News of Municipal Activities
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Personal Pars.
Mr. H. Binns, general manager of Keighley Corporation's tramways undertaking, is resigning his position consequent upon the amalgamation of the corporation's system with that of the West Yorkshire Road Car Co., Ltd. He will shortly take up a position with the company at Leeds.
Mr. Charles Hopkins, general manager of Sunderland Corporation's tramways undertaking, and Mr. W. Luff, commercial manager of the West Riding Tramways and Automobile Co., at Wakefield, are the only two applicants on the short list for the post of transport manager to Blackpool Corporation.
Keeping Clean Manchester's Streets.
Nineteen motor and 40 horsed sweeping machines are employed on keeping clean the streets of Manchester, and, during the past municipal year, states the annual report of the medical officer, a total of 43,775 loads of sweep ings, litter, etc., was collected. The weight of material dealt with by the house and trade refuse and streetcleansing sections was 264,052 tons, being equal to 875 tons per working dry.
Birkenhead's /17,000 Bus Garage.
A bus garage with accommodation for 50 vehicles and storage tanks capable of holding 12,000 gallons of petrol, was recently opened at Birkenhead by Mr. H. Halsall, chairman of the corporation tramways and motors committee. The premises cost £17,000 and were built to the design of Mr. It. W. Johnston, the borough surveyor. At a function following the ceremony, Mr. Bakal' remarked that, in 1919, Birkenhead Corporation ran 10 buses on one route and now the fleet had grown to 121 vehicles covering 18 routes, and carrying 26,000,000 passengers a year.
Municipalities and the " RePqrt."
The finance committee of Hackney Borough Council recommends that the Association of Municipal Corporations he asked to consider the increased taxation, proposed by the Salter Conference, upon mechanically propelled vehicles owed by local authorities, which are used in carrying out statutory duties.
If the taxation recommendations be brought into effect, the council will have to pay an extra £2,500 or so a year.
How Petrol Rases and Trolley-buses Fared at St. Helens.
In the year ended March 31, 1932, a gross profit was made on the operation of both the motorbuses and trolley-buses run by St. Helens Corporation, that on the former being £2,085, and on the latter £7,951. The revenue on the petrol buses amounted to 122,887, and working expenses to 120,801, the comparable figures for the trolley-buses being 126,691 and /18,740. After meeting interest, sinking-fund charges, etc., there was a deficit of 12,877 on the petrol buses, and a surplus of 14,118 on the trolley-buses.
At the end of March last the corporation owned 20 petrol buses and 15 trolley buses. Coventry Faring Transport Losses.
The transport committee of Coventry Corporation is suggesting a curtailment of the city's municipal passenger services, as it estimates that, with falling receipts on the trams and buses, apart from the question of the increased cost of petrol, the current year's net loss is likely to be 120,000.
For the first four months of the current financial year there has been an approximate loss of 1.8,000 on the tramways, and a profit of about 11,000 on the motorbuses. Bus receipts per mile have fallen from 15.73d. for the year 19291930 to 13.93d. for July of this year.
If the proposals take effect, an annual saving of 19,000 on the trams and of 16,000 on the buses is estimated. At a meeting of the city council on Tuesday last the suggestion for curtailing the services was strongly opposed and the matter is to stand over pending a complete survey of the transport uncle*. taking,
A Large.capacity Ambulance.
We illustrate on this page a MorrisCommercial ambulance which has recently been put into service by the Smethwick Fire Brigade. It is larger and. carries more equipment that the average ambulance, the body being designed so as to give accommodation for four stretcher cases, or nine sitting patients. The basis of the vehicle is the Morris-Commercial Viceroy passenger chassis, which has a 70 b.h.p. sixcylindered engine. Special attention has been given to the springing of the vehicle, and hydraulic shock absorbers are fitted all round.
Apart from being of pleasing appearance, the body is ingeniously equipped. In addition to the stretchers and seats, there is accommodation for attendants, as well as a wash-basin fixture, complete with tanks for dean and soiled water.
Excellent Record of Electrics.
Five of Warrington Corporation's Ransomes Orwell electric vehicles, engaged on the collection of nightsoii, have now completed eight years' continuous service, and the machines are still giving most reliable service. This statement is contained in a report of Mr. C. Parfitt, the cleansing superintendent.
The total current consumed in the 12 months ended June 30, 1932, equals 48,748 units and the cost of current per mile run equals 2.13d. The number of pails converted and abolished during the past year totals 59, leaving 13,650 for weekly collection.
The Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd., continues to give its periodic inspections and attention to the batteries, and, out of a total of 440 batteries, it has been necessary to exchange only one since the vehicles were first put into service.
Stalybridge's Thornycroft Buses Do Well.
The report of the transport department of StaIybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Tramways and Electricity Board for the year ended March 31, 1932, shows that the bus services were operated at a gross profit of 118,497, revenue having totalled £96,018 and expenses £77,521. Interest on capital and bank charges amounted to £1,516, sinking fund to £5,845, and income tax to 11,868, so that the balance to be carried to the appropriation account amounts to £9,268.
The number of buses owned by the corporation is 53, all of them being 'Thornycroft single-deckers, and during the past year they covered an aggregate mileage of 2,019,063 and carried 12,624,747 passengers.
Against Lining Refuse Collectors.
The highways committee of St. Pancras Borough Council has given consideration to the provisions regarding the type of vehicle to be used for refuse removal. It is of the opinion that there would he some difficulty in making existing vehicles comply with the requirement that the machines should be lined with metal, as this would be of considerable weight, and it is necessary to keep the containers to a minimum weight.
It, therefore, considers that provision for lining with metal should not apply to existing vehicles, which are, in other respects, suitable.
Another Good Year for Preston's Buses.
In the year ended March 31, 1932, the buses of Preston Corporation were operated at a gross profit of £5,702, the total 'revenue having amounted to £25,550, and working expenses to 119,848. Interest mid sinking-fund charges, income tax, etc., totalled £4,075, so that the net surplus on the year's working was /1.627. Added to the sum brought forward from the previous year, there is a total of 12,342 available, £2,000 of which has been transferred to the reserve fund, leaving a balance of 1342 to be carried forward. At the end of March last the reserve fund stood at 17,456.
During the year the buses covered an aggregate mileage of 381,853, and carried 4,211,960 passengers, both these figures being slightly lower than the E24 comparable returns for the previous year, when 19 buses were in service, as against 17 in the past year, all of them being of Leyland manufacture ; the average number of buses in use per day was 11, the same as for the previous year. At the end of March last the capital expenditure on the bus system amounted to £30,117.
Peterborough Beet-traffic Diversion.
The National Farmers Union has taken up the matter arising from the proposal of the Peterborough municipality to close an important approach to the Peterborough sugar-beet factory during the construction of a new bridge. The union asks the council to defer starting work on the bridge until the beet season ends, at about Christmas.
Wet-surface Warnings.
After a steam lorry had skidded and crashed through the parapet of a bridge, and other vehicles had been involved in skids on what is said to be one of the most treacherous roads in Wiltshire— running through Melkshatu to Bath and Bristol — •Melksham Urban District Council has erected two notices-reading, "Drive slowly when surfaces are damp."
The county surveyor, who is responsible for the road, has taken exception to this and has complained about the notices, which he describes as "unnecessary and undesirable," The council claims that skidding had been almost eliminated since the warnings have been posted, and has refused to comply with the surveyor's request.