PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
MANCHESTER'S NEW COACH ENTERPRISE.
A Number of Owners Controlling the Operation of More Than 40 Vehicles Amalgamate Their Interests with a View to Overcoming Light Running.
WITH a view to eliminating light running of vehicles owned by motor-coach proprietors, there has been formed at Manchester an undertaking designated the Motor Coach Service, of which the principal is Mr. 14. H. Horton. This venture represents an amalgamation of coach owners controlling 43 vehicles, mostly of small seating capacity and built to accommodate up to 20 passengers. A few large coaches will also he operated, principally on the Manchester Blackpool daily-service route at cheap rates, namely, single fare, 4s. 6d.; day return, 6s.; long-date return, 8s.
The undertaking is now having premises located in Stevenson Square adapted for use as a motor-coach station, and they will comprise a large waitingroom, with café attached, giving access to a covered loading bay. Apart from a series of set tours, it is intended to make a feature of catering for family parties, and for this purpose a number of eight-seater coaches will be available. The arrangements will include provision for picking up parties at their residences, and the single journey to Blackpool, to quote only one destination, will be 50s. for the maximum number of
passengers per single journey. It is not intended that the vehicles should run back light, for during the season passengers can always be booked in Blackpool for the return journey.
The undertaking has inaugurated its programme of daily services, and vehicles are despatched continuously from 8.30 a.m. until 10 A.M. In the afternoon a service is run to Buxton for 5s. return and to Rudyard Lake for 6.s. return. Every Saturday at 9.30 a.m. a coach is sent to Rhyl,, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno, passengers being booked for the single journey at 8s., for the day return at 14s., and for a, long-date return at 15s.
Other tours and rates are as follow : Southport, 6s. 6d. return ; Llangollen, 8s. return ; Chester, 6s. return ; Matlock, 7s. • 6d. return; Bakewell, 7s. return. The company's weekly tours to the South Coast and Devon will be inaugurated for the Whitsun Holidays, by which time the motor-coach station will be in full swing. Another development will be a service of coaches, at frequent intervals during the day, to Northenden and Cheadle ; this should prove most popular, definite places. The long-distance tour is, of course, in a class by itself.
It is fairly safe to assert that there are few coach owners whose activities are, perforce, confined within an area of, say, 150 square miles. The prospective proprietor whose scope of.
operations was limited to such an extent might reasonably argue that such an area would not include a sufficient number of centres of interest to make road excursions popular. Even if full loads could be secured on most occa sions, there might be the added objec tion that short runs within prescribed bounds would increase petrol consump tion, especially if the roads carried considerable traffic and were not in the best condition.
True as these statements would be in many circumstances, they do not apply
to the Isle of Wight Tourist Co., Ltd., who have just added to their fleet of six all-weather Dennis motor coaches two motorbuses of the same make ; one 4
them is shown in an accompanying illustration. The natural beauties of the
Isle of Wight and the fact that it possesses an equable climate for the greater part of the year enable coach trips to be organized with little difficulty.
The Isle of Wight Tourist Co., Ltd., have offices at Hyde and Seavievv, be tween which they maintain a regular service, as well as with St. Helen's, from both of these centres. Their
activities are amplified in the summer months, when coach excursions are run to all parts of the island. The company first commenced operations in May, 1922, with a Dennis coach, and this gave such good service that further purchases of this make were made. Mr. F. Plater, their managing director, is loud in his praises of Dennis vehicles, of which he has had intimate experience for 13 years, having been connected with companies operating a fleet of upwards of 50 machines of Dennis manufacture.
During the past season the six coaches covered about 100,000 miles without mechanical or other trouble. This must he considered highly satisfactory when
the state of some of the island roads i8 borne in mind. A daily circulF tour .ffigured on the itinerary of excursions, but for the most part the journeys were of an average length of 50 miles.
The Dennis buses which have recently been put into service are 26-8eaters arranged for one-man-control. The chassis are the standard Dennis 15-ft. wheelbase model, but, as the gradients in some parts of the Isle of Wight are rather severe, advantage has been taken of the makers' arrangement for the fitting of an engine of .40 h.p. instead of the more usual 30 h.p. unit.
The type of body employed has its passenger entrance on the near side at the front. The entrance is carried well below the level of the body-line, so as to ensure easy ingress to and egress from the interior. The wide opening is covered by a two-piece door. An emergency door is fitted in the rear panel, endas soon as it is opened two steps, which are spring-hinged, instantly fail into position.
The interior is well appointed, leather being used for upholstering the seats. Drop windows are fitted at each side of the body, and these can only be• opened or closed by the driver, who is provided with a detachable crankhandle for the purpose.
Both the buses are shod with pneumatic tyres of 36-in. by 6-in, dimensions, twins being used on the rear wheels. A spare is carried on each