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Low-cost School Camping Tours
Page 46
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THE partial success of Continental . Pioneer School Holidays Ltd. and an associated company in getting authority from the Metropolitan deputy Traffic Commissioner, Mr. C. 3. Macdonald, to run from Twickenham to Dover on 15 occasions next year will not, I fancy, be taken too much to heart by the five large objectors (" The Commercial Motor ", last week).
It was not too apparent, at the hearing, whether the venture was a commercial one or not; there were altruistic overtones. Land was to be provided at Twickenham for the departure point by Mrs. Harriet Lewis, mother of the young law student, Mr. B. T. U. Lewis, who was, it appeared, the principal organizer of the project. The low cost of the holidays to be provided, in relation to the fares charged by established operators, was made much of. And the intention of the organizers to take crippled or handicapped youngsters, among others, on Continental holidays could not but appear. laudable.
The directors of the companies, it was stressed, were all persons of standing. There was Mr. Antony Richmond, Clerk to the Westminster Justices, Mrs. Harriet Lewis, prominent in LCC educational matters, Mr. G. H. Oliver, a former MP and sometime Parliamentary Secretary to the Home Office. Mr. B. T. V. Lewis had interested himself in boys' club activities at Rugby School and—before the incorporation of the companies—had been enterprising enough to qualify as a p.s.v. driver and, helped by two friends, he had taken three parties to Europe in an ex-London Transport double-decker.
Mr. Macdonald was properly shocked to hear that Mr. Lewis' double-decker had been licensed as a private car. One could not help feeling amused at the youthful zest with which this earnest young man, with a London University degree in law, had ignored all legal precepts, even the need to take advice, and had advertised successfuly for tour passengers in the personal columns of The Times and The Daily Telegraph.
After such an eye-opening beginning one wondered what the outcome would be!
The attitudes of the objectors were reasonably predictable. The evidence, for what it was worth—for it was confined to supporting letters—indicated that the youngsters aimed at as potential camping tour passengers would be likely to come from all over the country. It was surmised that many would come by rail to London, and in this event British Railways would profit, though they could hardly be blamed for wishing to convey the " pioneers " all the way to Dover, tents, mess tins, and all!
Why Not Victoria ?
London Transport's spokesman, Mr. Murrell, could not understand why Victoria Coach Station was not preferred to Twickenham as a starting point. The Board provided feeder services to Victoria from all parts of Greater London, and there was no evidence of demand from Twickenham. Abstraction was inevitable, he argued, if suburban starts continued to be authorized.
Mr. Macdonald dealt with this argument very decisively, so much so that one would hope that the London Transport Board never again put it forward. Was there not a chance that the Board would profit by taking passengers to Twickenham? Was it not desirable to relieve congestion at Victoria, and in the centre of London? How could London Transport face with equanimity the prospect of a party of disabled youngsters milling around Victoria at a busy period?
To this Mr. Murrell could only say, doubtless with truth, that people moved at all times of the day and London Transport could often very well cope with additional passengers! Perhaps the Board would like Continental tour passengers to leave Victoria in the small hours, when most people are abed!
The East Kent Road Car Company's objection seemed little better founded, for Mr. G. Ellenboger, who represented the applicant companies, elicited that in 1965 East Kent had carried only 68 passengers from London on Continental tours. Mr. J. M. Bodger, assistant traffic manager of East Kent, said his company had been negotiating with the applicants for some time on the question of coach hire. They were prepared, on certain conditions, to modify vehicles to suit the needs of the school tour organizers, but Mr. Bodger agreed, under pressure, that it would not be practicable to adapt at short notice a regular service bus on their London/ Dover run for the proposed service. Any arrangements made would have to be firm, and made in the early part of the year.
Mr. Ellenboger suggested that it would be very wrong if the objectors prevented such a commendable project from getting established. It would not merely be a case of the tail wagging the dog, but of a very vigorous doig having its tail jammed in the objectors' door.
Bearing in mind that no personal supporters of the application were in court, despite the fact—as Mr. Macdonald observed—that several wrote from addresses in London, the applicants were, perhaps, lucky to get half a loaf. The deputy Traffic Commissioner was not satisfied that the alleged "pilot tours" had really been representative of the young people's tours proposed, nor was he satisfied that the arrangements proposed for touring with disabled youngsters were sufficiently detailed. Only 15 of 40 passengers carried on one tour were children, Mr. Lewis revealed. He also surprised Mr. Macdonald by seeking authority to cover the age group 14 to 28, on the grounds that numbers of American students visit Britain every year, many as old as 28. We need not be surprised that Mr. Macdonald confined his grant to the 14-24 age group; as he so truly said, many people of 28 have families of their own.
If I am wrong in thinking that the objectors will shed no tears at the outcome, there is little to stop them organizing rival tours for that section of the population, " students " or young people, who have money in their pockets. The market is wide enough, and the increasing success of converted "hostel-liners" which now carry schoolchildren very far afield, through an extended season, suggests that established coach operators should look carefully at the prospects. Young Mr. Lewis may be blazing a highly profitable trail.