Chairman "Unfavourable" to Southport Express Service
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Application for Joint Express Service to be Worked by Double-deckers Hotly Challenged
STRONG opposition to the application by Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., Lancashire United Transport, Ltd., and the North Western Road Car Co., Ltd., for -a new joint express service between Stockport and Southport, continued before the North Western Traffic Commissioners at Manchester last week. The application was part heard in April • Objectors were:— Progress Motors (Chorley), Ltd.; Turners Ideal Tows, Ltd.; W. Simms and Sons, Ltd., ChorleY: C. Holt. Ltd., Manchester; F. Corldll, Ltd.. Manchester; Fairelough Bro.. Ltd.; J. W. Fieldsenct, Ltd.; Wheatleys Garage (P-atricro(t), Ltd.; Dines Motor Coaches. Ltd.; C. Holt and Sons. Manchester; W. Knowles and Sons (Garages), Ltd.; Lomax Bros. (Transport). Ltd.; Hoklens Carriage Co.. Ltd.; A. E. Hargreaves, Ltd.; Edwards Tours, Ltd.: R. Bullock; Mills and Seddon. Ltd.; British Railways; and Harwich Urban District Council.
Supporting the application were the
councils of:— Swinton and Pendlehury. Southport. Chorley, Chorley R.D.C., Farnworth, Kearsicy U.D.C., West Lancashire R.D.C., and Rufford Ratepayers Association.
Southport Neglected At the original hearing, Mr. F. D. Walker for the applicants, said it was extraordinary that although express services to Blackpool, Morecambe, North Wales and the Lake District radiated from the greater Manchester area, Southport, a resort growing in popularity, was neglected. The only service was proVided under a restricted July and September licence held by North Western, which would be surrendered if this application were granted.
They were asking for a daily service throughout the year, to be operated by double-deck buses, with picking-up points en route. There would be only one through timing from Stockport each day, the remaining six starting from Manchester, It was proposed to run seven in each direction daily, with single, day-return and period bookings.
Mr. H. Backhouse, for the objecting coach operators, submitted that the application might be designed to provide a feeder service for Ribble's extended tours from Preston, Liverpool and Bury. Their Easiway holidays could be based on it. Although the service purported to be from Stockport, it was really from Manchester.
Mr. F. Williamson, chairman, said it would have to be considered whether an application for one journey a day, with six shorts, could be granted on one licence.
Last week, Mr. Backhouse said the tpplication was part of a policy by Ribble for linking, improving and introlacing new express services, to obtain a ;cries of holiday expresses competing with the regular excursion and tour 'acilities, with the determination of :ventually killing off such operators.
The applicants were asking for a new and highly competitive service designed to attack peak and Sunday traffic which, if granted, would do irreparable damage to British Railways and excursion operators along the proposed route.
In addition to their express service. North Western also had an excursion -licence on which the only destination of any moment was Southport, with a vehicle allowance of 10. Out of 990 possible journeys from June to August. they operated only 50.
There was no evidence of overcrowding or failure to provide for the Manchester public, yet they were proposing to run 2,555 coaches a year out of Manchester. It had been admitted that the rail service from Manchester on weekdays was adequate but, nevertheless, 42 departures were proposed.
Ribble's Chorley-Croston stage service was said to be a dead loss, and the Chorley-Southport service was operating uneconomically at I4.8d. per carmile. If the application were granted, it must enhance their economic difficulties.
" Glorified " Excursion
Referring to a restriction order on excursion operations in the Manchester area, Mr. Backhouse said that it could not be reasonable to withhold from excursion operators services that were needed and then create a new holiday express. This would be a "glorified " seven-departures-a-day excursion service, with a 7s. day-return fare.
The crux of the application was Chorley, where Ribble already had services to Blackpool and Morecambe. The attack was now on Southport. The applicants' excursion licences would enable them to put in intermediate timings all along the route and damage excursion operation seven miles on each side of it. .
Mr. A. J. F. Wrottesley, for the railways, said 'public support from Stack port for .the application was conspicuous by its absence. Allegations that there were no through trains from Stockport were not true.
The railways' summer time-table from Manchester provided for 20 trains in each direction from Monday to Friday, 22 on Saturday, and 7 out and 10 back on Sundays. From May to September, passengers to Blackpool and Southport from all parts, were 2,288,298 and 1.854,001, respectively. The Blackpool traffic was seriously affected by the many express services, and if the application were granted there must be reaction on existing facilities.
Mr. Walker said even the objectors admitted there was a substantial unsatisfied demand, and spoke of the immense popularity of Southport. In the past two years, excursion operators had had restrictions in the Manchester area eased to allow journeys to Southport to be increased from 391 to 1.078, and applications were to be made to increase these by 50 per cent. It was estimated that over 2,000 passengers made their way to Southport last year by means of the Salford.-.Wigan and Wigan-Southport services.
Pseudo-express Services
The applicants would not operate what amounted to a regular excursion service. It was the excursion operators who, by day-in, day-out operation, and disregarding a large proportion of extensive schedules, were running pseudo-express services to Southport.
Excursion operators had been strictly controlled. for good reasons, and now that workings to Southport were so extensive as to have passed beyond the sphere of sporadic operation, the Commissioners would have to deal with them. The proper way was to run a regular express service.
Operators who were running necessary, but unremunerative, services in rural districts should, if they were to be maintained, be allowed the regular operation of profitable express services.
Commenting on the importance of the application. Mr. Williamson said that his preliminary reaction was unfavourable. They would go over the evidence and give a decision as soon as possible.