" NFORTUNATELY," said the traffic manager, " most of our
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passengers these days seem to want to take two suitcases, a dog and one of those so-called folding push-chairs with them on our coaches." Gazing into the roomy rear locker of one of the vehicles in question, one felt this gloom to be exaggerated But when it is recalled that upwards of 40 passengers are now carried in 30-ft.-long coaches and that luggage accommodation has not increased proportionately, it becomes clear that the problem exists.
For many years, most coach operators have safeguarded themselves by specifying in their regulations that each passenger shall be allowed to carry one suitcase. With vehicles seating 26-30 passengers, the rule has been as adequate as the luggage space available. A subtle change in the travelling habits of the population has now • accentuated the extent to which the question of baggage accommodation has been neglected.
Longer Holidays—More Luggage High rail fares have undouNedly diverted traffic to toad transport and most passengers have retained their railway mentality in respect of the quantity of luggage carried. Moreover, a large proportion of the popultstion now enjoy s a fortnight's holiday with pay each year, so that the amount of clothing needed on holiday further increases the amount of luggage carried. Observant operators have noticed, too, that the amount of clothing considered by most people to be the minimum necessary for normal conditions, has incre:tsed.
Any small rise in the cubic capacity of luggage lockers which may have resulted•from the latest regulations on length and width of vehicles has, therefore, been swallowed up by the added number of cases brought by passengers An additional factor which causes trouble at peak periods is the awkward shape of modern cases. Recent years have seen the reappearance of the Gladstone type of bag. usually made of a soft material. These " hold-alls " occupy far more space than a rectangular suitcase, on account of their irregular shape. Such factors do not accord well with established
practice in coaches. Almost without exception these vehicles now have rear lockers to which access is gained through doors in the back panelling of the vehicle. The value of this space can, however, be much reduced by the intrusion of the floor under the rearmost seats, by heaters, tool kits and spare wheels. A high frame seriously reduces the available space, although bodybuilders, in general, crank the rear frame members downwards to give as much room as possible. In some cases the floor of the locker is dropped betwOen the frame members, thus further increasing the available' space.
Hut this compartment is not always sufficient. in vehicles run by the Hi' mingham and. Midland Motof Omnibus Co., Ltd , the back row of seats is dispensed with, allowing the locker to occupy some of the interior of the body, with greatly beneficial effects on the luggage space. In addition, it is possible to stow some luggage on top of the locker inside the vehicle. This also serves to compensate for the loss of space in the compartment occasioned by the spare wheel, which is enclosed in its own locker at the rear, displaced from the usual side position by the underfloor engine.
Spare Wheels Discarded
Some operators have found it necessary to discard the spare wheel and to arrange for suitable wheels to be available at key points on their routes. In their case, the luggage problem has clearly necessitated a ruthless solution.
At all events, the driver must ensure that luggage carried is so arranged that it can be removed when the passengers reach their destination. With a. full locker this can be difficult, but drivers have acquired a genius for jigsaw puzzles which enables them to Nick the "last out" luggage out of the way of the luggage that comes out first.
The earlier type of luggage container—the roof rack—is a different proposition. In this 'layout it is usually possible to arrange cases in the most convenien: manner, but the disadvantages are obvious. At each stop the driver has to risk the climb to the top of the vehicle—not a popular exercise. He may also have to climb up and down for each case, which would be an even less happy activity. Moreover; present-day luggage is not constructed to withstand the elements as was that of 50 years ago. Even the covers provided for these roof racks do not always protect cases and parcels
from the effect of the 50 m.p.h. rain squall, which in wet weather assails the fool of a moving coach.
Nevertheless, Royal Blue coaches continue to be so equipped, for this particular type of carrier can hold an immense quantity of luggage and care in tying down the cover can ensure adequate protection under most conditions. In overseas countries it is almost essential, for only on the roof can the bicycle of the rural passenger be carried, not forgetting the market-day purchases.
Untidy loads such as these are luckily rare on home vehicles. So great, in fact, is the uniformity of the equipment with which most passengers travel in this country, that use can be made of the space under the floor of the coach for carrying luggage. Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., has for long had fullwidth lockers under the chassis ' of its vehicles.
Drivers speak highly of this arrangement, for in conjunction with the usual rear locker, all the luggage ever likely to be produced by intending passengers can be safely and
neatly stowed away. Protection against rain is complete, and even dust can be almost completely excluded from the luggage.
Bellhouse and Hartwell, Ltd., has used a similar layout in a coach based on the Foden rear-engined chassis in which high frame members ensure sufficient depth below for even the bulkiest trunk. Other bodybuilders have produced similar designs for conventional chassis, and in the case of the Windover body for Sheffield United Tours, Ltd., the interior floor level has been raised to provide a locker above the chassis members, but beneath the floor, 12 ins. deep, 8 ft. wide, and almost as long as the wheelbase of the A.E.C. Regal Mk. III chassis.
Motorways, Ltd., operating Continental tours, has taken the precaution of ensuring that no passenger shall produce an unwieldy package by issuing all intending tourists with a standard case into which sufficient can be packed for the period of the tour. In this way the entire luggage accommodation is filled by cases specially designed to fit the available space. Whilst this must be regarded as a perfect solution of the problem of luggage carrying, it is, of course, a special-purpose-one, and quite unsuited to everyday use.
Exceptional measures must sometimes be taken to meet particular circumstances. The observation coaches used by the London Transport Executive on the route linking the principal main-line railway terminals in London are an example. By raising the rear seats until they are almost level with the tops of the front scats, the luggage locker can be made of immense proportions, capable of dealing with the accoutrements of 30 or more passengers undertaking long journeys by rail.
British airline companies employ similar vehicles from airports to city centres, although air passengers may carry only a specified weight of luggage. Bigger aircraft in which 40 or more passengers may travel, have caused the road transport departments of the airline operators to think again on the question, and it will be interesting to see what plan is evolved to deal with the human and inanimate loads in future 60-70-seater aeroplanes.
Enclosed roof lockers might help to solve the luggage problem, were it notfor the fact that fork trucks would have to be used for rapid loading. Whilst such equipment may be available at airports, it seems unlikely. ever to be found at coach stations. Nevertheless, a deep double roof with side hatches seems an attractive answer to the question of where to put the luggage of 40 or more passengers. Special coaches already exist with large but open roof lockers running the entire length of the vehicle.
Fortunately for the operator, coaches are not intended to act as goods and passenger vehicles. Nevertheless, to provide fully for passengers' needs, and to save them the considerable expense and delay of sending baggage by rail or by other means, some serious thinking will have to be done by designers and operators. As the traffic manager puts it, "Common-sense is a great thing; we find it useful in solving our problems and it might prevent some passengers from bringing along portmanteaux when next they travel by coach."