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PASSENGER TRANSPORT
EWER'S APPLIES FOR TRANSFER OF EVA'S LICENCES.
ON Monday last, The Commercial Motor learns, George Ewer and Co., Ltd., Stamford Hill; London, N.16, deposited with the Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner applications for the transfer of licences for express services and excursions and tours to a number of coastal resorts, at present held by Eva's Motor Coaches, Ltd., London, E.C.2. . In recent issues we have announced advanced negotiations for the acquisition by the former concern of the business of the latter.
LEICESTER TRAMS MAY GO.
THE tramways committee of Leicester
Corporation has unanimously passed a resolution calling for a report on the financial position of the tramways undertaking, and the cost of replacing it by a system of motorbuses or other means for transport.
The inquiry is being conducted as a result of the disorganization of the tramways on certain days in December, which caused the controversy with the Transport and General Workers Union, reported on January 12.
IRISH ROAD TRANSPORT FOR 'THE RAILWAYS.
THE Irish Free State Road Transport
Act, 1933, which provides for the compulsory transfer of road passenger service and haulage licences (with a few exceptions) to the railway companies, is almost entirely in operation now. The Act is framed with the view that it is in the public interest that the railway, tramway and canal companies should be allowed the opportunity of holding the predominant position in road transport. Most of the large bus and haulage concerns commenced the year under the control of the Great Southern Railways and the Great Northern Railway.
Every driver and conductor of a large public service vehicle must have 24 consecutive hours' rest every seven days. Employers and employees who ignore this rule are liable to a fine of £5. A vehicle involved in an accident must stop at the scene of the mishap for a reasonable period.
FREE TRAVEL REFUSED.
THE North Western Road Car Co., Ltd., has refused to accede to the request for free bus facilities for the Hadfield members of Glossop Council.
OILERS TO. REPLACE TRAMS.
IT is rumoured in the west country that the final replacement of trains by oil-engined buses in Torquay will take place within the next three weeks.
ALLEGED EXCESSIVE HOURS AT BIRMINGHAM.
ON -February 1, Birmingham Police Court will resume the hearing of summonses against the Lord Mayor and Corporation of Birmingham for the alleged infringement of Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act. A preliminary hearing of the charges of working employees of the tramways and bus department for longer hours than prescribed under Section 19 was held last week.
LOWER FARES WOULD NOT INCREASE REVENUE.
CARDIFF Transport Committee has 'adopted a• report of Mr. William Forties, the manager, who states that any all-round reduction in bus fares
would result in heavy losses. The proposed fares reductions will not be made.
Cardiff is one of the few municipal undertakings to issue season tickets. Ordinary single fares are, on an average, 1.27d. per mile and return-jour ney fares .99d. per mile. Children travel at half these rates. Workpeople's fares, operated only on certain routes, are .37d. per mile, perhaps the lowest rate in the country.
Whilst more people would travel with lower fares, operating costs would increase, said Mr. Forbes, and new rolling stock would have to be added.
In November, 1933, fares on the Ely route were reduced by Id. and in the month following 9,573 more passengers were carried, but the .revenue fell by £112, as compared with the figures for the same period in the previous year..
METROPOLITAN FARES APPROVED.
FARE-TABLES of the following con corns have been approved by the Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner:— London Transport ; Amalgamated Omnibus Services and Supplies, Ltd. ; Redear Services, Ltd. ; Westcliff-on-Sea Motor Services, Ltd. ; Amersham and District Motor Bus and Haulage. Co., Ltd.; Premier Line, Ltd. ; New Empress Saloons, Ltd.; Ledbury Transport Co., Ltd.; Edward Hillman's Saloon Coaches, Ltd.; Sunset Pullman Coaches, Ltd., end Tilbury Coaching Services. fif.H.CS.A. CONDEMNS CONTRACTCARRIAGE LICENSING.
UNANIMOUS opposition to the
Minister of Transports plans for one-day licences for contract-carriage work, outlined in last week's issue, was declared at an important council meeting of the Motor Hirers and Coach Services Association last Tuesday afternoon.
. We understand that the association has informed the Ministry. of Transport that the scheme is impracticable and constitutes an unsatisfactory temporary expedient The association agrees with the view expressed in a leading article in last week's issue of The Commercial Motor to the effect that the only satisfactory solution of the contract-carriage problem is the amendment of the Road Traffic Act.
It is felt that, if the proposals were once given a trial, it would be ex • tremely difficult to displace them by any more satisfactory scheme.
We understand that the official view is that the railway companies would have to be consulted befofe amending legislation could be introduced, but the M.H.C.S.A. denies the necessity of this step. It feels that Parliament never intended contract-carriage work to be brought under the control of the Traffic Commissioners ; consequently, other transport interests are not concerned with it. It is understood that other sections of the industry concur in this view.
100-PER-CENT. MEMBERSHIP FOR MORECAMBE ASSOCIATION.
THE fact that the Association had maintained 100-per-cent. membership was reported at the annual general meeting of the Morecambe, Heysham and District Coach Owners Association last Friday. It was stated that the attendances at meetings during the year averaged 75 per cent The following officers were elected : —Messrs. T. S. Ireland (president), J. Yates (chairman), Norrison Stansfield (secretary), and D. Bell (treasurer).
In his report, Mr. Stansfield enumerated a few of the difficulties under which the public-service-vehicle operator had to work—difficulties of which, unfortunately, the general public was not B40 aware. He pointed out that motor vehicles paid £64,000,000 in taxation during the year, equal to 1d. in every 1s. of the national revenue, £40,000,000 being devoted to general revenue.
"NORTHERN GENERAL" OF AGE.
THE Northern General Transport Co., Ltd„ Chester-le-Street, celebrates its 21st birthday this year. The undertaking, which is one of the biggest in the north-east, has over 500 buses covering about 17,000,000 miles a year.
A.E.C. OILERS DISPLACE BURY TRAMS.
ON Monday last, buses replaced the
trams on Bury Corporation's service to Bolton, the buses employed being A.E.C. Regent oilers with 48seater double-entrance bodies built by Charles H. Roe (1923), Ltd.
We learn from Mr. C. P. Paige, A.M.Inst.T., general manager, that the existing Rochdale and Bury joint service is now co-ordinated through to Bolton, proaiding much improved facilities between these points.
MANY ENTRIES FOR SLOGAN COMPETITION.
THE slogan competition, or
ganized in connection with the forthcoming National Road Passenger Transport Week, is receiving strong support all over the country. We are informed by Mr. F. A. Walker, secretary of the Motor Hirers and Coach Services Association, that he receives, on an average, about 50 applications a day for entry forms.
" ALDERSHOT " NEW YEAR PARTIES.
LAST wtek the athletic club of the Aldershot and District Traction Co., Ltd., held its annual New Year's parties at Aldershot, Guildford, -Woking and Himlhead, when over 1,000 children were entertained. At each of these functions Mr. J. B. Parker (general manager) was present.
At Aldershot the attendance included Mr. Parker, Mr. P. N. Gray (traffic superintendent), Mr. P. L. Rivitt (chief engineer) and Mr. P. W. Nancarrow (secretary). NO FURTHER HOSPITAL PRO. RAILWAY POSTERS.
'OAD-TRANSPORT interests have
scored a victory in connection with the pro-railway posters exhibited by King's College Hospital, London, and exposed in our issue dated January 12.
We understand that, following representations by the Motor Hirers and Coach Services Association to Earl Beatty, chairman of the hospital, the house governor has informed the association that no further posters of that nature will be displayed. It is hoped that the existing advertisements will also be withdrawn.
MINISTER'S STATEMENT ON' ROAD-RAIL EXCURSIONS.
pURTHER comments on the subject of combined road and rail excursions, supplementing the remarks reported in our issue dated AuguSt 25 last, have been made by the Minister of Transport. The matter has arisen on the appeals of Birch Brothers, Ltd., and George Ewer and Co., Ltd., against the Eastern and East Midland Traffic Commissioners' action in granting licences to the Eastern National Omnibus Co., Ltd., for stage-carriage services to be operated in connection with combined road and ,rail excursions.
As stated in our issue dated August 25, the Minister provided that the Commissioners should be furnished with particulars of services operated under such a scheme, so that they might have fuller information when determining similar applications in the future.
The Minister understands that the Eastern National concern would raise no objection to the conditions of the licence granted in the East Midland Area being similar to those imposed in the Eastern Area, but as the licences in both areas expire on February 28 next he has not made any Order on the Commissioners.
The Minister states : "In determining the general nature of the conditions to be attached to licences of this kind, the Commissioners may think it desirable to limit the scope of the licence by retaining to Themselves, So far as the road service is concerned, a measure of prior control over such matters as the passengers to be carried, the routes to be followed and the fares to be charged."
METROPOLITAN AREA OFFICE.
ON Monday last the address of the
Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner was changed to Romney House, Marsham Street, Westminster, London, S.W.1. YORKSHIRE GROUP REFUSES TO ACCEPT RAIL RATES.
WHAT was stated by Mr. J. H. Stirk,
chairman of the East Midland Traffic Commissioners, to be one of the most important applications ever made to those Commissioners, was heard at Nottingham last week. The application was by Yorkshire Pool Services and East Midland Motor Services, Ltd., for the renewal of licences for long-distance services and reductions in fares.
The applicants were not prepared to accept the basis of Id, a mile, and couldnot agree to charge the railway " summer " fare of id. per mile, with all the other fares available by rail.
It was recently alleged that Yorkshire Pool Services was attempting to undercut the railway " summer "fares, hut last week Mr. W. G. Hall, assistant traffic manager of the concern, stated that, in fixing the fares proposed, he did not consider the railway rates. It was pointed out that, between certain points, 27 different kinds of ticket were issued by the railways, frequently at less than id. per mile.
For the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Co. it was stated that the company was not dissatisfied with the results obtained from the experiment with " summer " fares, but had not found it a "gold mine."
Mr. Stirk announced that the Commissioners' decision would be deferred until they had consulted the Commissioners of other affected areas. A conference of chairmen of Commissioners was held in London on the following day (January 17), but no announcement cart yet be made on the subject, as the proceedings were confidential.
BUSES TO SUPERSEDE PARIS TRAINS.
ntiR French contemporary, LE POICIS
Lourd, reports the important decision to substitute a bus service for the Ceinture, or outer-circle, railway in Paris. A number of 50-(0-seater buses has been ordered for the new service, the route of which will closely follow that of the railway.
CARDIFF BUSES NEED 54) PER CENT. MORE PASSENGERS.
C.ARDIFF Corporation's bus services, 'according to a report presented to the transport committee, run on 26 routes, and only seven work at a definite profit.
Some routes approximately kay their way, but where losses are incurred they range from 1d. to 6d. per busmile. To make all routes pay for themselves a 50-per-cent. increase in passengers would he required.
LONDON TROLLEYBUS BILL OPPOSED.
THE town clerk of Kensington is pre
senting, on behalf of a number of councils in similar positions, a. petition against the Parliamentary Bill or the London Passenger Transport Board, which seeks power to run trolleybuses. There is strong opposition to the pro posal to erect trolley-wire standards in various districts not previously served by overhead-cable vehicles.
As we stated in our issue dated January 12, the Metropolitan Boroughs Standing Joint Committee considers that the Bill should be resisted.
DUBLIN BUS STRIKE.
sTRIKE action was taken by a mini
her of Dublin tram and bus workers last week, which invOlved the complete suspension of bus services. The stoppage was caused by a dispute concerning the transfer of the support of workers from one union to another, " TRENT " WAGE REDUCTIONS.
UNDER an agreement reached between the Trent Motor Traction Co., Ltd., and the Transport and General Workers' Union, certain reductions of wages of drivers and conductors will come into force on February 1 next.
Wages will be reduced by id. per hour, overtime rates on Bank Holidays will drop from time-and-a-half to time-anda-quarter, and the employment of junior conductors at special rates will. be allowed.
LANCS. MERGER SCHEME.
LAST Friday the general and Parlia mentary committee of Manchester Corporation approved the proposal to form a joint transport board, comprising the transport unclerta,kings of 10 local authorities, including that of Manchester. The scheme has already been referred to on several occasions in The Commercial Motor.
Manchester Transport Committee recently dealt with the idea as one worthy of commendation, whilst Oldham and Wigan have expressed satisfaction "in principle" with the scheme.
MAINTAINING MANCHESTER BUS SERVICES IN -FOG.
sUCCESSFUL experiments have been '''-dcarriecl. out at Manchester with a scheme to facilitate bus traffic in fog. Under the supervision of Mr. R. Stuart Filcher, the municipal transport manager, the kerbs on three routes have been marked with white paint, which retains its clearness for two or three weeks,
When fog is acute, a dozen parcels vans, each equipped with four special amber headlights directed on to the painted kerb, are sent out to selected points to pick up buses that may be stranded and lead them along their routes. On the near side of each pilot vehicle are 10 red lamps, placed, one above the other, to indicate the safety limit.
By this means services have been maintained when otherwise they would have had to have been suspended. The scheme will, Mr. Filcher states, be extended, although at present it is in an experimental stage. It is believed that other municipalities will follow Manchester's lead.
HARDSHIPS TO COUNTRY CARRIERS ALLEGED.
AS a result of the hardships alleged to have been imposed -upon the country carrier by Sections 67 and 72 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, Brigg Chamber of Commerce has decided to send a resolution on the matter to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, the National Chamber of Trade, and the local M.P.
Under the terms of the Act, it was stated, the carrier had been replaced by combine bus companies running regular services, which are not an convenient to the agricultural community as those of the country carrier.