THE TRANSITION FROM TRAMCAR TO BUS.
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Is the Tramway System so Obsolete as to Justify Its Replacement in London by Buses? Mr. Worby Beaumont Says " Yes "
THE.
QUESTION of the relative merits of the omnibus and the tramcar was very fully_ discussed by Mr. W. Worby Beaumont, M.Inst.C.E., in a paper which he read before the Royal Society'of Arts on Wednesday of last week.
He dealt with the road passenger service of London, because there the problem is so great. Available figures show that, in the year 1918, the mileage traversed and the passengers carried by the various services were as follow :— The street transport accommodation provided consists 'approximately of 1,800 tramcars and trailers held by the L:C.C., and 2,550 L.G.O.C. omnibuses ; in addition there are tramcars and omnibuses not run by either of these groups. The L.C.C. tramways 41.t present weasure 141.67 route miles, and there are proposals to increase the mileage by extensions totalling 90 miles of single track, of which 43 miles are regarded as of urgent importance. Mr. Worby Beaumont went on to discuss the question as to what shall be the means of transport for London, the tramway and the tramcar, with or without its trailer, or the motor omnibus, and he speaks with no uncertain voice whea he says that the arguments are all in favour of the dirigible omnibus. He points cut that street vehicle transport does not consist simply in carrying. Every kind of vehicle must stop somewhere to pick up and put down, whether it be carrying passengers or goods, and the passenger vehicle which most fully accommodates the passenger is that which can pick him up with the least inconvenience and danger, and can permit other vehicles to stop at shop or warehouse without itself being stopped ; thus, it requires, • and supplies, freedom of movement that is only possible by dirigibility. The tramcar obviously cannot, in the areas of greatest traffic of any of the kinds, meet the conditions so well as the dirigible vehicle. • From the omnibus the passenger can change at the kerb from one bus to another. The omnibus can and does ply with success and convenience to passengers through streets and round corners of narrow streets through which the. tramcar could not'pass. It has a slower maximum speed than the tramcar, but it gives a higher average speed. The full'oranibus need not wait whilst the other in frottis filling or unloading, and the one which is required to go south is not kept back by two in front, one of which very shortly is turning east and the other turning west, as happens in two or three places in Lonclon.
Although it is possible for an omnibus to develop defects, yet the passenger knows that, in case of a, stoppage, there is only a short wait for the next bus, whereas, in the case of a tramcar stoppage, as much as half a mile of tramcars will be seen held up through the defect of one in front.
There are many points which tell in favour of the omnibus, not the least of which is the absence of the capacity in which the tramcar excels of delaying other traffic.
The need of repair of the tramway track, the discontinuity of the road surface, and at busy crossings, such as the "Elephant and Castle," the mosaic of steel Mil network and cobbles are-all points that tell against the tramway 'system, involvingcost and inconvenience. The tramways of London are being worked at a loss, the estimated deficiency for the year 1920-1921 being 2760,000. Mr. Worby Beaumont pointed out that the tramcar requires nearly twice the power per passenger seat that is required by the omnibus, working out at more than twice the power per passenger actually carried. A large proportion of this power is only required for the purpose of the rapid acceleration of the heavy car, because the tramcar 'weighs 4 cwt. per passenger carried with full load, whilst the omnibus only weighs 2.14 cwt. per passenger carried, also when fully loaded. Of course, as the load becomes less than the • full load, the amount of dead load per passenger to be moved is infinitely greater in the case of the tramcar than ill the case of the bits.
Mr. Worby Beaumont stuamed up the whole situation and showed that an 'increase in theaturnber of omnibuses of, perhaps, slightly more than the present number of tramcars would make the tramcars and: tramways throughout London quite unnecessary. The: cost cost of the removal of the tramways and the restora,-tion of the highways could be covered. The trams could be sold for use in towns where tramcars-are more suitable, vs.Fhilst the rails and plant could probably be sold for a great deal more than the cost of the reinstatement of the roads.
in Mr. Worby Beaumont's opinion it is to be re-. grated that this conclusion follows on the facts which he dwelt upon, but it is .a conclusion which, in. ,some other fields, has similarly had to be faced as a result of entrance upon a Arading enterprise the foundations of which have become obsolete.