburbs. The drivers have come to know their passengers and greetings are frequently exchanged, just as on many buses in the deep rural areas. I hope that the anticipated improvements to the service come about, and that the 98B becomes a permanent part of the north west London suburban scene.