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Road Services Continue to Pay
Page 58
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B.T.C. ANNUAL REPORT by a Special Correspondent ONCE again, all the British Transport Commission's road transport undertakings produced net profits -which is more than can be said of British Railways! British Road Services increased their profit from £1.8m. , in 1960 to £3.4m. last year; it was their best result since 1955. The Tilling and Scottish bus groups, combined, produced a profit of £6.2m.; this was slightly down on the £6.5m. of 1960 and the £6.6m. of 1959, but still their third-best result in ten years. London Transport's road services enjoyed a £4m. profit; this looked a lot better than 1958 (when they had their only loss), but was £1.4m. below the 1960 result. The commercial advertising activities produced their bestin-10-years result, a profit of £2.3 m.
Those railways? They recorded their highest-ever loss, one of £86.9m. The best they had managed before was £67.7m. in 1960. By the time interest and other central charges were put on the scales, the Commission's deficit was £122m., compared with the 1960 deficit of £101m.
The total revenue deficit of British Railways was £135.9m. (£112.7m. in 1960.
Looked at in any way you like, 1961 produced the Commission's outstanding loss so far. The 1957 deficit was £63.5m., so they have virtually doubled their annual loss in five years.
The whole report is noticeably overbalanced with rosy pictures about various aspects of the railways that it is easy to overlook the financial truth. When one does remember the figures, however, much of these words sound suspiciously like whistling in the dark. , What price now that choice fatuity from last year's report that the B.T.C.
remained convinced that the railways would achieve an operating surplus within a few years?
However, through this forest of official verbiage, Dr. Beeching's hard commercial words peep through, and it is those that road operators must note seriously. Most stopping trains should be discontinued as quickly as possible. Freight handling at a multiplicity of small stations should also cease. A system shaped to provide long-distance and commuter passenger services and coal and mineral carrying, but freed from unsuitable traffics, pro mises to be viable. He also has an eye to attracting general merchandise traffics by new services.
But he makes it brutally clear that only drastic reshaping will save the railways, not modernization or economies.
So much for the much-publicized bulk of the Commission's activities which is proving such an expensive liability. What of the road undertakings, which did pay and always have done? Their results arc now summarized.
824 British Road Services carried less but earned more, because of increased rates, during 1961, when, as stated, they almost doubled their net revenue compared with 1960. The tonnage moved fell by 2 per cent., the 1961 figure being 16,100,000 tons. At the end of last year they owned 16,066 vehicles and articulated units, with 196 additional tractors and 6,939 extra trailers. The 1960 totals were, respectively 16,184, 156 and 6,422. (B.R.S. vehicles other than contract ones are included in these totals, but not subcontractors' vehicles.) During last year B.R.S. vehicles, other than contract ones, consumed 25,922,000 gall, of dery at an average of 11.1 m.p.g.; these figures were, respectively, 0.2 and 1.1 per cent, above those of 1960. Petrol consumption was 661,000 gallons and an average of 8.27 m.p.g.; these were 57.6 and 2.7 per cent. below the previous year.
The financial figures (with 1960 totals in brackets) were as follows: gross receipts £57,862,294 (£55,514,515); working expenses £54,470,742 (153,763,429).
So far as sheer tonnage carried is concerned, 1961 was the worst year in a decade for B.R.S.; the nearest figures were 16.2m. tons in 1958, 16.3m. tons in 1957 and 16.4m, tons last year. They carried 17.1m. tons in 1959, so have lost lm: tons in two years. Yet, despite this, their net profit was the highest since 1955 and their gross receipts the highest since 1954.
The reduction in traffics was in general haulage and parcels. In comparison with 1960, last year saw a greater proportion of shorter-distance traffic. Between January and March, 1961, some 870,000 tons of coal were carried, to help British Railways. The parcels undertaking handled 91,818,000 packages-a decrease of 2 per cent. from 1960. More than 33,500 loaded containers of parcels were trunked by rail in 1961. Pickfords had a record turnover in all operating departments. There was a 45 per cent, increase on the Continental Ferry Service.
How is that £3.4m. profit arrived at? Here are the net receipts of the individual companies (with the 1960 figures in brackets): British Road Services, Ltd. £1,009,337 (£397,012); B.R.S. (Contracts), Ltd., £536,931 (1428,005); B.R.S. (Parcels), Ltd., £956,095 (£136,533); and B.R.S. (Pickfords), Ltd., £1,097,571 (£985,714).
The usual fly in the ointment was, of course, B.R.S. (Meat Haulage), Ltd., which lost £168,300 (£166.325 loss).
For four years in a row now the Tilling and Scottish Bus Groups have produced a net profit of £6m. or more.
In 1961 Tilling companies had a 5.9 per cent. increase in traffic receipts over 1960, the figure being £43,598.000. With a 5.4 per cent. increase. the Scottish companies earned £22,198.000. Tilling buses recorded 28.958.000 fewer stage passenger journeys in 1961, a drop a 2 per cent. from 1960. In Scotland the figure was 16,291.000, a 2.2 per cent. drop. But there were increases on other work; Tilling vehicles carried 260,000 more passengers-a 1 per cent. rise-and Scotland saw 774,000 more such journeys-a 4.4 per cent. increase.
The year 1961 produced the highestever combined gross receipts for the two groups-£67m., but working expenses. at £60.8m., topped the £60m. mark for the first time, being £3.9m. up on 1960. Tilling vehicles operated more car miles at 368,774,000 (an increase of 0.2 per cent.) and decreased empty mileage by 3 per cent. Scottish vehicles achieved a 0.8 per cent, decrease in that unprofitable type of work, but also experienced a drop of 44,000 in service miles; their total car miles in 1961 was 181,052,000 -a drop of 75,000 from 1960.
Tilling working expenses, at 27.15d. per car mile, were up by 1.78d. and Scottish expenses (26.86d. p.c.m.) were up by 1.62d.
With total receipts of £44,330,810 (£41,858,310 in 1960) and working expenses of £40,829,047 (£38,048,158), the Tilling group had net receipts of -13,501,763 (13,810,152). The Scottish group earned £22,476,021 (121,317,107) and incurred £19,828,436 (£18,636,843) in working expenses; net receipts were £2,647,585 (12,680.264).
The combined p.s.v. fleet of the two groups, at the end of 1961, was 14,171 vehicles-an increase on the 1960 figure (14,023). Their single-decker fleet was reduced, but they ended the year with more double-deckers and coaches. Average seating capacities rose as follows (with 1960 figures in brackets): doubledeckers, 57.7 (57.1); single-deckers, 39.3 (39); and coaches, 36.8 (36.7).
London Transport road services had a comparatively good year. They had receipts of £59.2m., their second highest in 10 years, only 1957 (59.3m.) being better. The 1961 figure was £2.3m. up on 1960. They enjoyed fewer passenger journeys, in keeping with the national stage carriage trend, at 2,522m. compared with 2,593m. the previous year. In 1952 they had 3,711m. passenger journeys.
Their operating fleet of 7,977 vehicles (7,560 in 1960) ran 312,126,000 miles and consumed 32,828,000 gallons of derv.
Mileage increased by 6.4 per cent. during 1961 and gallonage by 5.8 per cent. Central buses, at 9.25, showed an improve ment in fuel consumption figure of 0.1 m.p.g.; country buses returned an average of 10.33 m.p.g., an increase of 0.06.
How did the biggest goods vehicle fleet in the country, that of the Railways Collection and Delivery Service, fare as compared with 1960? Their working expenses were £22,408,358 (£22,133.290) and they charged for their work £22,408,358 (122,133,290)-which leaves things nice and tidy.