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Expansion Beyond Coaching is the Mood of the George Ewer Concern by Kenneth Bowden
THREE years ago George Ewer and Co., Ltd., with its subsidiaries one of London's biggest independent coach operators, moved right outside their normal sphere and entered the field of self-drive car-hire. The venture initially was modest—a few Ford Anglias and Consuls based at the main Stamford Hill depot chiefly to satisfy an existing but unsolicited demand. in three years the fleet has multiplied six-fold and by the summer of 1961 is likely to have increased nine-fold, Cautious as secretary and general manager Mr. F. J. Speight is in anticipating the future of what is still a "small corner" of the overall business, there appears to be every indication that a very satisfactory growth could be maintained in summers to come.
Car-hire, however, is not the only recent Ewer expedition into fields other than coaching. The company has recently put into service, under contract to one of the main oil companies, five Gardner 6LX-powered Scammell Routernan eight-wheel tankers. It was their first venture into heavy haulage.
Thirdly, 18 months ago, there was the acquisition, as a wholly owned subsidiary operated separately from the coaching enterprise, of the garage business of Scott Bros. (Colchester), Ltd., north-east Essex distributors for Morris-Commercial vehicles and Jaguar cars. It was a first venture in this direction, and called for heavy capital expenditure, but the results of the first 18 months' trading are eminently satisfactory.
So, in a relatively short period, after more than 30 years' specialization in express, excursion and private-hire coach services, plus a limited amount of road haulage, George Ewer and CO. have expanded, and are likely to expand further, in three different directions.
That this is to some degree at least a result of a recesal 2 sion in the volume of coach traffic of almost every type, apart, perhaps, from extended holiday tours, there can be little doubt. But it is far from being an emergency action. Rather is it, one imagines, a matter of insurance. There is nothing but good sense in any operator, depending on size, either putting his spare eggs in another basket, or removing a few from one basket to another at this time.
Talking to Mr. Speight, it is evident that the basic difficulties in running a large fleet of coaches remain seasonal operation and the day-to-day fluctuation in business in which the weather plays the leading villian's role. Indeed, Mr. Speight believes that, given a summer this year comparable to that of 1959, Ewer would have been among those operators able to compare 1960 coach business favourably with that of 1959.
It is a fact, however, that for many operators the comparison is unfavourable, and the appalling weather cannot be entirely to blame. For perhaps five years now there has been increasing evidence of the effects upon all coach operators of the increase in national and personal prosperity. There is hardly need to itemize them. They involve especially the people who form the very backbone of coach-travellers, the families of moderate means who go by coach primarily because it is cheap, and because generally it is more convenient and, especially with children, more comfortable than rail travel.
Increasingly such families possess, or plan shortly to be able to afford, their own personal transport, either a car or, in the case of the younger element, a scooter or motorcycle. Moreover, the number of people who are content to be conveyed to the coast, there to spend a random day on and around the beach, or who find satisfaction in the relative inactivity of the traditional conducted tour. may well be rapidly diminishing. Higher incomes have led to higher level leisure and holiday activities.
Neither does the problem of the roads help to fill coach seats, although the deterrent here is less real than imagined in Mr. Speight's view. Press reports of massive holiday
route hold-ups, he believes, are often sensationalized and exaggerated, and bear little relation to the situation over the summer as a whole. Nevertheless. a Monday morning story of a two-hour crawl through the Medway towns will inevitably have its effect on the family planning a coach trip to Herne Bay or Margate the following Sunday.
The crux of the matter could well be that the public's concept of coach travel needs to be changed. The considerable expansion in the number and scope of extended coach tours and " package " holidays bears witness to many operators' success in so doing. Here, certainly, there seems to be a bright future, and the greater the "luxury " and the more comprehensive the "packaging" in matters of hotels, restaurants, theatres, couriers and social entertainment, the brighter it is likely to be. Even in routine" services it might be worth considering whether the client would •be attracted more readily if assured the " V.I.P. treatment," even at extra cost. As Mr. Speight points out, vast numbers of people who normally would not use the larger hotels and restaurants on their own account, even though they could .afford to, would happily acquaint themselves with a new style of living under someone else's guidance. The same applies to going abroad, particularly on tour.
Although George Ewer do not operate extended tours and were recently refused an application to run three-day tours, they operate inclusive holidays based on their more popular seasonal express services. • A little of the background to the Ewer business will help to bring the present-day picture clearly into focus.
As with many comparable enterprises, George Ewer and Co. originally grew out of a business only incidentally concerned with transport. The original George Ewer was a greengrocer who, in 1885, took to delivering coal in his horse-vans. It was profitable and by the onset of the First World War a horse-van haulage business had been established. Following the war, Mr. Ewer's sons and a daughter "began to get ideas about motor vehicles," and the use of lorries fitted with portable forms for Sunday trips to the seaside led to further ideas, which in 1928 resulted in the establishment of the first George Ewer and Co. year-round passenger express service—London-Colchester-1pswich. The early headquarters were at Leonard Street, Finsbury, with stables at Dalston. In 1930 the company became limited and the present headquarters at Stamford Hill were built. The chairman and managing director, Mr. J. H. Ewer, has been the presiding genius throughout the Ewer development.
400 Employees
Today the Ewer group comprises a number of companies employing 400 people, providing services covering between them the whole of East Anglia and the southern Home Counties, with a spur extending into the far south-west. The parent company, trading as Grey-Green Coach Services, in addition to the Stamford Hill premises, has depots at Edmonton, Dalston, Shoreditch and Mile End Road, plus a coach station at Margaret's Street, Ipswich. Orange Luxury operate basically from Brixton and Holloway, and the other main subsidiary, FaIlowfield and Britten, has depots at Bethnal Green and Leyton.
The company is understandably proud of the fact that it is one of the few independent concerns to operate yearround express services. There are four of these, covering East Anglia, run by Grey-Green on winter and summer timetables. King's Cross Coach Station is the London terminal, and the services are: Colchester-Ipswich-Felixstowe; Clacton-Walton-on-Naze; Ipswich-Lowestoft-Great Yarmouth; and Dovercourt-Harwich. In each case there are eight pick-up points between King's Cross and Brentwood, with up to 30 intermediate setting-down points. There are also a number of optional stopping points.
On the Felixstowe route there are in winter daily three outward and two return runs. On the other three services there are two outward and one return run daily, with special Saturday, Sunday and in some cases mid-week services on all routes. Yet, even with a comparatively extensive schedule, plus a considerable private-hire business in winter, GreyGreen find it necessary to lay up from one third to one half of their vehicles for more than half of the year.
The picture in summer, of course, is vastly different. Basically Grey-Green continue to operate the East Anglian sector, but the step up in regular express services greatly increases the winter traffic, and is amplified with Orange Luxury and Fallowfield and Britten services to Frinton, Gorleston, Lowestoft, Southend, Walton-on-Naze, Clacton, Norwich and Yarmouth, corning in at Easter and Whitsun, and running daily from late May or early June until the end of September.
Easter also sees the extension of Grey-Green to the South Coast, including a daily BournemouthTorquayPaignton run. A limited-stop night service is also operated to Dawlish-TeignmouthNewton Abbot-Torquay-Paignton on Friday nights in June, July and August, and there are 21 race-meet specials.
South of the Thames
South of the Thames, however, is mainly the province of Orange Luxury, whilst Fallowfield and Britten are chiefly concerned with the Hackney-Leyton-Walthamstow-1lford areas. Between them in summer they move a considerable number of people daily between London and almost all the big coastal resorts from Herne Bay on the Kent Coast to Bournemouth and Poole and other South Coast resorts.
It will be obvious from the foregoing that the integration and telescoping of services are considerable, and this is one of the major advantages that George Ewer and Co. have over their smaller competitors. Whatever part of London or its environs a potential traveller or holiday-maker may reside in, he is virtually assured in making a booking that he is but a short hop from a pick-up point of one or other of the services. And, whatever this may cost in aspirin for the staff, such a " taxi " service is worth it when one is selling to the person with heavy luggage or the parents of a young family.
This service applies also, of course, to the very considerable range of full-day, half-day and evening tours carried on by the company in summer. An excellently produced descriptive brochure for 1960 advertised some 48 day excursions, plus 28 half-day and numerous evening tours covering many of the popular tourist areas and specific attractions in the Home Counties and East Anglia, and
Final process in the annual major service is interior "spring-cleaning."
!xtending northwards to Chatsworth House, Dovedale and he Peak District, and westwards to Cheddar Gorge, Wells aid Glastonbury, and the Wye Valley. The operating ieriod is from the beginning of April until the end of ieptember, with the weight of traffic carried on Sundays, Nednesdays and Thursdays, with scikne activity on Tueslays and Fridays and a limited amount on Mondays.
The bulk of the excursion traffic is shared more or less :qually by all three operators, although Orange Luxury :xclusively operate 11 day excursions, Fallowfield and 3ritten Six and Grey-Green three. The M1 is used wherewer feasible and trips are advertised as being via the -notorway.
Additionally Ewer feature a five-day (Monday-Friday) holiday at Bournemouth, between late April and late ieptember, at an inclusive rate of 11 guineas. This involves ise of the coaches, in addition to the outward and return -uns, for two local afternoon tours. The price includes all travel and full board at a Bournemouth hotel.
Another noteworthy feature of the Ewer organization is that booking for all summer express and excursion services is by numbered and reserved seats. Only on the Grey-Green winter East Anglian express services is the passenger not guaranteed a particular seat, and the traffic in this case hardly justifies such an arrangement.
Two-floor Chart Room
The main control point for all bookings is at Stamford Hill, where there is a modern highly organized Chart room arranged on two floors. Each company has its own section, and it is interesting to note that Orange Luxury, using the upper floor, operates a different physical system to those used by Grey-Green and Fallowfield and Britten.
Naturally the key to operating on this scale lies in the efficiency of the dovetailing, both in seat charting iand vehicle plotting, especially in summer when the whole situation is intensified by the requirements of private hire.
Private hire is a healthy aspect of the George Ewer enterprise, and it attains a high priority in the demand for vehicles. Whatever social and economic reverberations might be sounding through the public service transport industry, clubs, pubs, women's organizations, youth associations, factory and office parties and many more organizations, particularly in the large towns and cities, continue to look upon their outings, summer and winter, as an established part of the annual programme, and the coach or bus on hire as a vehicle remains ideal for almost every organization, and remunerative for the operator.
in striking an economic balance between winter and summer traffic, George Ewer have established a fleet more or less constant at around 150 vehicles. Of these from two-thirds to one-half are in operation during the winter on express services and private hire. The remainder are laid up for at least six months of the year.
In summer the entire fleet is in virtually continuous service and at certain peak periods of the holiday season, particularly during July and Angust, it is supplemented by as many as 150 additional vehicles hired from other operators.
Although Ewer operate a number Of 33-Fat Leylands, these are. used chiefly for private hire, and the coach fleet Consists mainly of 41-scat Leyland Royal Tigers and Bedford SB 8s, with the Leyland Comet engine, plus a few A.E.C. Regals. Recent purchases have been almost exclusively Bedford SB. 8s, which may have a shorter working life than heavier vehicles of otherwise comparable size and performance, but which have been found best suited to the needs of the group.
Undoubtedly a major factor in the life-span of the modern coach is the fact that its appearance may render it obsolete some time before its term is up mechanically; and this inevitably must adversely affect the heavy run for ever vehicle in the modern budgeting policy of many operators.
The possibility of using smaller vehicles to cut costs in the face of diminishing traffic, and during the off-season, is something that Ewer's, in common with Many operators, would like to consider, together with wider variation in basic specifications. There is an insuperable limiting factor, however, in the decrease in numbers of bodybuilders, and the increase in standardization by makers, made necessary by rising costs all round and the need to produce at a price-level operators can meet.
Standardization to Stay
Standardization, in Mr. Speight's view, is here to stay in coach design. The range of optional extras may fluctuate, but they will remain essentially optional extras, His concern is basically happy with present technical trends. Seating capacity is the department in which more flexibility would be welcome.
Standardization, however, has its advantages, and they are particularly noticeable in matters of servicing and repair. All major work on the EWer fleet is done at Stamford Hill, and the benefits of standardization on two basic types are to be seen clearly in the equipment and especially in the superbly laid-out and comprehensive stores.
Drivers check fuel and oil, and preventive maintenance is carried out at a number of depots as necessary on all vehicles, with a thorough service every 4,000 miles for each vehicle in regular use. The big job comes once annually, however, when each vehicle is given a complete overhaul and service. This involves steam-cleaning of chassis; stripping down, renovation and if necessary replacement or repair of all mechanical parts; repair and refurbishing of all exterior and interior bodywork and furniture; repainting where necessary, and, to complete the operation, a thorough internal "spring-clean."
This work, of course, is done off licence. During a nineto 10-month operating period annually, the average vehicle mileage is 50,000. Dunlop contract tyres are used anti Dunlop staff are constantly on duty at Stamford Hill, where the total repair and maintenance staff averages about 40 throughout the year.
Extensive Stores In the event of a breakdown on the road, drivers are not permitted to attempt to take remedial action. All repairs to the Ewer fleet, minor and major, are in the hands of specialists, and the skill and equipment available are such that a rapid return to service, and a minimum loss of earning time, are assured
As was indicated earlier, George Ewer and Co. have always had a place in haulage in addition to the main coaching activity. Today the haulage business is operated mainly from the Ewer (Grey-Green) depots, with the official base at Dalston and control office at Shoreditch. The haulage fleet consists of 27 vehicles on A licence. mostly Thames 4Ds, with maximum capacity Luton-top bodies. About 15 per cent. of the haulage work is on contract.
For the average fan-lily, car-hire on the period basis remains a relatively expensive proposition. But there is an increasing realization in Ewer experience, that the cost of single. day or week-end hire, especially if spread over a smallarty, compares very favourably with the cost per head of coach seats for, say, a trip to Brighton_
As with haulage, and later with coaching, George Ewer and Co. are again making sure of being in at the start. n17