New York' s Motorbuses.
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By Our Special Correspondent in New York City.
[Editorial Note.— We are happy to place before our readers the following interesting and exclusive account, from one of our special correspondents in New York, of the history of the Fifth Avenue Coach Co., of its intermediate and experimental difficulties, and of its present-day successful operation. Our correspondent has secured his information from reliable sJurces, and he incidentally is able to indicate the attitude, as the result of extensive trials, of the company's principal officials coricernina battery-vehicle operations in New York, an all-important subject at the present tune. It is interesting to recall that Mr. R. W Meade and Mr. G. A. Green, the president and chief engineer
respectively, are both of them well known in this country.] The Early History of the Com pany.
The motorbus service as it exists in New York to-day is the outgrowth of the old Fifth Avenue horse-bus line, which was chartered in 1885 to run a service of " stages," as they arc termed in America, on Fifth Avenue between 89th Street and the Meeker Street Station of the elevated railway.
This line was unprofitable practically from its inception, and it passed through a receivership. It finally came inte the possession of the New 'York Transportation Co., a $5,000,000 enterprise organized for the purpose of operating electric-storage battery vehicles under a licence from a parent company, the Electric Storage Battery Co., of Philadelphia.
Trials of Electric-storage-battery Buses.
This company was controlled by the late William C. Whitney, and he conceived the idea of replacing the horse buses with electric-storage-battery buses and extending the operations of the company for many miles into the northern part of the Island of Manhattan. About 10 experimental battery buses, seating from 12 to 40 people each and of various designs of body, both double-deck and single-deck, were run in conjunction with the horse buses, but proved even more unprofitable and less. reliable than the latter. In 1905 they were abandoned, and attempts were made to fad a motorbus which could be operated profitably.
The first vehicle to be tried was a single-deck bus of the gasoleneelectric type, the chassis being built by the General Vehicle Co., of Long Island City, the body of the " semi-convertible " type by the J. G. Brill Co., of Philadelphia, and the motive power and transmission, by the General Electric Co., of Schenectady. It weighed Vf tons without passenger load and was, as might be expected, unsuccessful.
Purchase of First De Dion Bus.
Coincidently the company, after making an investigation of the situation in Europe, imported what at that time was the most successful machine operating in London —a De Dion Bouton of the 1906 type, with a standard London body
e16 complete. It was run for a year experimentally, and in July, 1907, the entire horse equipment was sold and replaced by 15 De Dion Bouton buses of the same type, with bodies built in America Conclusions Regarding Electricstoragebattery Vehicles.
It is interesting to note that the New York Transportation Co. has had the largest experience in history in the exploitation of electricstorage-battery vehicles for a wide variety of purposes—and a very costly one at that. Its experience extended over the operation of nearly 1000 cabs and a considerable number of omnibuses, wagonettes and chars-e-bancs for park service, sight-seeing ears, trucks, private carriages and vehicles of practically every character.
This experience covered the period from 1895 to 1912, and was never at any time profitable, although the company had facilities for charging, shifting, and repairing batteries unequalled anywhere. On the other hand, its operations with gasolene, equipment have invariably been profit, able, showing what, in the writer's opinion, is the unquestionable superiority of the petrol-propelled systems over the storage-battery system for passenger transportation purposes.
Trials of Petrol-electric Buses.
During the year in which the first De Dion bus was put into service, the construction of 10 experimental petrol-electric chassis was commenced in conjunction with the General Electric Co. These vehicles were chain driven with twin motors. They could not at any time be considered as having been successful, although they were modified from time to time. Their power was insufficient, their gasolene consumption extremely high—always fully 20 per cent. hither than the average—and their chains were very noisy. The general design of the vehicles was not by any means good, yet the experience obtained brought the company to the conclusion that petrol-electric systems were unnecessary for bus work and that a well-designed chassis with all-mechanical transmission, if properly taken care of, leaves little to be desired. Petrol-electric Experiments and Conclusions.
Considerable experimental work has been done by the Fifth Avenue Coach Co. in connection with petrol-electric transmission. The most successful of these was a modification of one of the standard De Dion chassis. This chassis was similar to those run by the Loudon General Omnibus Co., the gearbox and differential being in one unit.
The front part of the unit containing the change-speed gears was removed and replaced by an electric motor. The back part of the unit, complete with its bevel gearing, was left intact and bolted to the head of the motor. The clutch was taken out and a generator bolted to the sub-frame and connected to the engine by means of a pin coupling. This car gave very good results mechanically ; it is in operation to-day, but its fuel consumption is little, if any, better than the .10 vehicles above referred to. Further, the power is insufficient.
Cars with the same engine and practically the same weight can make very much better speed and are far more economical as regards petrol consumption. The long and the short of the matter is that petrol-electric systems, at any rate as based on New York's extensive experience in general, appear to have greater power losses than the straight transmission type. These power losses result in an increase in fuel bills and this increase more than counter-balances any of the alleged mechanical advantages. It may be otherwise. in London.
45-seated Bodies Popular.
With the exception of one or two trial vehicles, all the Fifth Avenue Coach Co.'s buses are De Dions. There are two distinct types—one, known as the London type, having the usual arrangement of body seating 34 persons, whilst the other has a specially-designed cross-seat type of body accommodating 45 persons. The 45-passenger vehicles are considerably heavier than the London type, but are very much more popular and consequently earn a greater amount per mile. The company has at the present time 129 vehicles. Fifty of these are of the 45-passenger type. rho buses are housed in two garaerea
Very Few Accidents.
The company has had very few serious accidents—only three fatal cases in the whole history of tile business—and its servants were in no way responsible for these. The question of accidents is a very serious matter in New York City, ,ris it is by no means certain that justice can be obtained in the courts, and the amounts claimed for damages are always out of all proportion to the injury. The policy of many companies in the minor cases is to pay at any price to avoid the uncertainties of litigation.
Efficiency in Operation.
The efficiency of the Fifth Avenue• Coach Co.'s vehicles will, on the whole, bear favourable comparison with the London, Paris, or Berlin companies. A great deal of attention as paid to running; on time. A considerable amount of money is spent on carefully training the drivers and conductors. Men can only be appointed drivers after having worked as conductors. The appointment is on a basis of seniority. The men as a body are very polite and of smart appearance.
A Fine Headquarters.
The company has the best possible facilities for taking care of its vehicles. The garage and shops at 10 East 102nd Street can be 4:'onsidereci equal to the best garages constructed in any coun try. The buses are taken good care of. They are thoroughly overhauled and repainted once a year and they are put through what is l,nown as a "general overhaul " after every 1400 miles of service. This amounts to a thorough inspection of all parts likely to give trouble.
Approximately 90 per cent, of the fleet is always available for service. The timetables are figured to give the service when it is required, and for this reason numbers of the vehicles do not leave the garage until what would be considered by some as a rather late hour.
Good Times for Drivers.
The drivers and conductors are also taken good care of. Timetables are based on giving men a fair day's work with the shortest possible hours and a reasonable allowance of time for meals. This is by no means an easy matter, as the number of people to be carried during the different hours of the day varies considerably.
Overcrowding in New York.
The greatest loads are carried southbound in the early part of the day and northbound in the evenings. It would be absolutely ea impossible to carry all the people who wish to ride in the evening rush trips. The condition of the subways, L's Lelevated railroads, we presume.—En.1, and trolley cars at, that time is a disgrace to any civilized country. Nothing approaching their condition is seen in any European city. It is not a question of people standing. They are literally packed into the cars to such an extent that one or more passengers must he squeezed out before the doors can be closed. [Much the same thing happens in some of our tubas in London.—Eial Uniform Fares.
A uniform fare of 10 cents is charged. At fir st sight, this may appear high, but it should be remembered that transfers are given at various points. Under the present conditions, the. two longest routes are : on the East Side, 145th Street to Washington Square, a distance of 7.39 miles, and on the West Side, 135th Street. and Broadway to Washington Square, a distance of 7.7 miles.
Graded Fares Not Popular.
Large numbers of the passengers make the. NH trip. The 10 cent fare on a mileage basis would therefore work out at 1,35 cent per mile for the eastern route and at 1.3 cent for the western route. The publie, on the whole, appreciate the convenience of the buses and the fact that they are assured of a seat, They do not seem to mind a 10-cent fare as against a 5-cent fare which prevails on all the other city transportation lines, but where the number of passengers is not limited to the seating capacity.
Progressive or graded fares have never been popular in the United States, and owing to the peculiar shape and geographical conditions of the City of New York, the flat fare is considered important front the standpoint of public policy, because, through greater profit on the short hauls, the transportatton companies are able to carry people for long distances forthe same fare, enabling them to obtain better housing at less cost in the suburbs.
Difficulties in Connection with Operation.
The operation of buses in New York is not by any means a simple propositioa. The extremes of heat and cold are very trying for both the equipment and crew. During last winter, which was the most severe in many years, great difficulty was experienced -in preventing the water circulation from freezing ; considerable quantities of alcohol were used --even mixtures
of alcohol and glycerine. Thera again, the heavy snow and ice storms play havoc with the chassis, body and tires. The ice cuts the tires more than the worst roads.
New York's P.C:O.
The operation of transportation cernpanies is largely governed by what is known as the Public Servier! Commission. This commission has a regular force of men used to make service checks, etc. The immediate result is that transportation companies are obliged to run their vehicles in accordance with the public's requirements, not merely so that dividends can be paid to stock-holders Possibilities of Future Develop ment.
The popularity of the buses has undoubtedly increased considerably during the past two or three years, and there seems to be every indication that the business will grow to a very much larger size than it is at present. London, Paris, Berlin and New York are the four cities which have seriously tackled bus transportation. London will probably operate more buses than any other city, Paris next.. The ultimate needs of Berlin and New York could be estimated at approximately the same.