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Aspects of
PASSENGER TRANSPORT
THE LATEST NEWS OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
£500,000 BUS PLAN FOR LEEDS CORPORATION?.
HUGE expenditure on road v ides will be necessary to provide facilities for persons whose homes are to be transferred from the slums t the suburbs under Leeds Corporation's, £12,600,000 housing plan.
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The transport committee of Leeds City Council, at it§ meeting las Monday, recommended that, for a s rt, at any rate, motorbuses should he employed. The committee also 6ccided to recommend the city council to apply for statutory powers to operat both tramways and trolleybuses. The situation will, however, be carefully w tched before any decision is made to e bark on the large capital expe diture involved in the latter plan. •
Meanwhile, if the transport committee's recommendations be ad pted,
Leeds Corporation's fleet of otorbuses will have to he much inc eased, and it is suggested that expe • iture under this heading may reach a figure not far short of £500,000.
ROTHERHAM GAS-BUS EXPERIMENTS TO END
IT is reported that Rotherha Corporation, which was one o the pioneers in the operation of gas uses, has decided to discontinue its xperimeats with these vehicles. Their limited range per charge of gai and the weight of the equipment, w 'ch is said to be equal to that of threp passengers, are the main disadvantages,
WARNINGS AGAINST IRREGiJLAR RUNNING.
WARNECCS to two operators were given, a: few days ago, by Mr. J. .EL Stirk, chairman of the East Midland Traffie Commissioners, and Sir -Ienry Piggott, C.B., 0.B.E., chairman of the South-Eastern Traffic• Commissioners.
Mr. Stirk gave Mr. A. E. Hubbard, of Eaton, a month in which to put his house in order, complaints of irregular operation having been received against him. Mr. Stirk stated that if any further complaint concerning the operator's services was received during the month, his licence would be cancelled.
Sir Henry Piggott warned the Victor Motor Transport Co., Ltd., as a result of allegations of illegal working.
MORE OILERS FOR NOTTINGHAM? I T is understood that Nottingham Cor
poration is to seek power to replace the tram service to Len ton and Radford by a system of oil-engined doubledeck buses.
ANOTHER U.A.S. MERGER?
TT is reported that an agreement has 'been reached between United AutoMobile Services, Ltd., and Messrs. White and Tinn, of Bebside, under Which, :with the sanction of the Northern Traffic Commissioners, the United concern will take over the firm's Blyth-Morpeth bus service.
IS THERE A MILEAGE LIMIT TO EXCURSIONS?
THE Great Western and London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Companies were objectors before the South Wales Commissioners when,, Messrs. Ralph's Garages, Abertillery, applied for licences for excursionsto Cardiff, Swansea and Blackpool.
The G.W.R. contended that an excursion of 400 miles, both ways, to Blackpool was not an excursion as meant by the Road Traffic Act, in addition to which there was an ample rail service in the ordinary way.
Mr. E. V. Ralph said that there was a good .demand for road facilities to Blackpool and they carried a number Of parties' to Cardiff and Swansea.
Mr. A. T. James, KC., chairman, referring to the road-rail controversy, said that "it is a struggle, this year, which will shortly be righted by legislation, I hope." The Commissioners had difficulty in deciding owing to the uncertain state of the law.
They had decided not to grant a general licence for excursions and tours to Blackpool and Cardiff, and would sanction such excursions to Swansea only for international football games.
LEGAL AID ADVISABLE.
'THE chairman of the South Wales I Traffic Commissioners, Mr. A. T. James, K.C., has given some advice to
small operators. He advised them jointly to engage a solicitor to help them, as matters were now becoming " very complicated" and many small owners were losing legitimate trade.
MORE BUSES DISPLACE TRAMS AT MANCHESTER.
THE substitution of buses for trams On Manchester Corporation's ronte to Heywood was approved by the North-Western Traffic Commissioners last week. WHAT TIME SHOULD AFTERNOON TOURS START?
WHEN Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., applied to the North-Western Traffic Commissioners for permission to run afternoon tours from Manchester to Blackpool, commencing at 1 p.m., Mr. W. Chamberlain, the chairman, said that the question of the time at which afternoon tours should start was of sufficient importance to be raised at a conference of chairmen of Traffic Commissioners. He remarked that the whole of the traffic areas should consider the matter. ,
The Ribble concern originally wished to commence the trips at 2 p.m., but after the application had been lodged operators in Burnley and Chorley had declared themselves to be strongly in favour of 1 p.m. as a starting time. An important point is that those towns are nearer to Blackpool than is Manchester.
. REVOKED LICENCE: NEW SERVICE.
THE Northern Traffic Commissioners have licensed Bells Services, Ltd., WesterhOpe (Northumberland), for the Newcastle, Kirkheaton and Stamford
ham route. Similar applications by United Automobile Services, Ltd., Messrs. Joseph Forster and Son, Miss S. V. Dale and Mr. W. 0. Parker were rejected.
The route was formerly covered by Mr. T. F. Dale, whose licence was revoked.
TRAMS IN UNSUITABLE AREAS.
THE fact that tramways had been laid down in many unsuitable places, resulting in financial losses to their operators, was referred to by Mr. J. S. Wills, a director of various transport concerns and a member of the council of the British Electrical Association, at a meeting of Hull Traffic Association. Although they were unpopular, however, the speaker considered that trams would continue to exist for many years.
Mr. Wills spoke of the great advantages of the trolleybus and motorbus, and quoted some interesting statistics. He said that £76,400,000 was invested in bus undertakings, £9,600,000 being municipal capital expenditure. Of the £2,666,000 invested in trolleybus systems, £1,913,000 represented public capital and £753,000 cOmpany expenditure.
L.N.E.R. COMPLAINS OF BROKEN CONDITIONS.
T" London and North-Eastern Railway Co. complained, last week, to the Southern Scotland Traffic Commissioners that David Lawson, Ltd., had infringed the conditions of an excursion licence. The Coach company had been authorized to run a trip to a football match at Wembley for a party organized by a football club, but bookings were accepted from members of the public (two employees of the L.N-E.R., who were acting as agents provocateur).
The Commissioners agreed that the conditions had been broken, but they,
did not prevent the running of the excursion, because there was a possibility that outside bookings had been accepted in error. For David Lawson, Ltd., it was stated that the staff had been instructed not to book passengers who were not connected with the football club.
MYSTERY TOURS BOOMING.
MYSTERY trips were the only really 1.V1. successful tours last year, said a representative of W. Alexander and Sons, Ltd., at a sitting of the Northern
Scotland Traffic Commissioners. He explained that they were proving to be more popular than named tours, particularly in small towns. It was not always easy to persuade people to make the same coach trip twice, but if the destination were not known, they were more likely to wish to join the tour. So far, these trips have been mainly for shorter distances, but they might well be extended in length.
WIGAN BUSES SAVE RATES 13,000.
FOR many years, Wigan Corporation Transport Department has required rate-aid, but buses have changed the situation. About a year ago, it was forecast that £.3,000 would be required from the rates—but that money is now not needed. It is not expected that any further call on the rates will be made. It is recognized that the wholesale discarding of trams three years ago was the turning point.
RAILWAY PAY ARRANGEMENTS AND BUS SERVICE.
WHAT was alleged by Mr. F. C. VY Bibbings, secretary of the .Yorkshire Stage Carriage Operations Associa.tion, to be a purely " domestic " objection, was made by the London. Midland and Scottish Railway Co. to the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners, a .few days ago. Mr. A. Turner, of 13rampton, applied for a licence for a stage service to carry railway workers who would be engaged in laying lines on a certain section of the L.M..S. system.
The railway company opposed the application on the ground that the workers were required to lodge near the scene of operations, for which purpose a lodging allowance was made. Mr.
Bibbings said that the men themselves approached Mr. Turner for a bus service, and the payment of a lodging allowance by the L.M.S. was a domestic arrangement not relevant to the licence application,
YORKSHIRE ASSOCIATION REORGANIZED.
AN official statement has been issued by Yorkshire Motor Coach Owners, Ltd., to the effect that it has now undergone a complete reorganization. Owing to the extension of its activities, the Association has found it necessary
• to take central offices at 12, East Parade, Leeds, 1, where it will be possible to hold all meetings of operators in the future.
Mr. A. H. Butterwick was asked to retain the position of chairman and has consented to do so, the post to be worked jointly with Mr. N. M. Piling. Mr. A. Harrison has been appointed as vice-chairman. Mr. L. Cadwallader, who has been in the service of the company for 2i years, has now been 'appointed secretary in succession to Mr. J. Keeling, who has held that position for the past three years and is well known in passenger-transport circles.
MAIDSTONE CO. DEFEATS IN DIVISIONAL COURT.
I N a King's Bench Divisional ourt,
last week, Maidstone and D strict Motor Services, Ltd., was respo dent to an appeal under which a deals on of the Sevenoaks justices was chall nged. They had declined to convict the cornpany of an alleged contract-ca age offence.
It was stated that the compan lent a coach,with driver, on hire to a Mr. Nightingale, who advertised and an a trip to the Derby. In the contract of hire • it was stipulated that the , hirer should do nothing in the use df the vehicle_ that would contravene -the law. The justices found that the coach was
used as an express carriage without a road-service licence, bilt the respdndent did not permit it so to be used.
Mr. Wilfrid Lewis (for the apEellant traffic officer) said the justices seemed to have accepted the contention Of the coach company that it was protected by the condition imposed on th hirer that the coach should not be u.ed in contravention of the Road Traffic Act, but it was the law that a coach pro prietor, after imposing a condition, could not " put his head in the Sand!'
The evidence was that the company's traffic superintendent inspected Mr. Nightingale's shop window, and, seeing no advertisement there, walked away. It was contended that the Maidstone concern allowed the coach to be used without taking reasonable precautions to seethat the contract would dot be broken.
Mr. W. T. Monekton, N.C. (for the )338
respondent company), argued that the mere booking of seats in a coach did not deprive the occasion ofthe epithet "special" or the party of the characteristic of " private." He argued that the respondent had made genuine investigation to ascertain that the law would be observed.
The committee allowed the appeal, with costs, instructing the justices that the commission of the offence, on the facts, had been proved.
BLACK AND WHITE TOUR PLANS.
COMPREHENSIVE tour plans for A.934 are announced by Black and White Motorways, Ltd., Cheltenham. An attractive programme haS been
drdwn up and the tours may be joined at any of the towns covered by the company's regular daily services, at the same inclusive fares.
For three days one may enjoy a trip through the Wye Valley, or Shakespeare's Country, and the Thames Valley, Cheltenham Spa, and the Cotswolds, the cost being £3 19s. 6d. Amongst the more expensive tours are those to Wales for four days (£7 7s.).
Devonshire for six days (£10 10s.), and the Wye Valley, the Cotswolds, and South Coast for six days (£11 10s. 6d.).
MANCHESTER CAB OWNERS WIN.
lk AANCHESTER Corporation's inter1Vistation bus services, which have raised such a storm of protest from taxicab owners, are now in a doubtful position as a result of the NorthWestern Traffic Commissioners' refusal to renew the licences.
NEW RADIO SETS AT LOW COST FOR COACHES.
A NEW wireless-receiving set suitable
for use on coaches, known as Model 10, has been introduced by the Philco Radio and Television Corporation of Great Britain, Ltd., Aintree Road, Perivale, Middlesex, The price has been exactly halved as Compared with that of a year ago, it now being £16 16s.
,The receiver is of the six-valve type with full automatic volume control and tone control giving a choice of four different acoustic ranges. A patented vibrator replaces the rotary converter hitherto used in changing the low tension of the vehicle's electri cal system. to high tension, and, it is claimed, makes the set equal to an allmains house receiver.
The new set measures 101 ins. by 61 ins. by 8 ins. overall, and, it is stated, can be fitted in about two hours by means of four bolts. A full-size electro-dynamic moving-coil loudspeaker is used, which, as in the case of the vibrator and valves', is easily accessible. The apparatus weighs 22 lb. Mr. Alan F. D. Knight is the manager of the Car-radio Division of the Phiko company.
FALSE STATEMENTS: MR. RICHES' WARNING.
AN interesting point was raised at Dundee, last week, at a sitting of the Northern Scotland Traffic Commissioners. Mr. Henry Riches, chairman, warned a witness that he might he prosecuted if he made a false statement to the Commissioners. A solicitor challenged Mr:Riches' remark, and stated that a witness could not be prosecuted in these circumstances. Prosecution could follow only deliberate mis-statements made on a licence-application form.
"UNITED COUNTIES" STILL EXPANDING.
A DDITIONAI, extensions by the PI-United Counties Omnibus Co., Ltd., have been announced since the intimation in last week's issue that the company intends to transfer headquarters to Northampton. A garage for 80-100 buses is to be erected near the centre of Kettering to accommodate vehicles now housed at Kettering and Desborough ; it will also allow of extensions.