PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS. •
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
LONDON'S COACH SEASON PROGRAMME.
A Very Comprehensive L.G.O.C. Scheme of Coach Tours, for Whole or Half-day, Starting from London.
inalOBABLY the great point about .1L the day tours in and from London, organized by the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., and the companies associated with them in the enterprise, is the excellent tone which is established and maintained throughout. This means that a nice class of people is attracted to the coaches and that each passenger goes away satisfied and passes an the information concerning the character of the trip to his friends.
This excellent tone is to be found in the type of vehicle, in the route selected, in the staff employed, in the hotels visited, and in the general conduct of the trip, making it a gentlemanly affair from start to finish and, therefore, infinitely more enjoyable than anything carelessly done, however much cheaper it might be.
The motor coach tour programme of the company for the ensuing season comprises four whole-day tours into the country, a morning tour and an afternoon tour "Seeing London," and three afternoon tours to beauty spots within easy distance of the Metropolis.
The day tours have been remodelled, that to Penshurst and Tunbridge Wells on Tuesdays and that to Oxford on Wednesdays being quite new. On Thursdays the tour is to Hindhead and Leith Hill, so popular last year, whilst the standard tour along the Thames Valley, including a launch trip from Boulter's Lock to Windsor, is regarded as one deserving to be run every day. The half-day tours are to Windsor and Eton on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, to Guildford and Newlands Corner on Tuesdays and to Westerharn and Sevenoaks on Thursdays. The parties on the all-day tours and on the Seeing London trips are accompanied by experienced guides, whilst no extra costs are involved, for the four all-day tours include a first-class lunch at the most Select. hotel en route, and the Seeing London trips include admis sion fees to buildings, galleries, museums, etc. A halt is made on the return afternoon journeys for half-an hour for those who would not like to miss their cup of tea.
The whole of the country tours, allday or afternoon, start at and return to the offices of Pickfords, Ltd. (one of the three companies associated with the L.G.O.C., the others being Thomas Tilling, Ltd., and the National Omnibus and Transport Co., Ltd.), in High Holborn, the Oxford tour starting at 8.30 a.m., and the other all-day tours at 9.30 a.m., whilst the half-day tours start at 2.0 p.m. The all-day coaches return to London at about 6.30 p.m, and the afternoon tour coaches at 8 p.m. The Seeing London tours leave the offices of Messrs. Raymond and Whitcomb Co., Cockspur Street, at 10 a.m. and 215 p.m. respectively, their times of return being 1 p.m. and 5.15 on. The inclusive fares are as follow :—The Oxford tour, 25s.; the river tour, 17s. 64. ; the flindhead and Leith Hill tours, 17s. 6d.; the Penshurst and Tunbridge tour, 158. Each half-day tour costs 6s., whilst the Seeing London trips cost Sc. 6d. for the morning tour only and 6s. for the afternoon tours. As these two tours are entirely different, one covering the City and interesting places east of Charing Cross and the other the places south-west and north thereof, many visitors to London do them both, the fare for the complete Itinerary on one day being slightly reduced, i.e., to 10s. fid.
Booking seat& on the coaches is made extremely easy, as the pamphlet, which contains the whole of the programme and gives details of each tour, gives also a list of the offices where tickets may be obtained in advance. These include the Private Hire Office of the L.G.O.C. at Broadway, Westminster, the three Underground railway stations at Mansion House, Oxford Circus and Golffers Green, the offices of Thomas Tilling, Ltd., at Victoria Street and Peckham, those of the National Omnibus Co., Ltd., at Broixipton Road and Shepherd's Bush, those of Raymond and WhitC01/113 Co., at Cockspur Street, those of Dean and Dawson, Ltd., at Piccadilly, those of Pickfords, Ltd., at High Holborn, and over 100 London, suburban and provincial branches, and the booking offices of Keith, Prow se and Co., Ltd. Thus the arrangements are particularly complete.
Another important development is the series of half-day, afternoon and evening tours operated from suburban districts. They embrace most of the beautiful scenery to be found around London—some of it little suspected by the stranger or the untravelled Londoner, and, therefore, frequently coming as a revelation to most. These supplementary and other special tours are advertised from time tO time, and are dealt with in circulars issued from the offices mentioned. Altogether a very important programme and one that must command success.