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THE COMING ERA THE BUS STATION.

29th August 1922, Page 16
29th August 1922
Page 16
Page 17
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Page 16, 29th August 1922 — THE COMING ERA THE BUS STATION.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

A New Development Which Will Do Mud Decreasing the Traff itate the Extension of Bus Services, Whilst tion at Busy Centres.

ALTHOUGH it is not so very long ago that we dealt in extenso with the first motor coach station, yet since that time great developments have occurred, culminating with the project for building a palatial 'station on the site of the Brighton Aquarium. Now we have a new extension of the road station, this time not applied to coaches but Co buses, and it is quite:probable that the development of the bus station will:be even more rapid than that. of the station applicable to ,coaches only. As twits importance there is no gainsaying, as one of the gnat difficulties in the extension of bus, services is the provision of suitable terminal points in the

busy centres. This applies particularly to those towns and cities where the open spacesavailable for such purposes are restricted in size, or may be

required, particularly at busy' times such market days, for the parking of other vehicles:

At present there are two bus stations in active operation, one at Derby and the other at Maidstone. ' Both:present some very interesting points worthy of close 'consideration. That at Derby embodies loading platforms and a• rest room, whilst the one at Maidstone includes a well-equipped booking office, a stand for a considerable number of buses and .a capacious and artistic, verandah provided with garden seats. Each station has a parcels office and conveniences for the use of the waiting passengers. The stations are even•exceeding expectations as to their utility, and one point which is.pa,rticularly appreciated by intending passengers is that there is no need for waiting uncomfortably in the street until the time of departure of the vehicles as was formerly the ease. The originator of the station at Maidstone is Mr. G. F. French, the manager and chief engineer of the Maidstone and District

Motor Services, Ltd. The ground on which it is built is leased from the Corporation and is conveniently situated in Mill Street, quite close to the centre of the town. It is most artistically designed with gabled roof and is finished in red brick, old oak beams and stucco, so that it harmonizes With the adjacent buildings—a famous old tithe' barn and an ancient church. The station stands at a corner, and a wide road,gives access to the parking ground for the vehicles which are lined 11p.m-front of the passengers' verandah. There is a handsome portico entrance to the booking office, and a wide exit, so that at busy times a constant stream of people can pass through. The-counter is arranged with a grill similar to that used in banks, and no fewer than four clerks are always employed in attending to prospective passengers.

Behind the booking office is a clerks' office, where

the cash can be totalled up, and a door leads into the parcels office and cloakroom. Two sides of the parking ground for the vehicles are formed by an ex-tension of the rear wall of the station and by the inner side of the station itself. A verandah runs the whole length of these two sides, and on the raised floor of this are garden seats for the waiting passengers, whilst an artistic touch is provided by wooden tubs containing shrubs. Round the verandah are fitted time-table cases, with a light' over each case.

The company own about 100 vehicles, mostly of Tilling-Stevens make and including a number of small Guy coaches on pneumatic tyres. The route mileage is something over 500, and the company have agents for the despatch and acceptance of parcels at each point where a time-table case is displayed. These time-table cases number CO.5

It is very exceptional, if not unique, for a company providing buses for public-service work to allow the booking of accommodation in the.vehicles, but this is a -convenience which is greatly appreciated by the passengers, who cannot then be crowded out of the vehicles.

Persons who do not boOk can, of course, be accepted' when the vehicles are nob full, but they have to stand their chance, although, as a matter of fact, owing to the company's system, the officials are able to make the necessary prevision far more accurately than would otherwise be the case. The ordinary villageto-village requirement can be averaged out, and the bookings to places at a considerable distance away, such as those to Hastings, Ashford, Tenterden, Chatham, Sevenoaks, etc., -inform them as "to the number of vehicles which will be „required beyond the ordinary services. Incidentaliy, this hooking. is not done at the main station only. The company have =a ,largenumber of subsidiary offices both in Hastings and the other districts served, and seats On any-service can be booked, the information being telephoned through to. the main station so that the seats Can be ticked off for the-departure time of each bus.

The station is well equipped with gas fires, etc., and the walls will be lined with photographs of places of interest. Arrangements are being made for the prevision of a large main Clock, and clock indicators to show the times of departure will be fitted on the outer walls. Apart from the station proper, and away from the verandah, are a rubbish bin and lavatory accommodation far the staff. There iA also a small store for destination boards and other impedimenta. Mr. French considers that stations are essential to the effieioncy of bus operation.

THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR Trent Traction Company's Enterprise.

No More significant, illustration in regard to motorbus developments affecting important Midland areas could he found than that, which is.afforded by the enterprise of the Trent Traction Company, which, radiating its operations from Derby, now covers large tilacts of territory in the Peak county and in Nottinghamshire, extending also its activities to the confines of Staffordshire and Leicestershire and affording ready means of communication for residents in widely scattered areas, whose requirements are inadequately provided for under present railway arrangements. Within a recent period a complete revolution as to travelling facilities has been thereby effected to the great advantage of the public, the routes covered extending in Derbyshire so far as Matlock, where continuation of transport northwards to Buxton and Stockport is rendered possible by co-operation with the Macclesfield company, which exploits main portions of the Cheshire territory and in Nottinghamshire, having as their ultimate points Mansfield and Birmingham, whilst Leicestershire is dealt with so far as Loughborough and Mountsorrel, and needs, of Staffordshire territory immediately contiguous to the Derbyshire boundary met by a service which has its -terminus in the brewery metropolis of Burton-on-Trent. Fifty-three buses of the Tilling-Stevens type constitute the . main rolling stock, these being mostly of the single-decker type capable of carrying 31 passenge ES each, there beingalso four double deckers, each with accommodation for 51, the remainder of the fleet being made up of pneumatictyred vehicles supplying 22 seats. Further evidence of the company's desire to cater for special requirements has also been supplied lately by the organization of char-a-banes services, which afford admirable means of travelling at reasonable rates and ex.peditiously from Derby and Nottingham to Skegness on the Lincolnshire coast.

Coincidently with the development of the undertaking since the war period, the necessity for better provision for the arrival and departure of vehicles from the company's headquarters at Albert Street, Derby, has been acutely felt, the improvised stations at the Corn Exchange, Cheapside and the Spot having proved wholly inadequate to meet the growing needs of traffic. The proposal to establish a terminal station offered a, solution to the difficulty.

By the acquisition upon lease of an ample site belonging to the .Corporation, affording frontages to Albert Street and ExChange Street, this has been now rendered possible, with the reSult that a depot presenting admirable facilities for the convenience of passengers has been eStablished within the last few weeks, contiguous to well-arranged offices for the administrative staff.

The ground is divided into two sections, which respectively cover an area of 50 ft. by 60 ft. and of 60 ft. by 50 ft., the front portion leading into Albert Street, which represents the point of departure of the buses, being equipped with a waiting room and parcels office constituting models • of compactness, with a conveniently planned departure platform m close proximity. The remainder of the area affords accommodation for spare vehicles to be brought into immediate use as requirements demand, there being also mess rooms and other needful offices for the employees.

In ail, 14 vehicles can be dealt with in the yards of the new central station, which has been designed upon excellent lines by Mr. T. H. Thorpe, F.R.I.B.A., of 23, St. James's Street, Derby.

Vastly Improved Travelling Facilities. .

The possibility is afforded under the new plan of loading six buses at a time in the front portion of the depot, the advantage upon the score of public convenience in contrast With the scattered and unsatisfactory location of the vehicles which has hitherto prevailed being obviously great, Nor have the possibilities of the site, with its advantages upon the score of its central situation, been yet exhausted, further extensions of buildings being in contemplation and rendered ,capable of easy accomplishment, these intended additions including a refreshment room for passengers, and a bicycle store. The•Volume of traffic hitherto rewarding the company's operations has been such as to warrant the anticipation that the itineraries may be found capable of considerable and remunerative elaboration. Fares compare quite reasonably with railway charges; and upon the score of celerity the timetables do not suffer seriously in contrast with railway schedules, whilst the open road makes a very strong appeal to lovers of the countryside.


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