Operating Aspects of
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PASSENGER TRANSPORT
TH1RD-PARTY RISKS ON HIRED COACHES
I T is anticipated that an official announcement will be made in tife near future on the question. of thirdparty insurance in respect of motor coaches hired by the War Office. Mr. G. H. Brook, secretary of the Northeastern Division of the C.M.U.A., told a correspondent that he understood an indication had been given in military quarters that the War Office would be responsible for such risks.
If this be so. operators who have coaches on hire to the military can dispense with both Road Fund licences and third-party insurance policies for these vehicles while they are so hired The case of coaches on hire to the military authorities differs from that ot lorries, in that whilst the former are driven by operators' own employees the lorries are driven by soldiers, the lorry owner thus being absolved from responsibility in the matter of thirdparty insurance LEICESTER BUS RESULTS " GRATIFYING " I N the year ended March 31, 1940, there was a surplus of 46,169 on the operation of the buses of Leicester Corporation. In this period income totalled £188,528 and expenses £182,359. Both these figures are lower than those for the previous year, when there was a surplus of 46,987 on the undertaking. Considering the difficulties of operation and increasing •costs, the general manager thinks that the results are gratifying.
During the year the buses covered an aggregate mileage of 3,031,792 and carried 30,450,982 passengers. At the end of the year covered by the report the corporation had 108 buses, a large proportion of them being double-deck oilers of Leyland and A.E.C. makes. The buses serve a route mileage of a little over 40.
TWO WEEKS' PAY FOR ONE WEEK'S WORK
CONSMERA MY, numbers of Gla3• gow Corporation hue and tram workers are to forgo one week of their fortnight's holiday, in response to an invitation issued by the transport department asking employees voluntarily to curtail their annual holiday in order to overcome the difficulty of a labour shortage. When the employees balloted for the holiday breaks early in the year it • was contemplated that a considerable .proportien could be spared during ate Glasgow Fair period—Jnly 13 to 27— in view of the falling-off in city traffic at that time.
This year, however, workers engaged in the war industries are continuing at work during the Fair period, and the department will be obliged to maintAn a full service for their, transport to and
from work. The holiday provision for the transport employees would thus have meant a difficult position for the transport management, which would have been unable to obtain the temporary labour required.
The Transport and Caeneral Workers' Union asked that the men should be paid time and a half, in addition to receiving the week's pay for tlie holiday, that is two and a half times the, pay for the week's work. The corporation conditions of service committee, however, considered that was excessive, and it has unanimqusly agreed that the pay for the week should be on a double-time basis—two weeks' pay for one week's work.
BRADFORD'S BUS CHANGE-OVER A FEW days ago the transport corn
mittee of Bradford Corporation decided to change over from trolleybuses to inotairbuses on the Oakenshaw route, subject to the Traffic Commiseioners giving their approval.
GAS-BAG BUSES AT SOUTH SHIELDS
TESTS are being carried out by the I municipal authorities at Souta Shields with the first of five. gas-bag buses, which are to be introduced in the town as a fuel-economy measure.
WAR HITS CARDIFF'S BUS TRAFFIC
ANET profit of £14,851 was made by Cardiff Corporation on the operation of its buses during the past municipal year. The year opened with increased bus receipts, but a sharp decline in bus traffic was noticed soon after the war commenced.
BURTON'S IMPROVED BUSES
AT Burton the municipal-transport department has recently added three new buses to its fleet. They are 36-seaters, as against the earlier 34seaters, and all passenger seats face forward; 24 of them at the rear are reserved for the use of smokers. The new buses arc based on Guy chassis, with Gardner four-cylindered oil engines, the improved bodywork being by the Brush concern.
BRADFORD HINT OF HIGHER FARES TT is hinted in Bradford municipal 1passenger-transport circles that fares on the corporation's services may have to be raised later on, because of general increases in costs. There is no suggestion, however, of any immediate raising of fares, following the further increase of 35. per week in adult employees' wages under the Joint Industrial Council's award. This latest increase, and the previous wartime wages increase of 4s. per week made under the J.I.C.'s award of a few months ago, are costing the department about 430,000 per year.
GLASGOW TO HAVE A SECOND SHOT
AT a recent meeting of Glasgow ,r1Transport Committee, it was decided, to make a fresh application to the Ministry of Transport for permission to increase the price of the weekly season ticket on the municipal bus services from 3s. to 3s. Eid., with a maximum of 28 journeys per week.
Bailie David S. Brown, convener of the committee, stated that the proposed increase would bring in an additional revenue "ofbetween 425,000 and £.30,000 a year. He expressed the opinion that the proposal to give four journeys pr day would meet the requirements of .bona-fide travellers.
BLACKPOOL DRIVER-TRAINING • EMERGENCY SCHEME
PRACTICALLY all the 1,500 members of the transport department of Blackpool Corporation have gone through a special course of training, enabling them to drive any motor vehicle in case of emergency. Employees over 18 years of age are being given an opportunity, when off duty, to learn to drive. The scheme is a defence measure intended to ensure the rapid dispersal of Blackpool's transport fleet should necessity arise.
DUBLIN BUILDS UP BIG OILER FLEET
SPEAKING in Dublin recently., Mr. Leslie A. Luke, public relations officer of the Dublin United Tramways Co., said that Dublin is now served by a fleet of 382 buses-148 singledeckers and 234 double-deckers; they are all oil-engined vehicles. When the company took over the passenger services of the city there were in use about 40 different types made by 20 different manufacturers, all but eight of them being petrol-propelled.
In developing bus services in Dublin. , public safety has always been a factor kept well to the fore, and during the six months of the company's present year 76,000,000 passengers were carried 10,000,000 miles, with accidents involving only 18 casualties.
Mr. Luke said that trolleybuses had not been introduced into Dublin because such vehicles each cost 41,000 more than an ordinary double-deCker, whilst a completely new system of overhead wiring would have to be installed.
THINNER BUS TICKETS WILL SAVE PAPER
IN view of the urgent need for saving lpaper in all sorts of directions, London Transport is to issue thinner tickets on its buses and trams. • It is expected that the result will be a saving of at least 450 tons per year of paper pulp. It will be necessary to examine 16,000 punches and readjust them to take the neW tickets, In some cases tickets will he reduced in size, and thus effect a further-big saving of pulp. • Passengers. have responded to the Board's appeal to deposit their uSed tickets in boxeS provided for the purpose. The success of the appeal is indicated by .the fact that in April the tickets collected weighed 3 tons 14 cwt., whilst in Tune their weight was 711 tons.