Traffic Congestion the Major Problem
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By P. A. C. Brockington, A.M.I.Mech.E.
ALTHOUGH weight of opinion rather than originality of thought gave substance to the discussion on Mr. E. Nielsen's paper on traffic congestion at the congress of the International Union of Public Transport in Naples last week, the widespread support for his views may influence legislation throughout the countries represented. No fewer than II speaker's took part in the discussion, and it was generally agreed that "moving people rather than cars" was the only practical solution to the congestion problem.
The remaining papers were overshadowed by the urgency of the congestion crisis posed by Mr. Nielsen, but the congress proceedings were notable for the concentrated attention given to all the papers by the record number of members, who-represented 23 countries. This, in part, may be explained by the efficiency of the translation system, by which English, French and German versions of the speeches were made available by earphones as required, thus saving much valuable time.
Parking Ban Must be Complete
WHEN summarizing his paper on congestion, Mr. Nielsen referred to the mystery of the private-car mentality and quoted the statement of an American friend that " there are so many automobiles they can't be used." This represented, said Mr. Nielsen, the stranglehold on city traffic that the use of cars was creating.
Opening the discussion, Mr. J. B. Burned. London Transport Executive, pointed out that congestion in the centre of towns caused irregularity in the services to outer areas, which the travelling public were often at a loss to understand. More could be achieved to combat congestion, he suggested, by the scientific control of vehicles individually from a central point, but if this were done the cost would have to be debited against congestion.
With regard to parking regulations. Mr. Burnell emphasized that they could he nullified by "isolated exceptions," single cars some distance apart having the same effect on congestion as a line of vehicles. Parking bans should, therefore, be complete. Preserving the civic liberties of the people did not imply granting some individuals a large share of personal liberty at other people's expense.
Restricting vehicles with regard to direction of turn and the greater use a one-way streets could be costly, said .Mr. Burnell, and could increase the burden imposed on' operators
In praise of Mr. Nielsen's paper, Mr. P. Kremer, Hanover, said that it could be the means for bringing the urgency of the subject to the attention of municipal authorities everywhere. Unless suitable measures were taken, the speed of traffic would soon be reduced to a walking pace and there would be an increasing number of accidents.
• Propaganda Value
The value of the paper as propaganda was also stressed by Mr. J. Suarez Sinova, of Madrid. The conclusions of the speakers should, he said, be made known generally, as this would encourage public support.
In preference to widening central streets in towns having a tramway system, Mr. Kremer advocated building underground roads for trams, and a more comprehensive variation of this possibility was suggested by Mr. R. lvlaestrelli, Milan, who said that an underground road system extending a limited distance for public service vehicles running on rails or wheels would have material advantages. Building underground railways was often too costly.
Building short tunnels under the central area to connect with transport termini was supported by Mr. V. Immirzi, Naples University. Low fares should be charged for the area, which would help the traders.
The solution of the congestion problem was, according to Mr. Maestrelli. as important as regulations affecting public health and security. Sounding a note of despair, Mr. P. Ruais, Paris, said that a solution would never be found until traffic was brought to a complete standstill. Parking and garaging improvements attracted more cars, but the number of public service vehicles remained constant and should be granted absolute priority. Unfortunately the general public was not always ready to accept parking restrictions because they could cause trading losses.
The objection of motorists to paying a parking fee was cited by Mr. B. England, Nottingham, as an important factor in the increase of congestion; in Nottingham, public parks were seldom more than half full. -The development of ring roads with clear signposting would be a valuable contribution to congestion relief. Goods vehicles which were unloaded in streets with unilateral parking • could completely nullify the advantage of the system.
Lorries Penalized The unfortunate effect on goods transport of a total ban on parking was mentioned by Mr. H. Von Heland, Stockholm, after stating that the only short cut to an improvement was to
introduce further restrictions. Mr. F. A. Bentz, Mulhouse, said it would not be possible to obtain priority for public service vehicles, and as an alternative he advocated the restriction of traffic travelling transversely to main routes. Experience had shown that a 70 per cent. restriction greatly improved traffic flow and reduced accidents.
Another French member, Mr. M. Gayrard, Lyons, also appeared to view the future with deep pessimism. In his opinion congestion threatened to paralyse public life.
Bonus Schemes: Oneman Operation
nPENING the discussion on Mr. M.
Mross's paper, "Earning Capacity of Transport Undertakings and Ways of Increasing their Efficiency," Mr. A. A. M. Durrant, London Transport Executive, dealt in some detail with two types of maintenance bonus scheme and their effect on restrictive practices. Speakers who followed Mr. Durrant mainly concentrated on the merits and disadvantages of one-man operation.
An incentive scheme could be employed, said Mr. Durrant, if much of the work were broken down into el4 small elements, comparable with those associated with new production. It was then possible to apply a similar method to determine "times allowed and to measure "'times taken," from which the necessary bonus calculations could be made.
Because the necessary amount of work varied from item to item, an excessively heavy overhead expenditure would be required to organize inspection of every assembly and accord it a special time rating, but the expedient of " averaging " could often be employed to reduce such expenditure. This was the practice of London Transport Executive, and the case of busbody overhaul could be given as an example.
A limited number 'of bodies was inspected individually and a rate prepared; from the data obtained it was possible to establish an "average time allowed," which could be applied to all bodies for a period of six months, after which it was re-assessed. This avoided the danger of the system " running away with itself."
Although the scheme was more easily applied when the vehicles were of standardized design, it could be operated under less favourable conditions, provided an adequate "sampling quantity were used for the basis of calculations.
A similar scheme could not be applied to day-to-day maintenance work at garages, but the Executive had found that a system based on saving in manpower, • could be employed, the financial gain being shared in an appropriate proportion between the men (as a bonus) and the management The bonus was conditioned by the amount of overtime, which was necessary to guard against any tendency to reduce staff at the expense of additional overtime. This incentive scheme encouraged the workers to abandon certain restrictive practices, adherence to which resulted in waste in the allocation of staff.
A brief reference to bonus schemes was also made by Professor A. Bockemtihl, Stuttgart. If they were applied to only a part of the work in the shops, the other employees became dissatisfied, he said.
Staff could be reduced and the speed of work increased by employing "flying motorized groups" comprising two men and a mobile workshop equipped with spare parts. Every unit should specialize in a particular branch of repair work so that inspections .could be performed at any of the undertaking's centres.
To meet increasing road speeds in Germany, new regulations had been introduced to i in prove braking efficiency.
Mr. P. Ruais, Paris, emphasized the advantages of vehicle standardization and of giving overhaul work to contractors, which reduced the importance of the workshops. He also expressed great interest in Mr. Mross's comments regarding the transference of personnel from other departments to augment the driving and platform staff at peak periods. This would first have to be approved by the trade unions. '
After describing one-man operation as an excellent means for improving efficiency, Mr. Ruais said that the job Of a sitting conductor could be performed by the driver or by " special devices "; a conductor should move amongst the passengers to collect the tickets. Simplified schemes of ticket collection could be employed if inspections were occasionally made at settingdown points.
Public Opinion
The advisability of taking public opinion into account before con-. structing new types of vehicle was emphasized by Mr. 0. Meischer, Basle, who said that many passengers objected to one-man operation, mainly on the grounds that payment was difficult when they were carrying parcels. Use of the system raised earning capacity, but delays at the main stops were increased. When a conductor was carried he should be mobile.
A progressive reduction in passengers' opposition to one-map operation was mentioned by Mr. B. B. C. Felix, director of The Hague Tramways. who stated that operating a modern motorbus without a conductor in place of an older type with two men represented a saving of 24 per cent, despite an increase in the basic wage of the driver. The improved acceleration and braking of modern vehicles enabled former running times to be maintained.
Heating Buses Parked in the Open
SPEAKING of the general use of Is-, open-air parking in Germany, Mr. P. Kremer, Hanover, said that experiments had been made with electrical, hot-water and hot-air methods. In Hanover, tests of a Swedish hot-air system during February had shown that temperatures could be obtained at least equal to the depot temperature. Outdoor heating was of such importance that it should be the subject of a future paper for a Union congress. It should be entrusted to a Swedish member.
In an established open-air park in I lanover, said Mr. Kremer, 60 vehicles v. ere equipped with electric heaters, which enabled warming up to be compley.al in half an hour. Giving a description of heating and ventilating systems, employed by London Transport Executive, Mr. A. A. M. Durrant said that. it was unnecessary artificially to heat parking areas. In the docking areas there was crass ventilation from open windows, and exhaust fans in the roof gable created a draught of 300 Cu. ft. per min. from paints adjacent to the pits.
Natural ventilation was provided by open doors and roof windows in the parking area, and this was aided by a flow of air from eight propeller fans, each with a capacity of 2.000 cu. ft. per nun. This represented two. and a hslf changes of air per hour.
When a high rate of air exhaustion was required in any part Of the works in connection with a particular process, said Mr. Durrant, washed replacement air was introduced mechanically from overhead diffusing grilles or unit hearers, and in certain totally enclosed areas, such as the Bonderizing and paint-spraying shops, this was the only space heating used. In the trimming shop and other departments, where Aedentary work was in progress, the air was changed by means of extraction fans from a duct running beneath the bench conveyors.
Cost Accounting Important
BEFORE introducing Mr. E. Sand of Stockholm, author of "Cost Accounting in Public Transport with Special Regard to Depreciation," Mr. I C. Hawkins, London Transport F.xecutive, said that costing was wrongly considered by many managers and engineers as outside their sphere of interest. This was an illogical view; their decisions must be based on data prepared by the accountants.
The author was correct, said Mr. Hawkins, when he claimed that the fundamental objects of costing should be determined at the outset. These could be divided into: estimates of
future costs; assessing present expenditure; determining profit and loss on the various routes; and deciding the relative costs of different forms of transport. With regard to depreciation, Mr. Hawkins said that no undertaking could live unless it could "reproduce itself" by replacing equipment. An essential element in computation was to decide whether it should be based on the maximum physical life of the vehicles or their commercial life, which were often completely different. This was because engineers were contradictory people who supplied a machine that would last for ever. but always wanted to provide a vehicle in keeping with modern trends before the old ones were worn out. It was the practice of the Executive to use a central strategic reserve to obviate obsolescence. Professor A. Bockemiihl, Stuttgart, emphasized that cost figures must be usable; there was no advantage in collecting figures from everywhere. Because politics played an important part in the municipal transport, said Prof. Bockembhl, fares could no longer be related to basic costs.
After stating his opinion that costs should be prepared for every route, Mr. C. F. Mathiesen, Oslo, said that they should be related to four factors, namely, the number of vehicles and variations in vehicle-hours, vehiclemiles and route-miles.
More General Use of Trailers?
THE discussion on "The Use of Trailers for Buses and Trolleybuses (Mr. 0. Miescher, Basle) was of special interest to members from those countries in which trailers are prohibited. Mr. W. Vane Morland, vicepresident of the Union, made some notable observations. Mr. Morland stated the view that it was important to report trailer progress to members through the medium of Review so that they would be well informed on the subject at the next Congress. Various governments, in the meantime, might consider amendments to construction-and-use regulations to allow trailers to be employed on selected routes. In many countries of the Commonwealth, serious thought would undoubtedly be given to their adoption. Mr. Morland followed Mr. P. Kremer, Hanover, who stated that replacing an old tramway system covering 30 km. could,it bad been estimated, be achieved most economically by employing buses with trailers having a single conductor. This would be less costly than relaying the tram lines; if large-capacity single-deck buses or double-deckers were used the overall cost would be 30 per cent. higher.
The advantages of the passenger trailer with regard to economy of operation did not apply in Belgium, in the opinion of Mr. R. Hoens, Brussels. This was because standing passengers were not allowed in trailers and unladen-weight regulations were unfavourable. More extensive use was being made of one-man-operated buses which had a less powerful engine.
Elastic Overhead-line System Criticized
THE adequacy of the rigid system of overhead-line suspension for the majority of operators was mentioned by Mr. A. F. Coventry, British Insulated Callender's Cables (Export), Ltd., who was the chief contributor to the discussion on " Overhead Lines for Trolleybuses," read by Mr. E. Gerard, Lyons. Referring to the author's statements based on answers to his questionnaire, Mr. Coventry pointed out that 90 per cent, of the undertakings represented did not consider that the system prevented the maximum vehicle speed being used. In practice it had been shown that rigid suspension allowed speeds of up to 45 m.p.h. to be employed. The figures supplied also indicated. said Mr. Coventry, that there were fewer dewirements by the rigid system. It must be conceded that elastic suspension had better wearing properties, but since the introduction of slipper collectors with carbon inserts, the wear associated with rigid systems was no longer important. Their use reduced installation and maintenance costs, and the overhead lines were neat and unobtrusive. On the final day of the Congress. Mr. H. Perdrcau (Lyons) chairman of the session, when giving the conclusions of the committee, said that the elastic system was generally favoured by members of the Union, but its high cost was often a deciding disadvantage. As a compromise, a semi-rigid system might be preferable.
It was officially announced at the conclusion of the Congress that provisional arrangements had been made to hold the 1957 Congress in Hamburg.