Tours Not Needed, says Applicant
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mo evidence of need was produced
by W. Alexander and Sons, Ltd., last week, when it applied to run tours to Blackpool and Morecambe from six Scottish towns.
Mr. R. C. B. Currie, for the applicant, said that excursions and tours were the most remunerative type of business next to private hire. The Alexander company had to get additional revenue from somewhere to offset the increased fuel tax, otherimse fares would have to be raised.
He did not propose to lead evidence of need, as his client did not believe there was any. It had opposed other applications for this reason, but it might have been wrong. If so, it was entitled to any additional revenue to bolster its unremunerative stagecarriage services.
R. Dickson, jnr., Ltd., objected. Last year, this company carried 95 passengers on its Blackpool tours.
Decision was reserved.
2,451 COMPULSORY ACQUISITIONS
THE number of haulage undertakings compulsorily acquired by the British Transport Commission to March 31, 1951. was 2,451. The earliest date of transfer relating to any such acquisition was January 1, 1949.
Final compensation has been agreed in 343 cases, subject to confirmation by the Transport Arbitration Tribunal. Payment has been completed in 225 of these cases Payments on account, equal to 90 per cent, of provisional ascertainments of compensation. or final payments have been made in 2,252 cases.
This statement was made, last week, by the Minister of Transport. .
IMPERIAL MOTORWAYS GRANTED LICENCE
A LICENCE was, this week, granted I-1 by the West Midland Licensing Authority to Imperial Motorways, Ltd., to run tours to Paris from Birmingham during April to September, with one through coach per week.
The Railway Executive claimed that the grant would create wasteful competition with other means for travel " which had carried politicians and other sections of the community back and forth to the Continent for very many years."
It was stated that the applicant had been a member of an international committee which had agreed to recognized standards of travel, booking and accommodation.
" HEAVIES " AVERAGE 27 M.P.H. NfiEASUREMENTS made by the 1VIRoad Research Laboratory showed that on the open roads the average speed of goods vehicles of over 3 tons unladen weight was 27 m.p.h., despite the legal limit of 20 m.p.h. Well over 90 per cent. of these vehicles were travelling faster than 20 m.p.h.
The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department gave this information last week in a written reply.