Aids to "Friendliness" in Transport
Page 44
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AN important paper, entitled "Living With Transport," by Mr. Christian Barman, F.R..I.B.A., and Mr. M. G. Bennett, M.Sc., was read before the Institute of Transport, on Monday. Although it concerned railways, many of the points raised in it are of particular cogency as applied to road transport.
"The best transport in the world will leave the public unhappy and discontented if it is served up in an unpalatable form. The consumer who buys transport has to live with it while it lasts, and his judgments will be coloured by all that it does to him in the process," said the authors..
"The world at large needs transport and is quick to complain of Short comings. . To lessen that natural impatience and try to replace it with something like friendliness and good feeling is the main purpose of A14 the broader, long-range amenity values that a transport service cultivates.
"Passenger transport exists to serve the passenger, but there are other people to be considered, and any complete picture of amenity values would have to include other social groups. .
"The personnel are important because they make transport what it is. . . . Transport personnel have earned a reputation for good manners which has stood up well under the strain of the last eight years. There is no surer sign of good manners in transport service than constant readiness to give information and the ability to express it clearly and courteously.
"In giving out information, the manner is at least as important as the matter. All human beings dislike being nagged and preached at, and passengers by road or rail are no exception.
"The choice of language is especially important in that part of an inforination service which is concerned with
education and persuasion. . .
" A manufacturer does not build up a successful business by producing now and then a first-class article. . . . Unless the quality of design is representative of the undertaking as a whole, occasional good work will be liable to be dismissed as a lucky
accident. . . Well-designed equipment inspires confidence in those
who use it. Good design is important because it pays."
On the subject of cleanliness the authors remarked: "Other amenities May be missed. They do not, as a rule, cause annoyance by their absence. Cleanliness does.
"Of all the essential conditions for efficient cleaning, the first and greatest is a good surface. The second condition of efficient cleaning is light."