BUSES FOR NEW DISTRICTS.
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Brief Particulars of the Petrol-vehicle Services Maintained by the Corporations of Oldham and Ashton.
THE Oldham Corporation operated buses in pre-war days, but as the service on the route then worked did not succeed it was eventually withdrawn. In December, 1924; the tramways committee again turned to the motor omnibus for tapping districts hitherto
not ser7zd by passenger road transport vehicles.
The corporation now has a feet of nine single-decker 36 h.p. Leylands and one double-decker (with open upper _ deck) mounted on a chassis of 4-ton capacity. The single-deck buses seat either 24 or 28 passengers, and the double-decker 42 people. Recently an A.E.C. double-decker with covered top has been given a trial on the Greenacres-Chapel Road route, and it is stated that very shortly the committee intends placing seven buses with thiy type of bodywork in service. The Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., have secured the order, and the chassis will be their new Ramillies type.
Pneumatic tyres are favoured for all buses except the double-deckers: The single-deck buses are of the oneman-controlled type, but it has been found necessary on one of the routes to put on conductors during the busier periods of the day. A feature of this type of bus is the use of an automatic type of ticket punch, which works like a dating machine used in railway booking offices.
Four services covering 14 route miles are at present worked, these being as follows, the intervals being given in parentheses :—Greenacres, Coppice and Chapel Road (15 miss.) ; Oldham (Central Station) and Middleton Junction (30 mins.) ; Washbrook and Rhodes Bank (40 mills.) ; Royton Railway Station and Pallsworth (60 mins.).
Eight buses are in daily use, the spare vehicles being used when required, chiefly on Saturdays. Fares are roughly 1.34. per mile and penny stages are in operation ; the busiest routes are the first two named.
A special depot is shortly to be erected to accommodate all the buses, which at present are kept partly at Hollinwood depot and partly in the centre of the town.
The Ashton Corporation also runs a small service of buses on two routes. The original route, opened about two years ago, between Chester Square and
Sinallshaw, has a length of about 11 miles, whilst that from Ashton Market to Reddens, via Upper Mossley, is approximately a four-mile run, and was started early in August of this year.
Four Guy 20-seater buses on pneumatic tyres comprise the fleet of this authority.. All the vehicles are worked by the driver only, and this method appears to have been v-cry successful in Ashton.