AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Tilling' s Sidcup Service.

22nd August 1907
Page 9
Page 9, 22nd August 1907 — Tilling' s Sidcup Service.
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The service recently instituted between Oxford Circus and Sidcup by Thomas Tilling, Limited, is, we believe, the longest, continuous run on any Metropolitan motorbus route. Th s new departure of the famous jobmasters is, course, an extension of the old " Times " service between Oxford Circus and Peckham, and the total distance from the London terminus to the " Black Horse,'' Sidcup, is s miles. The extended route is proving an entirely successful one, and it is being well supported by the public; it serves, too, to open up comm t nication between several Kentish districts, and forms another useful radial line to the centre of London. About so per cent. of Tilling's motorbus fleet is employed on this new run, whilst the remaining buses continue to fulfil the requirements of the " Times " route. A fifteen-minute service is maintained between Sidcup and Oxford Circus, and the fare for the whole distance of 141 miles is 9d.

The tickets issued by the coaepany on this route have been commented upon by the Press, on account of their great length, and the difficulty of determining the distances to be travelled over for a specific fare. We give herewith a full-size reproduction of one of these bus tickets-its generous proportions will be apparent to our readers, and it will be noted that 27 sections are shown. These tickets, which, of course, are one outcome of the length of the route, are typical of the added difficulties of running such a service : 18 different denominations of tickets (from Id. to 9d.) are issued, and for each of these a distinctive colour has had to be used, in addition to the prices marked on the face of each. To do this successfully has entailed a delicate selection of shades, as will be realised from the following list of the difof tickets, with their respective colours :

The halfpenny ticket is yellow; the id. one, white; the lilac; the 2d., blue; the 2W., magenta ; the 3d., cerise; the Ad., buff ; the 4d., green ; the 41d., salmon ; the id., orange ; the 5N., dark blue; the 6d., ivy green ; the fiLd., chocolate; the 7d., sage green ; the 7d., grass green; the 8d., apple green; the 81d., brown ; and the 9d. ticket, for the whole distance, is slate colour.

Many users of the motorbuses are puzzled with regard to the method of punching the tickets, and we feel that the accompanying reproduction of a conductor's fare-card for this. route may not be without interest. This table, which shows. in the simplest possible manner the section to be punched for each fare paid, deals with 159 different fares, of which there are 16 at id. each ; 21, at id.; 28, at ad. ; 42, at 21d. ; 14,. at 3d.; 11, at 30.; it, at 4d.; 9, at ; Sat ; 7, at sed. ; 6, at 6d.; 3, at 6y.; 5, at 7d.; 2, at 70.; 3, at 8d.; 2, at ; and r, at 9d. The 27 sections are shown on the left-hand side of the chart, and the fare payable by passengers mounting the motorbus at any of the stations shown on the cliag-om.l is determined by reading in the correct' vertical column to the point of intended alighting; the ticket would then be punched in the section with the corresponding number. Thus, a passenger getting on the bus at Lee Green, and going as far as the Elephant and Castle, would be charged 30., and his ticket would be punched in thesection marked " 23."

The difficulty of producing a simple and clear record of the above mass of detail in distances and prices is one the surmounting of which is an incident of the daily work of those responsible for existing bus services in the Metropolis,

Tags

Locations: London

comments powered by Disqus