HOW A FRENCH RAILWAY OPERATES COACHES.
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Details of Working of the Passenger Vehicles of the P.L.M. The Services are Let Out to Contractors.
SOME idea of the great development -which has, taken place in the running of motorbuses and coaches in connection with. French railways is afforded by the 1929 ,time-tables of the touring services of the Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean Railway, the publication extending to nearly 100 pages. An-article on the Route du Littoral, one of the favourite services of the organization, appeared in our issue dated July 16th. The time-table is printed in both French and English, and contains a vast amount of information regarding the services, so that the folloWing extracts may be interesting, and perhaps useful, to those engaged in the running of similar services in this country :— The antocar services are let out to contractors, who take all the responsibility and manage them with experienced staffs and a 'thoroughly ieliable fleet of vehicles. Commenced before the war, these services have since been continuously extended. From 1919 to 1928 the route mileage of the road
system increased from 1,185 to 6,710; the annual vehicle-mileage rose from 131,000 to 1,957,316 and the number of passengers increased thirteenfold. Each coach service is designated by a number and has its Own 4h:1e-table, giving the dates of running, itineraries and fares.
The fare.. for the entire . journey covered by a service is given in the time. table of the Particular Service. For those services on which tickets are regularly issued for portions. of the whole journey the sectional fares are also mentioned oh the, time-table. For a " partial journey "—i.e., a journey between two points Within a section or Within two adjoining sections—thefareis based on the distance in .kiloms. ;
Children from three to seven Tears old pay half rate for the single fares ; when there is only one such. child in the vehicle that child IS entitled to a whole seat, but, When there are two, both occupy the same' seat. .
Provisional coupons, A° be, exchauged for coach tickets by the passenger,just before entering the vehiple, cap. be Purchased in advance. . These provisional coupons are issued with a reduction of 5 per cent. on the normal fares and are available so long as the services are running. The seats in the coaches are reserved in the order in which the applications are forthcoming. •
Five minutes before the vehicles start all unclaimed tickets are considered as lapsed and the unoccupied seats are at the contractor's disposal. Passengers who have not reserved their seats in advance, or who intend to cover only a portion of the circuit or service, are " allowed in the coach only when there are seats still'unoccupied just before starting. When a vehicle is about to start andseveral people apply simultaneously for the vacant seats prefer-, ence is given to bearers of provisional coupons ; after them 'to passengers travelling the entire journey, those going only part of the way being last.
. Any liability incurred in the working of the service devolves exclusively upon the respective contractors. It is the contractor's duty to deal with all claims dud complaints, whether lodged by passengers or by others, concerning mishaps on the way, injury, loss of registered luggage, etc. No indemnity .is, allowed for inconvenience caused by changes Made during the season, such as alterations in dates, itineraries, timetables and fares, Whenever an .unfOreseen occurrence, such as a block in the roads or a heavy snowfall, necessitates an alteration in the routes or in the time of running, passengers may abandon the journeys and have their fares returned, but can claim no: further -coinpensation.