OPERATING ASPECTS
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of Passenger Transport
EASTBOURNE'S BUSES HAVE ANOTHER GOOD YEAR
Well-maintained Profits Mark the Past Year's Working of the Municipal Fleet f\NE of the claims to municipal dis
tinction enjoyed by Eastbourne is that it has never operated tramcars, motorbuses always having been relied upon formeeting the passenger-transport needs of the population which, although large residentially, is much inflated during the holiday season. Actually, the corporation obtained powers to provide and run motorbuses in the liorough so long ago as 1902, and the first motor services were inaugurated in April, 1903.
At the oresent time a fleet of 59 buses is being run, all but three of them (which are Dennis one-man
operated vehicles) being of Leyland make. The latest acquisitions are Leyland Titan double-saloon vehicles, which were put into service in July last, and these buses have proved both popular with the public and most useful in accommodating the heavy loads at peak hours.
During the year ended March list last the gross revenue from the operation of buses was £82,687, whilst the total working, expenditure amounted to 166,687, these figures contrasting witli £81,686 and £67,288 respectively for the previous year. Thus it will be seen that, for the past 12 months, the gross profit was 116,000, whereas a year earlier it amounted to /14,398. In the past year loan charges called for 19,292, as against £7,959 a year earlier, so that the net profit on the year's working was £6,709, as compared with 16,440 for the year ended March, 1930.
During the past year the number of passengers which the buses carried was 13,965,102, an aggregate mileage of 1,209,746 having been run. The gross income per bus-mile amounted to 16.03d., whilst the total cost per mile run, including loan charges and depreciation, was 14.67d., so that the net profit per bus-mile was 1.25d.
Although this year's figures are once again very satisfactory, there was actually a decrease of .48 in the number of passengers carried per bus-mile and of .29ti. in the total income per busmile, the latter being offset by a decrease of the same amount in the total expenditure per bus-mile.
As in former years, the net revenue account has been charged with the amount the buses have depreciated during the year, i.e., £7,269; this equals approximately 22 per cent, of the value at March 31st, 1930, and of the buses purchased during the year.
After transferring the past year's profit to the profit appropriation account and charging certain other items set out in the accounts, there was a balance of £47,586 to carry forward at the end of the municipal. year. This amount constitutes the working capital of the undertaking and is represented by stores, petrol, tyres, machinery, etc., and the existence of such a substantial balance enables buses to be purchased without recourse to a loan. The undertaking is for this reason one that may be regarded as having a sound basis.