PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
A WINTER USE FOR MOTOR COACHES.
How Owners Can Secure Patronage for Their Vehicles by Catering for Football Clubs ,.nd Their Fo'lowers.
TT IS surprising hew much more custom 1 coach owners in certain towns get in connection with local football matches, as compared with. those whose opportunities would appear to be almost similar.
The patronage accorded to a particular club, and the position of the ground, not to mention the distances which have to be travelled, all count a. geed deal for or against, the coach owner who would look in this direction for patronage, although in the case of clubs of any standing there are only a few instances where no trade is to be secured by the motor coach proprietor who cares to look for it. Football grounds are seldom situated in the centre of a town or city, and in some centres a good business is done by carrying spectators from a central point in the town to the ground. In this matter local authorities have to be considered, especially where there is a tramway service in operation. Often the distance is not very great, but advantage is taken of the desire of football crowds to get to and from the ground as quickly as possible.
A football enthusiast.will otten pay a reasonable sum to get ahead of the crowd, especially if this secures a better view of the game for him, and in cases of this kind, if the journey is only a short one, it is possible to run several trips as the crowd is assembling and then again as it is dispersing after the match. With services of this nature local conditions should be studied, and it is necessary that the coaches should be available at the most convenient points and that the passengers should be dropped at points which enable them to get into the ground with the utmost ease.
Coach owners who cater for football parties may sometimes receive applications for seats on journeys to matches 836 away from the home ground, and in this way parties can often be made up for journeys of some length. For footbalI work, which, of course, is winter work, weather protection is a matter of importance, but it must be admitted that there is a rooted objection on the part of many of the most ardent followers to a totally enclosed ,body. Weather protection is necessary, but, passengers like to feel that, they are not too much confined. In cold weather the use of rugs is appreciated, and such consideration of the travellers' welfare will often bring passengers on days which would otherwise be considered too cold for travelling by road motor. Several of the better-class clubs have made arrangements to travel to most of their away matches by motor coach, and, usually, in these cases 14 to 20-seater coaches with totally enclosed bodies are used. Some of the clubs possess their own coaches, but usually the work is let out by contract, and it is the latter which should provide acceptable and fairly regular work for the average owner at a time when business is somewhat quiet.
Train services suitable for football spectators are not always suitable for the. players, who have to dress. before and after the match, and are in no fit state for going on to the field of play immediately they have made the journey or for making a journey immediately after the completion of a match. By the use of a motor &ads a reasonable time for preparation can be allowed both out and home, while travelling in this way has the great advantage of providingprivacy for the players, who, much as they like the support of their own following of spectators, do not appreciate the interference they often receive when they are recognized on railway platforms when travelling in a body.