Motorbus World.
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The new motorbus service between St. Albans, Sandridge and Wheathampstead is much appreciated by residents in the surrounding districts.
The wisdom of the London licensing authorities' attitude has been confirmed by a fatal accident on a Keighley motorbus, whereby the conductor slipped from the vehicle while he was going forward to collect fares from outside passengers in front. Permission has resolutely been refused by Scotland Yard for motorbuses to be fitted with any but a rear entrance, and passengers are not allowed to travel with the driver.
Sydney is making another attempt satisfactorily to establish a mortorbus service, and this time it appears to have every ehanre of success.
Sir .1. H. A. Macdonald, K.C.B., read a paper, at the Royal United Service Institution, on the 116 February, 1907, on the subject of " Power traction on roads for national defence," and, in the course of the discussion thereon, the Editor of this journal proposed a test run to the coast. Many readers may recall that it took the War Office not much short of two years to make the test, the actual run from Warley Barracks to a point near Shoe
buryness being conducted on tile 18th December, 1908. We hope the Treasury will decide to put the War Office in possession of funds for further practices of the kind, which are eminently necessary by way of organisation.
The Paris Omnibus Company OWI1S 3,000 fewer horses than it did two years ago, owing to the introduction of the motorbus. By virtue of the new charter, the Paris omnibus horse is now to disappear finally.
Aldershot Has Hopes.
The Aldershot and Farnborough Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., has completed another year of working. The traffic receipts for the past year show an increase of over £600, when com pared with last year's figures. The report states that " the directors are still unable to declare a dividend as the capital has not yet been reduced," but hopes are expressed that this will be possible next year.
L.G.O. Improvement.
The official notification of the intention of the directors of the London General Omnibus Co. to recommend the payment of the whole of the arrears of dividend, amounting to about £50,000, on the preference shares, was publicly circulated soon after we had gone to press last week. The ordinary shares of this company, which towards the end of last year stood as low as 17 and 18, have this week been quoted at 60.
Electrobus Echoes.
An action before Mr. Justice Ridley and a special jury in the King's Bench Division, in which Mr: C. A. Gould claimed damages against Dr. LehweiA, for alleged false and fraudulent misrepresentation, and for breach of contract, was concluded by the payment of a. sum of money into court, by the withdrawal of all personal allegations, anti the technical withdrawal of a juror. The principal features of the case centred round the delivery by Mr. Gould of 15 sets of batteries, of 42 cells each, to Dr. Lehwess for use on vehicles belonging to the London Electrobus Co. Payment for these batteries was to have been made from the funds of a company called the Gould Storage Battery Co., which was registered with a nominal capital of £25,000. From the crossexamination of Dr. Lehwess it appeared that of the £25,000, 421,000 was allotted to a company in Guernsey, called the Asiatic Banking and Trading Corporation, Ltd.
The Manchester Corporation's motorbus service from Northenden is proving so convenient to many of the residents that a request has been sent to the, Tramways Committee that. another motorbus be added to the set.v lee .
The latest L.G.O.C., B-type motorbases are being employed in increasing numbers on the new Victoria-Old 1:',r(i service. Theso machines run
down Bond Street, and some doubt is expressed as to the action of the police authorities with regard to this portion of tire route diming the crush part of tire season.
The Maidstone Borough Council and the Town Council of Chatham have arrived at an agreement whereby the motorbuses which ply for hire between
the two toWlla shall be inspected by an expert once every six months; the examinations will take place alternately in Maidstone and Chatham. Interesting Tramway Figures The acute discussion, which stii: rages in Weymouth, with regard to the scheme of tramway equipment f,,r that. town, has given rise to considerable correspondence in the columns of " The -Weymouth Telegram." Owing to the publicity which had thus beet: afforded to the contents of a paper entitled, "Tramways Past and Present," and written by Mr. C. .1. Spencer, the President of the Municipal Tramways Association, the Editor of this journal addressed a communication on the subject to our Weymouth contemporary. Two errors, nearly amounting to t 1.000,000 each, are thus disclosed in Mr. Spencer's paper, the statistics in which are designed to prove that the tramways of this country are, on the
whole, profitable undertakings. We reproduce below an instructive table.. which reveals tire allocation of the gross earnings amongst. the 94 British municipal tramway undertakings:—