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THE LATEST NEWS OF IMPORTANT EVENTS

BELFAST 1932-33 ACCOUNTS ANALYSED.

A DEFICIT of £18,774, as compared with a foss of £8,843 during 1931-32, was shown on the operation of Belfast Corporation's motorbuses during the year ended March 31 last. The tramways worked at a profit of £58,130.

In the bus section, the total revenue amounted to £79,000 (£77,199 a yeas. ago), whilst the working expenses totalled £81,142 (£69,313 in 1931-32). A debit balance of £2,141 has to be carried to the net revenue account, a total of 16,155 being obtained after adding £4,014 in respect of interest, etc.

After deducting an amount in respect of sinking funds, there remains £4,618 to be carried to the debit of appropriation account. Redemption and depreciation contributions require 114,156, leaving a deficit, as stated, of £18,774.

During the year, the bus-miles covered numbered 1,888,707 (1,838,627 a year ago), 1,737,484 of the former mileage being operated directly by the corporation and the remainder under working agreements. During the year, 9,918,273 passengers were carried, as against 9,785,665 in 1931-32.

D48 At March 31 last Belfast Corporation operated 60 buses, consisting of 24 Leyland, 12 Dennis, 11 A.E.C., 7 Albion, 5 Gilford, and 1 Vulcan.

WESTCLIFF CO. BUYING THUNDERSLEY CONCERN.

ON September 29, Westcliff-on-Sea Motor Services, Ltd., may take over the Thundersley, Hadleigh and District Motors, Ltd. The latter company's shareholders have, we understand, agreed to the transfer of the five Thomyeroft vehicles, freehold premises, plant, etc., and goodwill,

We understand that the service from Hadleigh Church to Leigh-on Sea Station, which the Thundersley concern runs, may be operated, without alteration, by the Virestcliff company. Incidentally, the former company was a pioneer bus operator in the district, having commenced in 1914,

£91,000 TROLLEY-BUS SCHEME.

AT a total cost of about £90,800, Hud dersfield Corporation is to substitute trolley-buses for trains on the Outfaue, Lindley and Waterloo routes. The development involves the purchase of 18 trolley-buses at a cost of .£36,000. COACH REDUCTIONS: HARDSHIP TO PUBLIC.

REDUCTIONS in the number of coaches allowed for certain excursions, particularly period excursions at holiday times, imposed by decisions of the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners on licence applications made by Leeds and district members of Yorkshire Coach Owners, Ltd., were discussed at a meeting of members in the district, held in Leeds, on June 23. Mr, A. H. Butterwick, the chairman, presided over this meeting.

The view was expressed that if these reductions were imposed, hardship would be caused to the public. With regard to the restriction of inter-hiring which the reductions involve, it was stated that it is not uncommon for an operator in Leeds with only one vehicle to hire 20 and even 30 vehicles at holiday peak periods.

It was unanimously decided that if, after a Y.C.O. deputation has interviewed the Traffic Commissioners on the subject, the chairman and the secretary (Mr. J. -Keeling) consider it necessary to appeal against decisions of the egnimissioners, they shall lodge an appeal immediately.

. DRAFT ORDERS ON EAST LONDON APPEALS.

THE Minister of Transport has issued Draft Orders in connection with the appeals of operators of services described as Group VIII (Chelmsford and Brentwood to Tilbury) in the second report of the Amulree Committee. The appeals were against certain decisions of the Metropolitan Commissioner.

The Minister has already announced that he proposes to reduce to 6d. and 9d., respectirly, the single and return minimum fares imposed on services in the eastern part of the Metropolitan Area.

Following this decision, he has made further inquiries into the appeals which involved questions of frequency, or the refusal of licences or backings. The same conditions with regard to observations of parties concerned with the Draft Orders are made, as in the case of the earlier Draft Orders issued in connection with other services.

The operators concerned are : Edward Hillman's Saloon Coaches, Ltd. ; Green Line Coaches, Ltd.; Sunset Pullman Coaches, Ltd.; New Empress Saloons, Ltd.; Westcliff-on-Sea Motor Services, Ltd. ; Amalgamated Omnibus Services and Supplies, Ltd.; and Tilbury Coaching Services.

The Minister does not propose, for the time being, to make any Order in the matter of appeals by the Leighton Coach Co. (Aldgate-Tilbury route), Gordon Omnibus Co., Ltd. (Tower Hill-Tilbury), and the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd. (Aldgate-Tilbury). In the last-named case, the licensee is Amalgamated Omnibus Services and Supplies, Ltd. The Minister will defer decisions on these cases until October 1.

The Metropolitan Commissioner must vary his decisions in the other instances to operate from October 1.

The Minister has also issued draft Orders on the appeals of Aldershot and District Traction Co., Ltd.; Farnham Blue Coaches, Ltd.; Thames Valley Traction Co., Ltd.; and Whites (Camberley), Ltd.

The provisions as to terminal points and the picking-up of passengers in the central area are the same as in the case of the first batch of draft Orders. The Minister has decided to make no Order on that part of the appeal of Farnham Blue Coaches, Ltd., which relates to the refusal of cheap-day-return tickets to be issued on Wednesdays.

SINGLE FARES ON EXCURSIONS MINISTER'S RULING.

THE Minister of Transport has decided to make no Order on the North Western Traffic Commissioners on the appeals of the following :—Messrs. S. Timperley and Sons (Manchester-Blackpool service) ; Messrs. Ashford's Garage ,(Salford-Cleveleys) ; Joseph 'Whitehead, Ltd. (Manchester-l3lackpool) Messrs. A. Mayne and Son (Stalybrige-Cleveleys), and the last-named against the granting of a licence to Mr. T. H. Parker (Hyde-CleveleYs)•

In all but the last case appellants already hold excursion and tour licences permitting the issue of day and periodreturn tickets, and the main question was the right to charge single fares and to pick up and set down passengers along the routes.

Reference was made to the Minister's decision on an appeal of Venture Transport (Hendon), Ltd., and he points out that there are numerous intermediate classes of service between the two extreme cases of the whole-year daily service and the occasional excursion and tour. He is not prepared to rule generally that all services licensed to be operated daily for not less than six months should be taken out of the excursion and tour category.

TAXI OWNERS VERSUS BUSES.

FOLLOWING the North Western Traffic Commissioners' decision to permit Manchester Corporation to run buses between the Manchester railway stations, the local taxicab owners have

decided to appeal against it. It is pointed out that the corporation proposes to charge 4d. per passenger, whereas the taxicabs conveyed four persons at 3d. each.

MEETING TRAFFIC DEMANDS AT UPMINSTER.

ON June 21 the London General Omni bus Co., Ltd., extended its Ebury Bridge-Becontree Heath service to the "Bell," Upminster, over the route followed by the coaches of Upminster Services, Ltd., from Aldgate. From. June 28 the all-night service hitherto operated between °haring Cross and Seven Kings was extended to Itomford.

It will be recalled that the Minister of Transport proposes to revoke the Upminster Services licences on being satisfied that there are sufficient facilities, with low intermediate fares, to meet public demands.

MERGER OF 10 MUNICIPAL UNDERTAKINGS?

IT is understood that the initial nego

tiations for the formation of a board to control the passenger-transport undertakings of Oldham, Bolton, Salford, Manchester, Stockport and Rochdale Corporations and the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Joint Board have been completed. The board would control nearly 1,000 buses.

L.F.T. BOARD TAKES OVER TOMORROW. TO-MORROW, July 1, the London Passenger Transport Board will assume control of passenger transport in the Metropolitan Area. The undertakings to be acquired by the Board number 89, with a total capital of approximately £120,000,000, consisting of five railway, 14 tramway, 62 bus, four coach and four subsidiary concerns. Thomas Tilling, Ltd., and 56 independents will be transferred at a later date.

• The area extends for a distance of some 30 miles from Charing Cross and is controlled by the following :—Lord Ashfield (chairman), Mr. Frank Pick (vice-chairman), Mr. John Cliff, Mr. P. A. Cooper, Sir J. W. Gilbert, K.B.E., Sir E. J. Holland and Sir H. Maybury, G.B.E., K.C.341.G.

M.H.C.S.A. INDICTS METROPOLITAN COMMISSIONER.

A STRONGLY worded letter has been

addressed to the Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner by Mr. F. A. Walker, secretary of the Motor Hirers and Coach Services Association.

The Association protests against the granting of an application by Green Line Coaches, Ltd., for a new express service from London to Ascot races. The application was for a special licence, but no proper notice is alleged to have been given to other operators holding licences for express services to Ascot races.

The application was supported by evidence of an unexpectedly heavy demand for travel in 1932, and the Association submits that there was no need for the application to have been made at such short notice.

The 'letter 9 adds: "Consequently, it is not? without doubt that Green Line Coaches, Ltd., delayed such application to dispense with the possibility of objections being lodged .. ." Green Line Coaches was allowed to run at the return fare of 3s. ed., although other excursion operators to Ascot charge the rate recommended by the Regional Fares Committee of 5s. 6d. on Tuesday and Friday, and 7$. on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Commissioner considered that if the service were restricted to pick up only at the terminal point near Charing Cross, no injustice would be done to other operators, but he had already refused to allow another operator who had run services to Ascot races for a number of years, to pick up at Charing Cross.

The letter continues : "Your reasoning in this matter cannot be understood, as it is quite obvious that a five-minute service at a cut fare operating from a highly convenient point in the central area of London would draw traffic from operators all over London."

It is further pointed out that the Commissioner's decision has resulted in coaches running with empty seats and has caused an unnecessary number of vehicles to traverse the central area.

FOUR OPERATORS PENALIZED FOR IRREGULAR RUNNING. FOUR operators were punished by the

West Midland Traffic Commissioners, sitting at Rugby, last week. It appears that the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., advertised an afternoon and evening service to be run from Rugby to Coton House on April 9, but the company was not permitted to do so under the terms of its licence. The Commissioners, however, suggested to the company that, if its excursion and tour licences permitted such action, the service ahould be run as a is. excursion.

At a later date, the Birmingham and Midland concern informed the Commissioners that three Rugby operators, Messrs. P. Marvin, J. Fletcher and H. Boult, were providing inter-available tickets in connection with trips to Coton House. The Commissioners communicated with the proprietors, and Mr. Marvin explained that the system had been in force for some years, and undertook to discontinue it.

The Birmingham and Midland concern was alleged to have charged a single fare of ed. on the service from Rugby to Coton House, instead of the minimum of is.

D50 For these irregularities, the Commissioners • decided that the Coton House fate excursion should be deleted from the licences of all four operators, and proposed to vary the backing granted to Messrs. Richardson and Sons, the regular daily operators on the route, to enable them to deal with the traffic requirements to the limit of their resources. The Commissioners would, they intimated, be prepared to entertain applications only for stage-carriage services to the fête.

A QUESTION OF MORTGAGE.

A POINT of considerable interest to those forming bus companies was discussed at Carmarthen County Court, before Judge Davies, who, finally, reserved his decision for a month. The action, described as a "friendly test action," was brought by Mr. Daniel Rees, Pontyberem, who sought to establish and enforce the security of an

equitable mortgage against 24 members of the Pontyberem Bus Co.

Plaintiff's counsel said that £528, including interest due, was the sum involved. Mr. Rees, a member of the company, had lent the concern a sum of money and had received as security the title deeds of a site on which the company had erected a garage.

Counsel for defendants admitted the sum of £28, but did not admit that it was due. He contended that plaintiff was not entitled to sue under equity or common law, as the company was not a legal association.

ROYAL SHOW TRAFFIC RULES.

THE East Midland Traffic Commis

sionera are issuing a pamphlet outlining the special traffic' regulations for public service vehicles, made by the chief constable of Derby and authorized by the Commissioners, in connection with the Royal Show, which takes place from July 4-8. Copies of these regulations may be obtained from the Commissioners.

SCOTLAND YARD LICENSING DUTIES TO BE TRANSFERRED.

ALTHOUGH no immediate changes of bus routes are anticipated, when the transfer of London's passenger-transport system to the new Board commences on July 1, there will be a number of changes in the official supervision of London's buses.

In the past, all vehicles, drivers and conductors have been licensed by the Public Carriage Department of Scotland Yard. AU drivers and conductors will continue to be licensed by this department, as heretofore, bat a new department in the Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner's office will inspect vehicles and issue certificates of fitness and public service vehicle licences. Furthermore, Scotland Yard will no longer be solely responsible for the approval of bus routes within the Metropolitan Area. This duty of the Commissioner of Police has been transferred to the Metropolitan Commissioner, who, after consultation with the former, may attach to his approval conditions controlling picking-up points, termini and class of vehicle which may be operated.

ANOTHER L.M.S. ROAD-RAIL SERVICE?

IT is stated that negotiations are being

carried out by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Co. for the operation of road-rail vehicles from Ashby-dela-Zouch to Leicester. It is believed that the Leicester municipality has no objection to the scheme. It may be remembered that, some time ago, the L.M.S. ran a service from Blisworth to Stratford-on-Avon, using a Karrier RoRailer.

MORE BUSES FOR LEEDS? PROPOSALS are in hand at Leeds for the substitution of buses for trams on the routes to Morley and Guiseley, the tramways route having become unremunerative. This is stated to be the first important step in the gradual replacement of trams by buses on the outlying routes of Leeds Corporation.