Workers' Difficulties in Tram Travel •
Page 49
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DIFFICULTIES experienced by workers of Laporte Titanium, Ltd., Stallingborough, in travelling to and from work by the Grimsby-Immingham trams—the only form of public transport available to them—were discussed before the East Midland Licensing Authority last week.
The Lincolnshire Road Car Co., Ltd., applied to run a service to Stallingborough works from Cleethorpes. Grimsby Corporation, Cleethorpes Corporation and Messrs. A. and A. E. Blackbourn (Granville Tours), Grimsby, objected. Black bourn's wanted to run a similar service. This application was opposed by Grimsby and Cleethorpes Corporations, Lincolnshire Road Car Co. and British Railways. Both applications were supported by Grimsby Rural District Council.
Lincolnshire Road Car Co. also asked to operate a service to Fisons, Ltd., Immingham. Grimsby Corporation objected.
Mr. R. S. Whitby, for British Railways and Lincolnshire Road Car Co., said the Stallingborough services were primarily intended to take workers to and from the Laporte works. The sole method at present was the light railway.
Mr, William Woodhall, director and general manager of Laporte, declared that the company had spent more than £2m. on extensions. There were now 415 employees, and another 70 would be recruited.
To meet the difficulty in recruiting labour, the company had to pay the workers Is. a day for their fares, .vhich cost £6,000 a year. He alleged that 50 men sometimes reported for duty 20 minutes late because the trams were late. Men were refusing to work overtime because of the difficulty of getting back to Grimsby.
The applications were adjourned.
BRADFORD COSTS HIGH are up against it in Bradford," VV said Mr. C. T. Humpidge, general tanager of the Bradford Transport Department, speaking to Shipley Round Table on trends of public transport.
"You can't run transport service cheaply in Bradford," he said "because the hills make operations slow and the cost per mile is therefore very high."
The average speed was about 10 m.p.h., whereas in some undertakings it was probably as high as 17 m.p.h. Including all administration expenses, it costs about 32d. per mile to run a bus in Bradford.
500 BUSES LAID UP
BUS operators in Rio de Janiero have asked the Brazilian finance authorities to assist the import of spare parts. About 500 buses are said to be off the road at present because of a lack of spares. Unless these could be obtained, the city's bus traffic would soon collapse.