The Promenade Runabout : A Suggestion to Seaside Towns.
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IN August of last year we drew atte-ntion to the enterprise of the Corporation of Bournemouth in the development of a new type of motor paasenger vehicle—the promenade runabout—for service on the parade road between Bournemouth and Boseoinbe Piers, a road which would be quite unsuited for buses, and yet one which naturally pliers alarge amount of teaffic. The main road, with an extensive tram and bus service, runs parallel with the parade road, but to reach it entails a long walk, uphill at the Boscornbe end. It was thus a bold step to put on the parade a service that necessarily must compete with the existing means of communication ; but, at the same time,. it was evident that quite a new type of traffic was open to development, and protection to the older method's could-be given by charging a higher fare-6d. for 11 miles—for the trip along the parade.
A very interesting type of vehicle was devised, with a platform brought low by the use of 20-in. tyres, without doors to the aeat passages, and with a fixed canopy and rear screen, and it is not too much to say that the vehicle at once proved attractive and caught the public fancy. A fare of 6d. was not objected to, and right through the best months of the year there was nearly always a queue of people waiting for the runabout. As the result of nine months' working, it was found that three vehicles had earned 2,446 in passenger fares, representing 97,840 passengers carried, whilst the expenditure on wages, fuel, stores, licences, insurance, etc., amounted to 2612, leaving the substantial gross profit of 21,534, from which depreciation, interest on capital and other overhead charges will be deducted. The final figures are expected to he so satisfactory as to suggest a reduction in the fare—perhaps to 4d.• Worthing has now followed suit, and London and its visitors will have an opportunity of sampling the comfort and coneenieirce of somewhat smaller vehicles in the grounds of the British Empire Exhibition. We recommend every corporation or urban district coun• cil of seaside or inland health resorts, or places of interest, to look into the claims Of this type of passenger-carrying vehicle, because it is obvious that services along promenades from which heavy traffic is generally excluded, and between places of interest and important centres, should-attract an amount of custom whieli should bring a substantial Profit on the venture, whilst the general convenience provided by such services would add to the amenities of the district. Let us add a word of warning. The chassis must be specially designed for the purpose, and it is not practicable totake a standard chassis and merely mount it upon wheels of ,small diameter. There is a lot more in it than that, so that purchases should be made from chassis builders who have specialized in the type.
The Driver's Position How Design is • Trending.
IT IS extremely interesting to note the trend of design in the matter of driver's position and body space on commercial motor vehicles for all classes of work, and to observe how strongly it tends towards the placing of the driver beside the engine, thus giving the maximum amount of room for passengers, goods or materials, as the ease may be. Of course, the adoption of this solution of one problem is not without its disadvantages, for it taises an appreciable amount of weight forward, so affketing the question of steering, and it involves the need for careful design of the chassis and the essential components in order to avoid lack of accessibility. It is rather difficult to say who originated the idea of saving the great waste of room which occurs in the ordinary cab or driver's space, because away hack in the earlier days of the motorbus the driver was to be found perched up over the engine, probably as the result of an effort to perpetuate the practice of placing the driver of an omnibus high up and centrally, as had always been the ease with the horsed type of vehicle. If the London General Omnibus CO. did not originate the idea and we have a very strong conviction that they did), at least it is certain that the result of their experiment and experience in recent years has served to convince modern designers that the position is a good one for the driver, and that the advantages which it gives outweigh the disadvantages, although one of these disadvantages has certainly not yet been seriously tackled by every designer who has essayed to employ the method.
Twenty-one Seats on 20-seater Buses.
ONE occasionally comes across amusing—and, let it be said, illuminating—examples of the workings of the mind of the official stickler for complete compliance with the letter of the law, whilst, in ditect contrast thereto, one hears of instances where common sense has prevailed, and has resulted in a seasonable degree of latitude being allowed in the interpretation of laws and regulations. 'We have particularly in mind just now the rating of hackney carriage vehicles for duty purposes under the Finance Act of 1920. We have never held that the schedule of classes was cleverly framed; but the hackney carriage section was apparently drawn up, as to some parts of it, with the bus in view, and, as to others, with the coach as the subject of consideration, because the scale, in its entirety, does not appear to suit either type of vehicle. If we take the 50-seater category, for example, we .find that it dues not fairly include the type of vehicle intended to be taxed. As a bus, the 20-seater is actually a 21-seater, for there is a gangway down the maitre of four rows of double seats, and a last row which accommodates five people. In many eases the licensing authority will allow a vehicle with this, the normal method of arranging the seats on a small bus, to be licensed as a 20-seater, the annual tax outside of the Metro titan area being C36 and the quarterly tax £10 16s.; but at least -one licensing authority insists either upon such buses being rated in the next higher category (as a 26-seater, with an addition to the tax of £12 per annum), which, of course, would not be per al6 missible, because it would not be possible to provide sufficient seating accommodation for that number of passengers, or to remove one seat, so reducing the seating accommodation to the minimum allowed for 20 persons. A very curious fact in eonneetion with this decision is that in the case which we have in mind—the licensing authority is but one department of the corporation of which another department operates the buses in question! The proper course to be pursued is, obviously, to secure, at the first opportunity which presents itself —when the schedule of the Finance Act under which motor vehicles are taxed comes up for revision—the increase or the permitted seating capacity in this class to 21 passengers.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Fleet Standardization.
WE CONTINUE to be surprised to find how rarely a fleet can really be referred to as standardized. In the vast majority of eases, even where it would have been quite possible to utilize only one type of vehicle, anything up to half a dozen different types or makes may be employed. That this should be the case is something of a mystery. There are palpable disadvantages in maintaining various makes of chassis. Large stocks of spare parts become necessary. It is essential that the maintenaece staff, in order satisfactorily to perform their duties, should be familiar with every detail of the chassis, and this task is merely magnified where the chassis differ considerably. Storekeeping records have to be very closely watched, and, unless the most minute attention is paid to detail, there Is a, danger of confusing orders for spare parts. With a standardized fleet the whole task becomes simplified, and, if necessary, a complete set of units for replacement purposes may be kept in stock—a procedure which would tie up too much capital if this had to be done for several makes of chassis. Another advantage is the easb with which the performances of different units of the fleet may be compared ; and yet another the fact that •the drivers can be easily trained for their work and transferred from one vehicle to another. One disadvantage appears to he that less opportunity is given for testing the relative worth of differeitt makes, so that it is more difficult to keep up to date by the substitution of improved types of vehicle as those in the original fleet. reach too great an age to give the best service. It is possible that it is in this way that most of the assorted fleets have been built up. Various makes of vehicle have been purchased, with a view to testing their capabilities, but, if such a procedure be followed, it is advisable to pick out the most satisfactory 'type, and, in the event of further purchases being made, to buy similar chassis. Certain classes of work, of course, necessitate vehicles of certain sizes, and it may be that a single model would not suffice to meet the needs of the work in hand. If this be so, standardization. can still be carried out so far as the vehicles for any particular task are concerned, and even then it is as well to adhere to the products of one maker only, providing that this maker gives satisfactory service as regards the supply of spare parts, etc. It. is not always a satisfactory procedure to form an opinion as to the merits or demerits of a vehicle on the results obtained from a single chassis. One vehicle may be exactly similar in make ancl, design to another, and yet be quite individualistic so far as its performance is concerned. A certain chassis may give perfectly satisfactory results, whilst another of the same make -may seem dogged by misfortune. It is for this reason that the interchange of opinions and experiences between the transport departments of large users is invaluable