PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and •Coach World.
MOTOR COACHING IN 1925 A PLEA FOR OPTIMISM. 1
Observations on Farlures of the Past and Outstanding Needs of the Future. Hon* to Ensure Success for the Forthcoming Season.
OPTIMISM should be the keynote of the 1925 motor coaching season. In the process of settling down to the more or less uneventful winter trade, backed by the somewhat discouraging returns of last season, there is not much incentive to new and bold enterprises, yet to accept the status quo with an air of finality would be fatal to ultimate prosperity.
What hopes motor coach owners had two or three seasons ago of reorganizing their fleets by the inclusion of more of the smaller units, have been deferred fulfilment in some instances by the severity of their experiences, which have been such as to leave undeveloped many Plans and ideas for attaining commercial success. The fact has to be recognized that, in the provinces, at least, there has been a thinning out in the ranks of motor coach proprietors— even as the result of last year's traffic— and whether this movement has yet reached the zenith of its course can hardly be determined at this premature stage.
One thing, however, is certain, and that is the industry has not enjoyed a Prosperity commensurate with its capital responsibilities. It is not a difficult matter to speculate on causes. They are manifold, and by no means a few of them are directly attributable to motor coach owners themselves. Traffic is their life blood ; without it they suffer an anaenic existence with the inevitable consequences.
The ability to transport passengers to seaside and pleasure resorts should be the minimum qualification of the man setting up in business as a motor coach proprietor, but if he be possessed of a modicum of wisdom, he will no doubt perceive that what, in the matter of travelling facilities, satisfied the public two or three years immediately after the war, now falls far short of their expectations. Not only that, for the rates now charged must bear sympathetic relation to current economic standards.
Thus, the motor coach owner is looked upon to provide better service at a lower cost per seat-mile. There is only one way of reconciling these twin factors, and that is to ensure a better continuity In loads. The stimulation of bookings (excepting at the seaside resorts, where the motor coach has an almost Ubiquitous existence) in industrial areas is admittedly difficult, and success, in a large measure, depends upon the reputation and goodwill of the coach owner. The better he is known, and the more certain the regularity and dependability of his services the greater his chance of being remembered when work is in prospect.
At the same time, too much reliance elan be placed on such an intangibility as goodwill. The appetite of the public Must be whetted by artificial aids, chief of which is the proper employment of publicity, into the technicalities of which it is not proposed to enter in this article.
Only in a comparatively few instances during the past season was an ambitious use made of printed matter. If the public is indifferent to the attractions of the open road, the coach owner must exercise his ingenuity to promote interest and indulge. in propaganda on a sufficiently impressive scale to demonstrate that the pleasure-giving possibilities of motor coaching are as real in 1925 as in 1920. Unless the coach owner -shows confidence, how can he expect the public to be responsive?
How many coach owners, we wonder, have brought and kept their fleets up to date, since first venturing into the business. Comparatively few according to our observations, for the main reason that writing down depreciation on a regularized basis has been exceedingly difficult of accomplishment when revenue has fallen short of expectations. Consequently, many owners have on their hands machines old in age, but with poor mileage to their credit—the young-old.
The man in the street is now more an fait with the conditions that constitute the " up-to-date " motor coach. He has been taught to appreciate the smaller vehicle running on pneumatic tyres in preference to solids, and giving more roomy seating, and other little comforts which the thoughtfulness of coachowners has provided. It can hardly be expected that passengers will willingly patronize seemingly old-fashioned vehicles when more modern ones are bookable for the same fees.
Recognizing that there are some owners who, despite increased popurality of the smaller vehicles, still claim the 28-seater to be the only sound commercial proposition, circumstances in particular localities (where owners work on mutually agreed lines) do not affect the main argument, which is that the public has been taught to distinguish the comforts of different types of coach, and heed must, therefore, be given to their preferences.
The outstanding needs of the 1925 motor coaching season, apart from sensible trade organization on something more than a local scale, are : courage and optimism on the part of vehicle owners, modern vehicles, wisely directed propaganda, and alert administration and enterprise in the organization and direction of tours, whether for singleseat passengers or booked parties.