"Buses Must Emulate Cars"
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pRIVATE CAR comfort and shorter journey times were two measures suggested at the annual conference of the Scottish Road Passenger Transport Association, at Turnberry, on Wednesday, to combat the competition to stage services provided by private transport.
Mr. L. C. Hawkins, F.S.A,A., M.Inst.T„ a member of the London Transport Executive, who made these suggestions in his paper, "Road Passenger Transport in the Future," raised other questions of policy with regard to this "new competitor." 1-k did not, however, attempt to answer them, as "each could form the subject of a complete paper, and the answers may vary with the characteristics of the traffic in different areas."
In introducing his paper, Mr. Haw6ins pointed out that it was concerned with the immediate future, and with local stage services, rather than with longdistance express operation or contractcarriage work.
15 per cent Decline in Rides
Illustrating the effect on the industry of the greater convenience of the private car, Mr. Hawkins said that in the period from 1948 to 1955 the number of rides per head of population in London had fallen from 525 to 446, or 15 per cent. This decline occurred in spite of full employment in 1955, which, he thought, should have encouraged more travel by public transport.
In 1948, there were 538,000 private motor vehicles of all kinds registered in the London Transport Area. By 1955, that figure had risen to 1,080,000. Corresponding figures for the whole of Great Britain were: 1948, 2.520,000; 1955, 4,760,000.
Although, when the impact of private motoring was considered, attention was usually concentrated on the car, the growing use of motorcycles, motor scooters and motor-assisted bicycles was no less important. Indeed, their popularity had grown in far greater proportion than that of cars. They were used by people who, because of questions of cost, would normally be more likely to travel by public transport.
The use of cars was expanding most rapidly in the lower income groups. A survey showed that in May, 1952, nearly.
half of all privately owned cars were in the possession of people with incomes of less than £600 a year.
Groups with incomes of less than £400 a year—the majority of travellers by public services—enjoyed during 1951-52a proportional increase in car ownership greater than the average for all income groups.
Referring to traffic congestion in cities, Mr. Hawkins said that private motoring was not the only cause of the trouble. A delivery vehicle stopped at the kerbside could cause more delay to traffic at the height of a peak than large numbers of moving vehicles.
A ban on the entry of private cars to the central areas could not be contemplated. Regulation must come from more indirect methods, but restrictions on loading and unloading ,goods vehicles during specified hours and at specified ialaces might have to be faced.
The problem was more acute in America than anywhere else. Although the geographical area of the United States was much greater than that of Britain, it did not mean that the in-town terminal problem was less acute.
The construction of inter-city highways still left unsolved the problem of access to, and movement within, cities. Indeed, it made the problem more acute.
New highways helped to draw off the through traffic, but they did not provide for the traffic which sought to enter the city itself. Movement on the city streets was thus increasingly blocked, and the effect on bus services had been calamitous, The number of passengers carried by the in-town bus services in the U.S. had fallen by 50 per cent. in 10 years, and the decrease was continuing.
Business Following the Car
Because streets in the centre of many, American cities were choked with traffic at certain times of the day; shopping centres, offices and businesses were moving miles from the centre, where parking places could be found for thousands of cars.
" Business is thus following the private car, instead of public transport serving the business life of the community in the place which is natural to it." commented Mr. Hawkins.
By reason of their economy in road occupation per passenger, the use of buses should be encouraged. Planning and regulation of traffic movement must be considered not so much in terms of moving a maximum number of vehicles as in carrying a maximum number of people to their destinations.
" It is primarily people, not vehicles, that require access to the city. . .
Looked at this way, there surely can be no question but that public service vehicles . . provide the readiest means of -reducing street congestion," • Mr. Hawkins said. "For the same reasons, they should, I suggest, be given priority in the planning of road usage."
Some American traffic engineers— who were experts responsible for the use of streets by all forms of transport—went so far as to suggest that whole streets should be reserved for public transport on the ground that, as buses might operate only along licensed routes, cars should in turn be prohibited from running in certain streets.
Part of Way of Life Mr. Hawkins said that the acceptance of public transport as part of the Britisl, way of life should be preserved in the interests .of the entire community. "The duty to preserve it falls primarily on ourselves, and we can succeed only through the quality of the service we provide."
The support of the Government, local authorities and the police was needed. Business, shopping and entertainment interests should co-operate in the recognition of the vital part which public transport played in their prosperity. The goodwill of car manufacturers would also be of great assistance, for that industry was bound to be affected by the convenience of travel in its broadest sense.
Of the future, Mr. Hawkins said that off-peak optional travel by bus was likely to suffer most. Today, many car owners did not use their vehicles to go to work, but during the day their wives drove them for shopping and other purposes. At week-ends, it was the car that was used for family travel.
Although peak traffic on buses might remain virtually unchanged, the total volume would be reduced, thus affecting the overall economy of operation.
Nor was the effect of private motoring on the pattern of bus traffic limited to heavy in-town services in large cities. In smaller towns and rural areas, where the frequency of a service was thin, the convenience of private transport was accentuated. In the U.S.A., the loss of passengers on public transport in the past two years was proportionately many times greater in cities with a population less than 250,000 than in those with more inhabitants.
An extension of one-man operation, perhaps with smaller vehicles, might help to solve the problem in rural areas.
There may, indeed, be a case for the return of the village carrier With an owner-driven motor vehicle, at liberty t3 carry either passengers or -parcels," Mr. Hawkins said.
Need to Compete for Traffic "We have to compete for our traffic, and this outlook, or attitude of mind, should. 1 suggest. govern all our thinking on present and future policy. Our major purpose now must be to lessen, and if possible obviate, a loss of traffic to private means of motor transport. We can do it through the quality of the services which we provide."
That placed operators in the dilemma of improving quality, which usually cost money, at a time when the underlying finances needed particular attention in order to maintain stability. A cheap fare, though not necessarily the dominant factor, must always he a major one in competing for traffic.
As more people became accustomed to the comfort of the private car, the standard set by the car was the one by which passengers judged the amenities of the bus. Mr. Hawkins suggested, therefore, that bus operators must set out. to emulate the car so far as was practicable.
"The prestige of travel by the public services must be maintained. Spaciousness and comfort of seating arrangements, good design for the furnishings, controlled ventilation, heating and good suspension, together with silence and smoothness in operation, are all involved," he said.
Short journey times would do more than anything else to retain or attract passengers to buses. That made the regulation of traffic on the roads a matter of first importance, and in the public interest it involved, where necessary, priority for public services.
Although the bus was at a disadvantage compared with the car in picking up and setting down its passengers at the door of a house, the advantage might well rest with the bus at the in-town end of a journey. The bus passenger was more likely to be set down close to his destination than the motorist who, before going on to his destination, must find a place to park his car.
Much could be done by locating large car parks outside city centres at points near regular and frequent public services carrying more than one category of traffic and serving a number of different in-town areas.
Speed raised afresh the question of engine power. and its application. Operators might get together in an attempt to define and standardize their requirements.
The 30 m.p.h. speed limit for buses on roads with no restriction for cars was an anachronism. Public service vehicles were better maintained than most other types.
Services with Strong Appeal
Limited-stop services along heavy traffic routes, perhaps with a minimum fare high enough to retain their use for passengers travelling the longer distances. were another means for providing fast services with a strong passenger appeal.
Although buses with fewer seats and greater standing capacity would, to a certain extent, conflict with a policy of providing enhanced comfort, queues at stops would be cleared more quickly and greater comfort could be provided for those passengers who were seated, a consideration which would have a special appeal in the competition for off-peak travel.
If the permitted length of the doubledeck bus were raised to 30 ft., should the additional capacity be wholly absorbed in increasing the number of seats, or should part of it be devoted to greater leg-room between seats so as to offer more comfortable travel?
Not only comfort was involved, but also the ease with which passengers could get to and leave their seats on boarding and alighting. That was important on services carrying a high proportion of short-distance passengers, because of its effect on time occupied at stopping places.
Although present policy was to design buses so as to obtain from them a maximum life with low maintenance and depreciation costs, was it practicable, in order to lessen the risk of obsolescence, to build a cheaper vehicle?
Fares are Important Consideration
Fares entered into the competition with private motoring in several respects. The basis of the fare scale had a material bearing on the efficiency with which conductors could collect fares on a full vehicle and, therefore, on the lost fares or on overriding the fare paid.
Which fare policy would retain or create traffic and secure economic loads? What should be the length of fare stages? What should be the size cif each step in the scale? Should the stages be' " end-on" or overlapping? Should the fares be tapered with distance so as to give a lower rate per mile for the longer journey?
The fa q that as much as 20 per cent. of fares on stage services might be absorbed in meeting the cost of collecting them was a pointer to the extent of the saving that could be made if means could be found for dispensing economically with the work of conductors.
Changes in the volume and pattern of traffic meant that the review of routes and timings took on a greater significance than in the past in order to ensure that services were kept in step with the changing needs of passengers: