THE CONTROL OF PUBLIC-SERVICE VEHICLES.
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Three Years Have Been Occupied by the Departmental Committee in its Study of the Control and Operation of Public-service Vehicles. We Give a Digest of its Report.
TELE Departmental Committee on the Licensing and Regulation of Public-service Vehicles was appointed by the Minister of Transport in May, 1922, to consider and report upon the question of the regulation of road vehicles (other than trolley buses and trams) which carry passengers for reward, and also upon the parking of road vehicles.
Sir Henry Maybury was chairman of the Committee and Mr. Pool Godsell secretary. Sir Thomas Berridge, K.B.E. (who has since died), represented the Royal Automobile Club; Mr. Stenson Cooke, the Automobile Association ; Mr. F. L. a Elliott, C.B.E., the police authorities ; Mr. R. J. Howley, C.B.E., the provincial char-k-bancs and motor-omnibus interests ; Mr. Frank Pick, the London and Provincial Omnibus Owners Association, and Mr. E. S. Shrapnell-Smith, C.B.E., the Commercial Motor Users Association; whilst the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has been represented, in turn, by Mr. Rees Jeffreys, Mr. Sidney Straker and Col. Hatiging. The Ministry of Health, the Royal Burghs df" Scotland, the County, Urban District and Rural District Councils and Municipal Corporations were also represented.
The Committee, with its sub-committees, has held 41 sittings and has taken a considerable volume of evidence, but this evidence is not yet published, the document which has been published being the first interim report, which is obtainable at H.M. Stationery Offices for 2s. 6d. net.
The Vehicles to which the Report Applies.
The report applies in its entirety only to mechanically propelled public-service vehicles of the type which seats upwards of eight persons, excluding the driver. It also applies to stage carriages seating not more than eight persons, except as regards structural requirements. The Committee will deal in a further report with the smaller public-service vehicles generally, such as motorcabs, whilst consideration of the special problems presented by the Metropolitan and City Police Districts is reserved. It has not been thought necessary to deal with horse-drawn vehicles, but it is intended that; except where they are obviously inapplicable, the recommendations of the Committee shall cover this class of vehicle.. Two other types of vehicle have not been brought within the scope of the report, as they are not yet in common use, viz., the six-wheeled omnibus and the double-decked omnibus with a covered upper deck. The Committee, however, has made arrangements to be kept in touch with any experiments made with these types.
Apart from the question of taxation, road vehicles which carry passengers for hire or reward on the roads of the country have not been the subject of additional legislation, with regard to their regulation and control, since the passage of the Town Police Clauses Act of 1847, which chiefly dealt with cabs, and the Town Police Clauses Act of 1889, which extended the provisions of the Act of 1847, with some amendments, to stage carriages, which include omnibuses, motor coaches and chars-h-bancs. Each of these Acts was passed before the introduction into this country of the internal-combustion engine for road motors, which has so entirely altered the position of affairs, bringing about a very large increase in the volume of passenger traffic on the highways ; thus the 029 Acts, as they exist, are quite inadequate to deal properly with the conditions which now prevail. The Committee states that it has had in view three main objects which have guided it in considering what measure of control over publicservice vehicles is desirable. These are: the safety of the public, their convenience, and the adequacy and reliability of the services provided for them.
The suitability of the vehicle for this purpose and its maintenance to a proper standard are primarily concerned with the factor of safety, which also involves a consideration of other matters, such as the skill and character of the driver and conductor. The dominant element throughout is the vehicle, and regulation and control must necessarily centre round it. The essential requisites for a scheme of control are that no vehicle should be employed in the public service without first obtaining a proper licence of permission from the proper authority or authorities, and that conditions should attach to any licence or permission which shall serve to secure the observance of any regulation that may be deemed desirable.
Universal Application of Any Regulations.
It is desirable that any regulations made shall, so far as possible, be of universal application throughout the country, with, so far as possible, uniformity in any measure of control. For instance, the essential structural requirements for a vehicle should not vary from place to place, so that approval of a vehicle in this respect by one licensing authority should carry with it approval in the same respect by the licensing authority of any other area into which it may travel in the course of its work. Where, however, ther6 are elements of control which turn upon purely local considerations or which require continuous observation of the vehicle, local regulations and local inspection must be admitted to be necessary. The Committee has done some useful work in' carefully defining the different types of vehicle which are in the service of the public on the road. Thus, a "public-service vehicle" is defined as being any vehicle which carries Passengers for hire or reward. The words "ply for hire" have at present no clear or decided meaning, but the matter is, in a measure, cleared up by a new definition of the term "stage carriage" and by the introduction of a new term, "express carriage."
A New Series of Definitions.
A" stage carriage" is defined as a public-service vehicle which carries passengers for hire or reward, at separate fares, stage by stage, stopping as required to pick up or set down passengers along its line of route, the motor omnibus being a familiar example. An "express carriage" is defined as a public-service vehicle which carries passengers for hire or reward, at ceparate fares, for a journey or journeys, to a common destination stated or specified beforehand and not stopping to pick up or set down passengers other than those taking the stated or specified journey or journeys. It will thus be seen that the word " express " is here used in its original sense of stated or specified, and not in the later sense of speedy.
Another point cleared is that the separate fares may be paid by the passengers severally or by one or more persons collectively on their behalf, there being no difference in the effect upon the definition. Another term is introduced into the report, 'Viz., "contract carriage," which is defined as a public-service vehicle which carries passengers for hire or reward under a contract, express or implied, for the use of the vehicle as a whole for a fixed or agreed rate or sum, it mattering not whether the payment be made collectively in one amount or by contributions from the several passengers carried.
We are glad to see that the Committee has not neglected the question of the employment of publicservice vehicles in the carriage of people without hire or reward, as, for instance, where a firm permits its employees to use a -vehicle for a pleasure outing or lends its vehicle for the carriage of passengers without charge. Here there is no element of hire or reward. The Committee is of opinion that, in such cases, the contract for hire or reward should be deemed to be implied, so as to bring the vehicle employed within the definition of "contract carriage," thus extending as widely as possible such recommendations in the report as are intended to secure the public safety.
Too Many Licensing Authorities.
The Committee has come to the conclusion that much of the irregularity caused in the incidence of control following upon licensing arises from the fact that present licensing authorities are numerous and of varying status, whilst some important bodies—for instance, county councils—have no licensing powers, and other licensing bodies do not exercise such powers as they possess. It is recommended that all county councils and county borough councils, together with the councils in those non-county boroughs and urban districts which had a population at the last census of 20,000 and upwards, and all those rural districts which similarly had a population of that size and which already possess licensing powers, should now be established as licensing authorities, and under this scheme the number of licensing authorities outside the Metropolitan Police District would, as the present maximum, be 302, whilst a small licensing authority should be permitted to surrender its licensing powers to the county council it it desired so to do, thus having the desirable effect of reducing the number of licensing authorities.
The need for a reduction in the nthiaber of licensing authorities is eninhasized by the fact that there has been a great, tendency lately for the length of the routes operated by motorbuses to be considerably increased owing to the development of the motorbus both in capacity and effi ciency. At Birmingham, for example, regular omnibus services are now being worked from the city across three counties, whilst during the summer months the bus services operate so far distant as Llandudno through no fewer than six counties. The negotiations with the existing licensing authorities which must precede the establishment of any such routes are considerable and difficult, owing to the many interests to be consulted and to the many adjustments that are required to be made, With regard to this rearrangement of licensing powers, provision is recommended for a right of appeal to the Minister of Transport should a local authority eventually be aggrieved at the action or inaction of the county council which' has taken oyez...its licensing powers.
It is proposed that licences issued by a local authority should all be determined at a definite date in each year. The establishment of a " licensing year" will greatly facilitate all negotiations and arrangements.
Provisions are laid down for a licensing procedure, into which, however, we need not enter here.
With regard to the need for securing uniformity in construction, it is proposed that the Minister of Transport shall issue a Construction Order dealing with the subject comprehensively and applicable to public-service vehicles throughout the country. It is urged that this suggested Construction Order should be as precise and definite as possible, and no words shall be used which could lend themselves to a variety of interpretations.
The purpose of the proposed requirements, as a whole, is to secure the safety of the passengers, of the vehicle and of other traffic, the comfort and convenience of the passengers, and the free movement of the vehicle and the absence of unreasonable obstruction to other traffic.
An important proviso is that it is of considerable advantage both to manufacturers and users that there should be no obstacle to the building of a chassis which may be used in connection with different types of body according to the purpose which it may be intended to serve. We would only support this up to the point that a vehicle intended for passenger service should be expressly designed therefor, and that the only similarity allowed between a passenger vehicle and a goods vehicle should be in the matter of components which are entirely suitable for both purposes.
Important Suggestions in Construction:
It is recommended that left-hand drive should not be employed in the public service. The need for adequate braking is discussed in the report, which states that it was at first contended that two brakes acting upon one drum, one upon the outer side and one upon the inner side, should be deemed to be independent brakes Within the meaning of the Use and Construction Oider of 1904, provided a minimum thickness of the drum were prescribed. The Committee, however, finally conclude that such a system of braking depends for its effectiveness upon close inspection even more than other systems, and it would not, therefore, offer the same security as would be offered by two independent brakes acting upon separate drums.
The Committee is of the opinion that every public-service vehicle not having a conductor posted at the rear should carry a rear-view mirror, whilst lifeguards should be required to be fitted, at any rate, on the near side of public-service vehicles which are without continuous running boards or their equivalent, on account of the danger to the public which is occasioned by such vehicle constantly drawing in to the near side of the road for the purpose of picking up and setting down passengers.
The report then comes to what we consider its most important recommendations. A consideration of appropriate methods for the enforcement of the constructional requirements in respect of public-service vehicles leads to the conclusion that evidence of compliance with those requirements should be in a readily available form, and that the production of this evidence should be a condition precedent to the issue of a licence for any vehicle to be used in the public service.
Inspection of Vehicles Before Licensing.
The expense and difficulty of requiring each licensing authority to equip itself with an officer or officers sufficiently skilled to be able to inspect public-service vehicles in their technical aspect and to decide whether the design and construction are up to standard are regarded as being needless and considerable. A more general way of securing the services of these officers should be available, and the Committee recommends that a panel of qualified and suitable persons should be established by the Ministry of Transport in consultation with the licensing authorities, a certificate issued by any person whose name is on the panel being accepted by any licensing authority. If a licensing authority appoints any person whose name is on the panel as its local adviser and referee this should be without prejudice to the right of a prospective licensee to obtain a certificate from any person on the register, whilst, in the case of a dispute between a licensing authority and a licensee, the matter should be settled by a referee to be agreed between them or by one appointed by the Minister of Transport.
The certifying officer should possess such technical qualifications and experience as would ensure that his decision should be of real and independent value in establishing an efficient and competent check upon the construction and fitness of publicservice vehicles. It may be remembered that The Commercial Motor put this proposal forward some years ago, and has consistently supported it. With the appointment of a panel of such officials, it is recommended that no public-service vehicle should be licensed until a certificate of fitness has been lodged with the licensing authority, showing that the vehicle complies with the constructional requirements laid clown by the Minister's Order.
The Period of Validity of the Fitness Certificate.
It is proposed that the certificate should normally remain valid for an arbitrary period of five years, but that during that period the licensing authority should be entitled to require a fresh certificate of fitness as and when it might be advised that a fresh certificate was necessary. To our way of thinking, this period is considerably too long, and every effort should be put forward to make an annual inspection possible. Even the lapse of a year is not too•short to justify a re-examination • of brakes and steering gear, which are two vital factors in securing the safety of the public. Various safeguards in order to avoid abuse of • the means laid down for examination are suggested. These really require to be studied in full by taking the report word by word, whilst there are also provisions for an appeal to the Minister of Transport against a decision of a certifying officer, and for the reference to the Minister for advice in cases which, to the certifying officer, appear doubtful, whilst the Minister, it is stated, should be empowered to revoke a certificate of fitness at any time if he think fit.
We will now deal briefly and in detail with some of the constructional requirements included in one of the appendices of the report.
A stage carriage should have not more than two doors or openings for passengers, neither of which is on the off side of the vehicle.
4, It should have entirely unobstructed I internal accessibility to all seats, and should have a minimum height of 5 ft. 10 ins.
The Emergency Door. Why Not at the Rear ?
Where the vehicle is fitted with a permanent top and the entrance is not at the rear end, an emergency door opening outwards should be provided behind and clear of the rear wheels. This door Is to be easily accessible to passengers, and so fastened as to be readily opened in case of need, both from the inside and from the outside. We should very much prefer that it was definitely stated that this door should be at the rear of the vehicle. An emergency door should be at the rear of the vehicle and not at the side of the vehicle.
The total laden weight of the vehicle must not exceed 9 tons, whilst the weight on any one axle must not exceed 54 tons.
A maximum length of 26 ft. is laid down, except that the hood, when folded down, should not be included in calculating this maximum length. The overall width is to remain at 7 ft. 6 ins., whilst the overhang behind the centre of the rear axle must not exceed, as at present, 7-24ths of the overall length of the vehicle. The wheel track (measured between the centre-line of the track of the front wheels and of the rear wheels) must be as nearly as possible the same, and must not be less than 72 per cent. of the overall width for a doubledeck vehicle and 69 per cent. of the overall width • for a single-deck vehicle, whilst the track of the front wheels must not be less than the track of the rear wheels.
When the axle weight of any axle exceeds four tons, the tyre diameter, where pneumatics are used, shall not be less than 950 mm. ; whilst the tyre diameter, in the case of solid tyres, shall not be less than 1,010 mm. The existing provision as to the use of two independent brakes is modified in that they must both act on the rear wheels.
A clearance of 10 ins, between the ground and the under parts of the vehicle, so far back at least as 14 ft. 6 ins, from the front of the vehicle (or up to, but not including, the back axle if the back axle is nearer than 14 ft. 6 ins.), is set out as being the minimum to be maintained.
Outside Tank-filling Orifice.
The filling-point of the petrol tank must be outside the body of the vehicle, whilst the vent-hole must be protected from danger of fire penetration.
Oil or any vaporizable or inflammable material must not be able to be dropped upon the exhaust pipe.
The turning circle, in the case of a single-deck vehicle, must not be less than 52 ft. in diameter ; • or, in the case of larger vehicles, 60 ft.
Sixteen inches is laid down as the minimum allowance for each passenger on every seat.
There are, in all, 52 constructional details, of which we have only been able to indicate the more important.
To revert to examination, whilst a constable should be empowered to intervene when he has good reason tobelieve that there is a defect in a vehicle or an obvious breach of the regulations, the Committee considers it desirable that any examination of public-service vehicles for the purpose of ascertaining whether they comply with the regulations should, as a rule, be entiusted to the public-servicevehicle examiners.
The Committee has come to the conclusion that the objects in view in examination can best be attained if licensing authorities obtained, in every case, the services of a member of the police force, although not necessarily in whole-time capacity. This would necessitate the officers concerned receiving suitable training in the duties they will have to perform, but the Committee thinks that this training might be obtained by making use of the existing organization of the Metropolitan Police, and of the system of the larger provincial forces where similar duties are already performed by the police and the necessary experience is already available.
Should this and other recommendations be adopted, police vehicle examiners should remain under the general supervision of the chief constable of the force to which they belong, but the regulation of their duties, so far as their special work is concerned, will turn' primarily upon the requirements of the licensing authorities. • A useful proposal, which would serve to mitigate the effect of so long a period of validity as five years for the certificate of fitness, is to empower a public vehicle examiner to examine any vehicle at any time, whilst he would be required to examine it prior to the issue of its first licence and prior to each renewal. He would be authorized to suspend the use of any vehicle, either temporarily or definitely, which he considered unfit for further service, or where public safety is not imperilled but only public comfort or convenience is affected he should issue a notice requiring the matter to be put right within 48 hours, under pain of suspension of the vehicle. If this course can be laid down the staff necessary for carrying it out be secured, and it be consistently and persistently followed, the maintenance of a thorough system of supervision of public-service vehicles should be possible.
Compulsory Third-party Risk Insurance.
One very important conclusion to which the Committee has come is that steps should be taken to ensure that proprietors of public-service vehicles should be, in one way or another, in a financial position to meet all claims made against them In respect of damage or injury, and therefore that applicants for licences for public-service vehicles should satisfy the licensing authority either that they have obtained a policy of insurance in respect of the vehicle against all third-party risks, or that they are otherwise in a position to meet any claims such as might be made against them. The benefits of insurance are indirect as well as direct, as the Committee attaches some Importance to the fact that, so far as the smaller proprietors are concerned, an insured vehicle will probably be the subject of closer inspection, and will, consequently, be maintained at a higher standard than an uninsured vehicle.
The Committee's recommendations in the matter of permitting standing in public-service vehicles in exceptional circumstances are of a common-sense character.
With regard to the control over public-service vehicles which licensing authorities may exercise or attempt to exercise with a view to the regulation of traffic facilities, the Committee is of opinion that licensing authorities should have express power within precise and definite limits to attach conditions to the issue of licences, but, of course, should not be entitled to go beyond those limits.
With regard to competition between motorbus services on the one hand and tramways and trackless-trolley vehicles on the other, and to the action of certain licensing authorities operating tramway services in refusing to grant licences to stage carriages to operate along the tramway routes, the Committee discusses the various difficulties and precautionary measures which are laid down or attempted to be laid down by the tramway authorities, and it considers that the minimum of objection applies to the practice, which is already being followed in certain instances, of fixing a fare in excess of the corresponding tramway fare for any journey on that part of the omnibus route which coincides with the tramway route.
The Committee also goes very fully into the question of routes, the prohibition of omnibus services on unsuitable routes, the variation of routes by licensing authorities, the framing of time-tables and changes therein, the provision of spare vehicles and also into the question of fares. These matters, however, want to be considered in the full phrase-ology of the report.
A section of the report, again, deals with traffic control, showing that the appointment of stands and stopping-places is a matter for the local authority. Another chapter of the report deals with matters affecting tL licensees and the licensing of drivers and conductors, whilst the last chapter of the report deals with the application of the recommendations of the Committee.
In the opinion of Mr. Frank Elliott, who makes a reservation, the operation of services should be separate from licensing matters, although the services of the members of the licensing authority might be available as a means of bringing the different interests together to secure a co-ordinated system of working. Col. Hack* makes a reservation with regard to the certifying officers and certificates of fitness, whilst Mr. E. S. Shrapnell-Smith makes a reservation with regard to the permitted overall length of single-deck buses, which, in his opinion, should be increased to 27 ft. 6 ins. as in the case of double-deck buses, as the reduction represents from three to six passengers inside.