While reporting that own tours "most valuable"
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oN Friday, Mr. F. H. Pengelly, traffic manager of the Western Welsh Omnibus Co. Ltd., told a Press conference that the company would be fighting a losing battle but for its tours which, although only a small part of the company's operations, played a most valuable part in helping to keep fares down. The very next day he warned Cardiff Corporation transport committee (who are considering obtaining powers to run their own excursions and tours) that they seemed to think there was nothing to running them, and that if they got permission it would not necessarily solve everything.
Mr. Pengelly made it clear that the company would oppose any move by the Corporation to obtain these powers. The Corporation, he said, would have to get their Bill amended and the company would obviously, oppose it in the House of Commons and in any application which came before the Traffic Commissioners.
The chairman of Cardiff transport committee, Mr. W. H. Carling, told a meeting of the committee that he intended to seek an interview with the Minister of Transport to see if the law could be amended. The cream of transport finance, he said, was in running tours and excursions. He felt that the companies had an "unfair advantage" over the Corporation.
Mr. Pengelly said that the point was that Cardiff had complete protection inside the City, where Western Welsh was not allowed to pick up or set down. He supposed that if this protection were removed the company would not object to the Corporation running tours, but they could not have it both ways.
New services
New services to Ireland and Devon and plans to make Chepstow a connecting junction on the lines of Cheltenham were also announced by Mr. Pengelly, on Friday. A new limited-stop through service linking Brecon with West Wales would be introduced on January 17, he said. Named "Coast and Country Express" it would operate on weekdays only and save passengers 1 hr. 12 mins. compared with existing services over the route.
The real value of the new facility, however, lay in the fact that it would provide at Brecon a convenient means of connection with such places as Liverpool, Mid-Wales and so on. When the M4 was completed the company anticipated that Chepstow would in all probability have a small coach station and be a smaller version of Cheltenham, said Mr. Pengelly.
When the Severn Bridge opened, Western Welsh would be running in conjunction with Associated Motorways from West Wales via Brecon and the Chepstow coach station.
New excursions and tours to northern and southern Ireland, each of 12 days' duration with fares in the region of £48 to £50, were also announced.