Derby—Nottingham Express Link?
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E'OR every 15,000 passengers carried by 1 rail between NottinghaNi and Derby, 65,000 go by road on services operated by Barton Transport, Ltd., and the Trent Motor TraCtion Co., Ltd. This was admitted by Mr. R. J. Abbott, a Derby official of British Railways, when the two bus companies applied last week to inaugurate a new express service between the cities, using the recently opened Borrowash by-pass. British Railways were the only objectors.
Cross-examined by Mr. A. C. G. Rothera. for Trent, Mr. Abbott claimed that the introduction of express services would not necessarily improve road transport. Mr. Rothera told the East Midland Traffic Commissioners that the single fare on the proposed service would be Is. I Id., and the return 3s. Tickets would be interavailabIe, so that people using the stage service in one direction would be able to use the express on the return journey.
Many people had complained about the existing service, as the 15+-mile journey took 57 minutes, with 60 stops. Last May, Trent found that in one week 13,000 passengers made the journey in both directions. The express service would run hourly from 8.5 a.m. to 11.5 p.m.
Mr. Stephen Ferry, Trent's traffic manager, said revenue on the service was now E10,000 a month, an increase of 261 per cent. over the past 20 years. Answering Mr. A. J. F. Wrottesley, for British Railways, he agreed that the application would not be sufficient to cater for all the people who would want to use the service.
Mr. A. 0. Curtis, chairman, adjourned the hearing until December 30.