MORECAMBE'S TRANSRAILWAYS SEEK FURTHER RESTRICTIONS ON PORT SYSTEM GROWS COACH TRAFFIC
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AN imposing block comprising a garage, offices, staff canteen and recreation rooms, has just been opened by the corporations of Morecambe and Heysham. The new garage, which will accommodate 42 buses, has excellent and well-equipped workshops and modern plant.
" The size and scope of the department has doubled during the past 10 years," said the Mayor, Councillor R. W. \Villiams. In a detailed analysis, be showed that it had, in the past five years, contributed £16,635 to the rates, and zt,850 to the famous autumnal illuminations. Since 1932, all replacement buses have been paid for out of revenue, without recourse to borrowing.
Since 1929, machines in the fleet had increased from 21 to 50; seating capacity from 818 to 2,593, annual mileage from 4tA,858 to 1,034,113, total annual receipts from £26,886 to £65,044, and passengers from 3,671,520 to 8,471,780.
A new financial record was made for the year ending March 31 last, the net, profit being £10,288.
CHESTERFIELD HAS A GOOD YEAR.
IESTERFIELD Corporation,
1a...which, at the end of March last, was running a fleet of 87 buses, mainly of Leyland make, derived from their operation a total income of £153,138 in the year ended on the 31st of that month. As working expenses totalled £110,743, the gross profit for the year was £42,395, this figure contrasting with £27,240 in the previous year and being quite easily the highest which has been recorded on the bus undertaking.
In this period the vehicles covered a gross mileage of 2,939,188 and carried 19,9:35,805 passengers, the number of passengers per bus-mile being 6.78, compared with 6.67 in 1938.
The net profit on the working of the complete transport section was £7,763, compared with £2,113 in the preceding year, and a sum of £500 was applied to the relief of rates.
"NORTH WESTERN" ACQUIRES FURTHER SERVICES.
AT a sitting of the Traffic Cornmissioners at Manchester, last week, the North Western Road Car Co., Ltd., was authorized to take over stage-carriage services from Mr. G. S. Thompson, of Nancy, Warrington, and from Mr. E. J. Bostock, of Congleton. A1recent sittings of the Traffic Commissioners in Manchester two further big restrictions on coach traffic have been asked for on behalf of the railway companies. In each case, however, decision has been deferred.
Dealing with one application, it was urged, on behalf of the railways, that an express-carriage service to North \Vales resorts, which was run by the North Western Road Car Co., Ltd., was of the excursion type, such as the Minister of Transport had restricted, under Order No. 9, by vehicular journeys as distinct from the usual restriction by a limit to the number cf vehicles employed.
For the applicant which was seeking renewal of licences, it was suggested that the railways had just awakened, but that they had not proved extraction of traffic. The rail ticket cost less mid the " return " was available by any train over a whole month,
• whilst the coach ticket restricted the return to one time on the following Saturday. The coach journey took one hour longer than by train, and yet the railways were asking for further rest rictions in their favour.
Sir SVilhana Chamberlain, chairman, notified that the objection of the railways. and the state of congestion en the roads, would be taken into accour.t.
At another sitting in the same court
Mr. T. U. Parker, of Hollinwood, Manchester, was applicant, as owner of Blue Bird Motor Services, for renewal, without modifications, of an express carriage licence between Hyde and Cleveleys and Blackpool, and of an excursion and tours licence with Blackpool as a destination.
It was declared, on behalf of the railways, that in practice, the two services were hopelessly intermingled. They seeked to have Blackpool deleted from the excursions licence and the application of Order No. 9 to the express licence.
Mr. Henry Backhouse, for the applicant, pointed out that the attempts of the railway companies to get Order No. 9 applied to regular express services had not yet met with success, and that it would make regular services quite impossible. If this dream of the railways came true it would gradually kill express services.
Order No. 9 could not be applied to any service which had to be run to a time table, The suggestion that the two services were intermingled was cured by the issue of different coloured tickets, which would enable the passengers to be checked at any time.
Sir William Chamberlain agreed on this point, and thanked Mr. Backhouse for having suggested this method of control.