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Opinions and Queries
Page 125
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T.R.T.A. and the Railways
THERE seems, writes Serviteur, in your issue dated
September 5, to be no attempt by anyone, parti• cularly by C-licence holders, to recognize that the problem of the railways is a financial one. He then goes on to express regret that the Waders' Road Transport Association, in condemning the proposed levy, "fails to recognize that some way of keeping the railways solvent must be found."
I quote the chairman of the T.R.T.A.'s London and Home Counties Area, speaking at a meeting of C-licence holders at Reading, on May 15:
"We realize that the railway problem is a difficult problem. They are suffering under quite a number of handicaps. One of these handicaps is that they have a deferred maintenance reserve which they are not allowed to spend—they cannot get steel allocations, etc. Nor have they been able to put their house in order in other directions because of restrictions placed upon them.. . We also recognize that the railways have certain handicaps which, at the time, many years ago, were introduced as safeguards for trade and industry when the railways had a monopoly of transport. They are no longer monopolists and we feel they should have freedom in this respect. Circumstances, even in the past 30 years, have changed completely and we feel that the railways should be treated in the light of existing circumstances and given some relief from onerous obligations."
1 further quote from your own issue of May 30, an extract from the annual report of the London and Home Counties Area in which it was stated: "There is little evidence of the slightest appreciation of the fact that neither the railway system nor the road system of the country can hope to run economically, efficiently or safely unless necessary capital expenditure is allowed."
Both quotations are in line with what T.R.T.A. spokesmen have been saying for years, The same spokesmen have also warned that opponents of the C-licence are not backward in pointing to the traders who operate their own vehicles as the cause of present transport ills.
London, W.I. W. LOVING,
Public Relations Officer, Traders' Road Transport Association.
Reducing Repair Prices
THE article in your issue of August 22 headed "Can
Repair Prices be Redtfced? " was read with interest. As this problem is one which has exercised the minds of many of those who provide repair facilities for the haulage industry and, I might add, ourselves in particular, I thought you might be interested to hear a little about our side of the picture.
You say, quite correctly, that repair charges have risen considerably over the past few years, but I doubt very much whether they have been commensurate with the rises that have taken place in the prices of all goods and services during the post-war period.
The basic problem of the vehicle repair industry is the fact that it is almost impossible to maintain an even loading on the facilities which are provided by it, with consequent alternate periods of idle time and overtime Working, which Must naturally result in increased charges to the public.
Very considerable efforts have been made by the vehicle repairers to even out theirloadings by introducing contract-Maintenance schemes of all types. I believe the organization by which I am employed was one of the first to introduce such a scheme to the public.
The advantage of this system of vehicle maintenance is that the vehicle repairer can rely on a certain number of vehicles coming into his workshop regularly on a given day during each calendar month, the consequent steady throughput and lack of " idle time" resulting in considerably reduced charges for the work concerned.
The idea of regular maintenance is now, I think, accepted by the majority of vehicle operators and if this be done on a contract basis it does make quite certain that not only are incipient faults corrected before they are too serious and too expensive to rectify, but also that the general condition of the vehicle is maintained at a higher level by regular inspection and attention.
You refer also to the low standard of skill which prevails in some sections of the industry, and up to a point I would agree. I think in fairness, however, it should be pointed out that under the auspices of the Motor Agents' Association, a comprehensive apprenticeship scheme is run throughout the industry in an endeavour not only to raise the standard of skill of new recruits to the industry, but also to assure a supply of skilled labour in the years to come.
London, S.W.10. M. H. G. Baabsiock, Director and General Manager, Commercial Division, University Motors, Ltd.
Bus Innovations Criticized
T MOST certainly agree with the views expressed by
I. E. Eaton in your issue dated August 15 and those of S.B.W. of August 29, regarding the defects of modern passenger vehicles. I do not believe that the employment of five-cylindered engines is the cause of any great discomfort to passengers, this may, however, be caused by certain trends of design.
For example, the pneumatic governor for the injection pump on the oil-engined bus which I drive, appears to give only two rack positions, open and shut. This makes it difficult to take up the drive gently. Furthermore, by placing an obstruction in the inlet pipe, in the form of a throttle valve, the air-fuel ratio must be disturbed to some extent at idling speed, chronic vibrations then are quite common. I believe also that the airoperated pre-selective transmission, now increasingly employed, is never fully mastered by many drivers and even the most experienced amongst them sometimes have difficulty in effecting a satisfactory downward change.
Another difficulty is the air-braking system, which does not provide " feel " at the pedal. This leaves the driver in doubt as to what exactly will happen on a sudden application. It was possible to drive a pre-war Leyland Tiger and other contemporary vehicles with no conscious effort. One changed up and down and braked without causing any discomfort to the passengers, and without having to concentrate on 'these operations. Now, however, it is necessary to take care over every movement, to avoid jerking the vehicle at stopping places and in traffic.
London. W.13. E. J. COOKE.