A BUSY YORKSHIRE BUS CENTRE.
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How the Advent of the Passengercarrying Road Motor has Changed the Character of the Town of Skipton.
AurHouan so near the industrial area of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Skipton is primarily interested in agriculture, and its industries are nssociated with the Lancashire cotton trade rather than with the Yorkshire woollen industry. An old town, it has a strategic position iu the Aire Valley, at a point where the road from Yorkshire to North Lancashire and the Lake District is joined by highways which cross the hills from Wharfedale, bringing traffic from Ilkley, Harrogate and the direction of Leeds, and from the Lancashire towns of Blackburn, Burnley, Preston and Manchester.
Skipton is virtually a road junction of first-class importance, and it was forinnate during the motor-coach boom a few years ago that there was ample space in the centre of the town, for it was at Skipton that coaches from all parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire concentrated on their way to the Yorkshire Dales. The wide main street offered space for a halt, and the town was changed from a quiet country market centre to a busy traffic centre. To-day there are not so many coaches passing through the town on pleasure trips, but in a remarkably short space of time a big web of regular motor omnibus services has been organized, mostly by individual proprietors, and every day, particularly on market days, the main street is thronged with omnibuses of all types and sizes.
The last two years have seen the most rapid development, but the district boasts two of the oldest motorbus services in the North of England, and both
are being run by the proprietors who introduced them. • In 1905, Mr. Ezra Laycock, of Cowling, commenced a service from Cowling to Kildwick Station, a few miles from Skipton, by stffistitilting motor omnibuses for horse vehicles, and in 1907, Mr. C. Chapman, now C. Chapman, Ltd., of Grassington, commenced a motorbus service between Grassington and Skipton with the third vehicle turned out by Commercial Cars, Ltd. The company still runs the service, and to this day carries the malls by road from Skipton to Grassington and other villages in Higher Wharfedale, although there is now a railway between the two places. This was probably the first motor mail service in the country.
C. Chapman, Ltd., runs coaches from Skipton to Grassington and from Grassington to Hnekden and to Bolton Abbey, the coaches being Well-known to visitors to this portion of the Yorkshire dales. The vehicles of Laycock and Sons do not run into Skipton, and until recently have been used on the original route from Kildwiek Station to Cowling and over to Laneshaw Bridge, near Colne, although the route has been extended to Keighley, and a through hourly service between Keighley and Caine is provided.
Laycock and Sons have entered into an agreement with the Colne and Keighley corporations to provide a joint serviceover this route, but the two corporations have not yet commenced operations. The smart Maudslay
low-load-line vehicles which complete the 15-mile journey in the hour form a striking contrast with the original Milnes-Daimlers which introduced petrol passenger transport to the North of England.
Although Skipton is a railway centre, the station is not conveniently placed for the town, and the large number of people who make the town their shopping centre are finding the buses a more convenient means of travel than the trains. Many of the stations in the outlying districts are some distance from the centres of population and .. passengers appreciate the advantage of being set down near their homes.
Probably the most interesting service from Skipton is that run by County Motors, Ltd., of Lancaster, through to Lancaster, 45 miles away. The service is worked from a depot at Settle and three through journeys each way are scheduled, these starting from Skipton at 7.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 5 p.m., and being completed at Lancaster at 10.58 a.m., 4.58 p.m. and 8.25 p.m., with through connections to Morecambe. This service was commenced in March and has been very successful. The through passengers have been numerous, and the service has proved a boon to those requiring a village-to-village service on the way. Guy vehicles are used the latest addition being a low load-line, long wheelbase model. Throughout the summer one Guy passenger vehicle in the company's service has worked 1,100 miles per week, on a route which has some particularly -bad' gradients. The fare of 7s. 5d. return and 4s. 11d. single compares with a railway charge of 4s. Sti. single.
On the same route, as far as Settle, Pennine Motors run a service with a smart Leyland Leveret 20-seater and three Overland vehicles. This service was commenced at the beginning of the year, and there are connections from Hellifield to Gisburn and from Settle to Wigg,lesworth and Rathmell, outlying places which previously had indifferent facilities and have benefited very considerably by the addition.
Skipton has one of the very few women bus drivers. This is Mrs. Hull, who takes her place on a Ford run on her husband's service, known as A. Hull's Bus Services, from Skipton to Gargrave. Three Fords and a large Gilford are used On this route, a half-hourly service being provided on Saturday afternoons and about fourteen journeys per day during the week.
The vehicles of Parker Brothers, of Airton, also complete a number of journeys on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays to Malham an isolated village at the head of Airedale.
In recent months there has been a development on the route opened out years ago to Grassington, and Mr. E. Nelson, of Skipton, provides a frequent service to Grassington and Burnsall and special trips to Appletreewick, under the style of Wharfedale Motor Services. The service has been gradually extended, and three Guy vehicles, a Ford and a Crossley saloon are now engage& \ A feature of this service is the delivery of parcels, and a Ford lorry is kept for carrying parcels from Skipton to the residents of the villages. This service is much appreciated.
Other links are provided with larger centres by the Service of Keighley Bros., of .Keighloy, Who run to Ilkley and Bolton Abbey ; by Castle Motors, of Skipton, who have six vehicles—three Morris buses, a Karrier, a Ford and a Vulcan—and run them to Earby and to Barnoldswick, and by Premier Motors (Tempest, Cowgill and Smith, of .Earby), whose vehicles run to Barnoldswick.
Some of the smallest villages close at hand have been provided with services. A typical instance is Carleton, which has a regular service provided by four Fiat saloons run by the Silver Star Motors, of which Mr. J. T. Hey, is the proprietor. With these the village is served in addition to trips on certain days to Bradley, another small village. Old Ellis Bus Services, run by Mr. W. Wiseman, also provide facilities to Embsay, Dolton Abbey and Eastby, Fords and a Daimler being employed. To the soul% a good service of trains on the L.M.S. main line between Skipton and Leeds and Bradford is provided. At all events it was considered a good service until the advent of the motorbus, but there are now more bus journeys than train journeys between Skiptou and Cross Hills, and during ordinary working hours there is a much more frequent service by road.
Nicholas Smith's Garages, Ltd., running the Skiptonian Motors, has in use half-a-dozen buses of Vulcan and Karrier nu:kei, and, in addition to the ordinary service, provides special vehicles for workpeople to travel to certain woollen mills in, the Cross Hills district. The service also provides a connection with the services from Cross Hills to Keighley mid also with the Keighley to Colne service.
The Premier Transport Co., of Keighley, which is allied to the Harrogate Road Car Co., Ltd., has been endeavouring to get licences to run into Skipton, and it is intended to run a service from Skipton to Keighley, with a through service to Bradford later. As yet the necessary sanctions have not been received, but so rapid have been developments in the district that it would not be wise to predict the possibilities of future extensions.