Phases of
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PASSENGER TRAVEL
THE important point to Llanelly bus proprietors as to: what powers of restriction to competitive plying" were granted to the Llanelly "Traction Co. in its recently obtained Act of Parliament has now been cleared up. It will be recalled • that Llanelly Corporation is negotiating with the Llanelly Traction Co. to acquire the company's tramways system, in order to convert it to a trolley-bus and motorbiis system. The price asked by the company was £26,000 for. its rights and track, but not its vehicles, and final decision of the corporation was deferred pending counsel's decision as to the meaning of the "monopoly" clauses in the company's Act. The .company's legal advisers say that absolute monopoly was given by the Act on present tram routes and proposed extended bus routes, which would mean prohibition to bus proprietors now plying on lOcal routes.
The independent counsel consulted by the corporation has now given opinion that the Act did not give monopoly over the tramway routes, but that, whereas private services at present operated could not be restricted, the clauses were not valueless in that they would prevent any new competition coming on the routes.
'The question of whether the buses POW serving the routes would have a detrimental effect on a municipal service was one counsel suggested, that a practical traffic expert was most competent to investigate.
In view of this opinion long discussion ensued as to desirability of acquiring the services. It was argued that as the powers sought were modified a smaller purchase price should he negotiated for. Some members were favourable to acquisition provided the council did not have to pledge itself to run electrically propelled vehicles. They argued that, having regard to modern transport developments, it was questionable whether electrically propelled vehicles were most suitable and the council should not commit itself to run them.
Eventually it was decided to re-open negotiations with the owning company for purchase of the undertaking, for conversion to trolley-bus and petrol-bus working at a price to be decided. This means that the council wants freedom in its choice of a new system of transport; the main difference between sections of the council being not whether to buy the rights or not, but the merits of petrol buses as against trolley-buses as means for transport alternative to tramcars.