How Glasgow's Buses Fared
Page 63
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LASGOVT Corporation, which open 1.,Tates a big fleet of motorbuses, has recently issued its report dealing with municipal passenger transport in the city during the year ended May 31st last. The municipal bus service was actually inaugurated in December, 1924, and since that period the corporation has displayed considerable enterprise in the use and development of motorbuses, at the present time having under consideration the purchase of a large number of machines to supplement the fleet of 201 vehicles (185 double-deckers and 1(3 single-deckers) in service at the end of May.
The capital expenditure on the bus system up to the period covered by the report has been £421,237. The total income for the past year amounted to £349,736, whilst working expenses and capital charges totalled 1848,173, thus leaving a surplus of 11,563, this figure contrasting with the sum of £13,157 for the previous year, when revenue amounted to 1185,330, and working ex penses to 1138,185. Interest, sinking fund and depreciation charges amounted, daring the year, to £75,883, whereas in the previous year they were £38,988. The department carries both the thirdparty risk and the employers' liability risk, funds having been established for these purposes. The balance at the credit of these funds on May 31st last was £16,370.
During the past year the cost of maintenance was £59,117, and the sum of /60,982 has been charged against revenue in connection with depreciation. During the year three new routes were opened.
The revenue account shows that expenditure was incurred under the following headings :—Traffic expenses, 1101,798 ; purchase of fuel, 171,399; cost of general repairs and maintenance, £62,372; general expenses, £20,064; licences, 112,447. The surplus of £1.563 on the operation of the buses was carried to the appropriation account, a surplus of £8,136 also being transferred to this account from the tramways section. The actual deficit on the working of the complete transport system of Glasgow for the year was /17,141, a substantial loss having been incurred on the working of the subway section.
During the year the buses, which served a route mileage of 87.90, covered 5,565,616 miles and worked an aggregate of 506,776 hours. The number of passengers carried was 48,066.752, the average number dealt with per busmile being 8.636.
Reduced to a per-mile basis, traffic revenue totalled 15.06d. and working expenses 11.74d. The average number of miles covered per day per bus was 142.1, and the average speed maintained per hour was 10.98 miles, this figure being slightly higher than that for the previous 12 months.
Certain other aspects of municipal bus activity in Glasgow are dealt with elsewhere in this issue,.