BUS RESULTS AT BURTON.'
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Figures which Reveal the Progress Being Made by the Motorbus System of the Corporation.
rTI HE municipal authorities at Burton_L upon-Trent should have every reason for being satisfied with the service which they are securing from motorbuses, for in the year which ended on March 31st last the revenue account dealing with the operation of such vehicles showed a credit balance of £5,336, equivalent to 2.55d. per bus-mile, the comparable figures for the previous year being £5,295 and 3.19d. respectively. At the end a the municipal year the corporation had in use a fleet of 23 Guy 25-seater, buses and 20 of these vehicles were in use throughout the year, the remainder having commenced, running 'in July, 1928.
Analysing the revenue account we find that the total income amounted to £22,356 (10.7d. per bus-mile), whilst working expenses totalled £17,019 (8.15d. per bus-mile). The outgOings were incurred under the following main heads :—Traffic expenses, £8,894; cost of fuel, £3,892; cost of maintenance and repairs, £2,668; general expenses, £1,561.
The surplus on the year's working of the buses has been transferred to the net revenue account and is offset on the debit side of that account by loan charges, etc., amounting to £4,787, so that there is a balance of £549. The deficiency at the beginning of the municipal year was £1,550, which sum was increased to £1,775 by " excess expenditure on garage," so that the out4anding deficiency at the end of the past municipal year was £1,226. The amount provided from the borough rate for the purchase of buses is £25,453, the sum repaid to date being £10,080.
During the year the motorbuses carried 2,946,325 passengers and covered a total mileage of 501,570, the jonrneys made per head of population being 60. The operations of the fleet involved the use of 87,224 gallons of petrol, and the average mileage covered per bus on a gallon of fuel was 5.75— which was indicated in an article entitled "The Best Use Made of the All-weather Head," dealing with the products and activities of a well-known coachbuilding concern,' which was published in our issue dated April 30th. In view of this, it is interesting to note that a long-distance service by Leyland ' Tigers; equipped with allweather bodies having fixed rear domes Omnibus and Transport Co., Ltd., which has offices at 202, l3rompton Road, London, S.W.3, and the terminal points of the route are London and Penzance; the service is to run on Saturdays and Sundays until the end of September. We understand that it will be augmented in accordance, with becikings, and' the vehicles will commence the journey at 8.30 a.m. both from the London Coastal Coaches station, la, Lupus Street, S.W.1, and from the Trelawny Garage, Morrab Road, Penzance.
The route is through Staines, Bagshot, Basingstoke, Andover, Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Yeovil, Chard, Honiton, Exeter, Okehampton, Launceston; Bed-ruin, Truro, Redruth, Camborne and Hayle, and provision has been made for passengers to take lunch and tea at Yeovil and Okehampton. The fare charged for the single journey is 27s, 6d., whilst the return ticket, which is available over any period, costs 50s.
Facilities for reaching Falmouth and St. Ives have been arranged, connections between these centres and certain points en route having been provided.