PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
COACHING IN SUNNY RHYL,
What Owners are doing at popular North Wales Coast Resorts.
PROBABLY it was one of those little perversities of Fate that was the cause of " Sunny Rhyl "--one of the -most popular motor coach centres in North Wales—being deluged with rain on the oc‘asion of a recent visit by one of our representatives. The coach owners, however, were undaunted. The promenade was lined with coaches—from the luxurious 14-seater on pneumatics to the mammoth 38-seater—canvassers solicited custom as if the weather were simply ideal for touring, and passengers booked far trips as if it were just the day for them.
Unde'r such depressing conditions, to say that coaching had caught the popular fancy on this day would he an exaggeration, but strange to relate coaches tsars in denaand, and not merely for short trips occupying an hour or so, but for trips to places like Bettws-y-coed (75 miles distant), Colwyn Bay, Llanduds no, etc.
The publicity methods of the Rhyl owners are not so blatant, as at many other of the northern seaside towns. The coaches occupy the length of the promenade, exhibit bill boards, and have attendants to sing their praises, but there is not the same profligacy in the distribution of printed advertising matter as at some of the resorts visited by the writer. Some of the main booking offices strike a very distinctive note, and have the frontages of •their newly painted premises occupied by artistically decorated panels, each of which gives the essential particulars of every tour.
Casual reference has been made in The Commercial Motor to the fact that some coach owners are keen on photographing coach parties and supplying prints to passengers. At Rhyl, this department of publicity propaganda is assiduously developed.
The town of Rhyl. has a fleet of about 40 motor chars-à-bancs, the majority of which are controlled by Messrs. Brookes Bros., who run the fleet of White Rose coaches, The company were in the coaching business before the war, but only since the termination of hostilities has it been possible to develop the fleet to anything like its present proportions. Of their 20 odd vehicles, 16 are Leylands--one is a 38-seater, 13 of them are 28-seaters, and two are 2,3-seaters. The Leyland machines, with two exceptions, are shod with solid tyres. The company' also have four Lancias—three 18-seaters and one 14-seater on pneumatic tyres— some of these vehicles having only been added to the fleet this season.
In our interview with Messrs. Brookes, the suitability of the smaller coach for certain classes of work was favourably commented upon; at the same time it was-pointed out that it was not possible to obtain better rates for the pneumatictyred vehicle than for the 28 or 38-seater coaches on solids. The longer distance tours are undertaken almost daily by the Lancia& The longest tour is to Aberystwyth, a 212 miles' journey, for which the fare is 21.
‘" We find," said the subject of our interview, • "that with one of our new Lancias, we can make a quicker journey, passengers.ride in greater comfort, and have a longer stay than would be the case were the larger coaches on solid tyres used. That is why we believe there is a special sphere of usefulness for the smaller coach. '
The view was also expressed that there was a tendency for other coach owners to adopt the smaller coach on inflated tyres rather than to purchase the con ventional 28-seater. So far as Messrs. Brookes fleet of Leylands is concerned, the 23-seaters have this year been fitted with pneumatics, whilst the solid tyres on the other machines have been replaced by Dunlop super-cushions.
Messrs. Brookes have three booking offices in Rhyl, and passengers are picked. up from each of them. Every coach, however, before starting off on its journeys, must first of all call at the head office and garage on the East Parade. ifere the passengers' tickets are collected and Checked off with the chart of bookings entered up by the branch office. This system provides a double check on the branch booking office receipts. •
Another object in making the call at the head booking office is to enable each load of passengers to be photographed in the coach. Messrs. Brookes have arrangements with a local photographer who undertakes all this class of work. The morning after the party has been "
snapped" the proofs are exhibited outside the main bookin‹, office, where or
ders may be placed for any number of
prints, delivery of which is 5traranteed within 48 hours. Prompt delivery in a
service of this description is essential, owing to the fact that 'the majority of holiday-makers only have a few days in Rhyl, and they are naturally anxious to see themselves as the camera has seen them.
Fares in Rhyl show a considerable redaction on last year, and the opinion was expressed that the public cannot ex pect the charges to be lowered any farther. For instance, the Snowdon tour, 115 miles, with a break at Snowdon al lowing time to make the ascent, two years ago was 21. To-day it is 10s. 6d.
Barmonth and Beddgelert, a distance of 178 miles, was 30s. last year; it is now about 18s. The 75-mile loop tour to Bettws-y-Coed is now Is. 6d., compared with 12s. 6d.; whilst the full day tour to Vale of Llangollen, 88 miles, tis now 8s. 6d., as against 12s. "We have to get 2s. per mile to make our tours pay," said a representative of Messrs. Brookes to the writer.
It was a matter of interest to learn that Messrs. Brookes carry on an average 500 passengers per day in their motor coaches.
Of course, the average is maintained by some fA the very short runs
Dyserth (10 miles), occupying one hour, for which the fare is Is. ; (b) Rhuddlan Castle, etc. (18 miles), two hours, 2s. ; (e) Dyserth Waterfall, Prestatyu, etc. (21 miles), 21 hours, 2s. 3d. ; (d) Denbigh Castle (25 miles), about. 21 hours, 2s. 6d.
These are typical shorttours. journeys of under 45 miles are undertaken two, three, and, when the business warrants it, more times per day. The afternoon tours start at 2.30. and the coaches, return at 7 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. With every tour, the time of return is stated.
As for all the full-day tours, the mileages are from 88 to 212 per day. The starting times are from 9.15 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., and the times of return 7 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.. In no case does the fare ex ceed £1. When passengers have booked their tickets in advance, should the weather turn inclement, they may defer taking the tour. Messrs. Brookes also ran a request tour to "The Englishman's
Jaw Breaker "---Llan-fair-pwll-e.wyngyll-go-ger-y-chwyrn dro bwilean-disilio-go-go-goch.
E38 In mid-season as many as 40 to 50 outside coaches visit Rhyl daily. The cheap railway excursions which bring big crowds of day trippers into the town have benefited the coach owners by producing a demand for short tours of one to three hours' duration. Messrs. Brookes do not run extended tours.
Touting for custom is very general in Rhyl, though it is strictly forbidden at many other of the North Wales coach centres. It is strange villy this should be so. for all coach owners are allocated useful stands on the promenade.
Messrs. Brookes do a considerable amount of private coach hiring work, and, being interested in a local hotel, frequently act as hosts for char-a-bancs parties from other towns.
They also operate a fleet of six Leyland inotorbuse.s. Two 48-seater doable deckers make journeys about every half-. hour between the promenade and the Rhyl MarineLake, and undertake other town services, for which the, fare is 2d. Another double-decker runs to Iiinmel Park; a 32-seater to Denbigh and St, Asaph, whilst another goes to Greenfield. A saloon bus maintains a service to Dyserth and Newmarket. Some of these services are run in conjunction with the Crosville Motor Co. of Chester, and enable connections to he made right through from.Rhyl to Mold and Chester.
Messrs. Brookes have one of the finest garages in North Wales, and certainly none that the writer has seen in his travels offers anything like the accommodation afforded by that referred to and illustrated above. Under cover there is room for some 300 cars and coaches, whilst in addition the company has an open-air parking ground of con. siderable capacity.