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The Development Since the Year 1909 of Self-propelled Public-service Vehicles.*

3rd July 1913, Page 4
3rd July 1913
Page 4
Page 4, 3rd July 1913 — The Development Since the Year 1909 of Self-propelled Public-service Vehicles.*
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

(Concluded from page 382.) The Street Accident Problem.

A great deal of public attention has been directed, chiefly in consequence of the hostile activity of tramway advocates, to the apparently-serious dangers to life and limb that have accompanied the extension of motorbus services. Whilst the fatal-accident ratios are unfavotteible to the motarbirs„ as compared with those recorded against the electric tramcar, the non-fatal accidents are more numerous in the case of the latter. The bare statistics, however, do not present the ease in a proper light. It has to be ecalled that motorbus locomotion is comparatively new in London, whilst electric-car locomotion is of older date, and that experience in all cities of the world partite to a high percentage of accidents during the first year or two of operation of any new transport. system. Improvements may be reasonably expected for that reason, if for no other, in the motorbus data.

Two basic differences between London electric.traincar and motorbus services are these: (1) ties street mileage for the motorbuses is nearly double that for the electric tramcars, within the London County Council area; (2) the electric tramcars are very properly eacluded by the responsible authorities from access to the central and busiest thersmehfares.

It is hoped that some practicable means will-shortly he devised to protect pedestrians, such as the sheathieg of the wheels by metal guards or gratings. Fully 25 per cent, of the fatal accidents occur to cyclists who sideslip under the back wheels, whilst, a like percentage is due to the action of pedestrians in suddenly stepping off the pavement without locking behind therm The tramcar statistics do not sufisr by reasen of this latter class of accident, seeing that the rails are not close to the pavements. Again, London street surfaces are not kept as. well cleansed as they should be to suit rubbertired traffic.

Less Obstruction Than With Tramcars.

The author desires to draw particular attention to the lower factor of obstructiveness which experience in Louden has shown to exist in favour of the motorbus, as compared with the electric tramear. He wishes, further, to emphasize the fact that no other city in the world has had comparable opportunities for an official opinion of this kind to he formed. The official decision of the Traffic Branch of the Board of Trade, which Government Department was for some years specially engaged in making observations to enable it to come to a decision, is that the relative obstruction to traffic of the electric tratnear is 10, whilst that of the motor onmileis is only 3. The same Department, in the course of its 1910 report, pointed out that, whilst electric traction is fully developed, improvements in motorbuses must still take place.

For the guidance of cities which may be engaged upon a study of the problem, it is of importance that this relative °Instructiveness should be expressed commercially in figures. Extensions of electric tramways have been extremely small of late years in London, owing to the recognized superiority and greater convenience of the motorbuses.

It, is too often claimed that the London County Council tramcar receipts, which are in the vicinity of £2,200,000 per annum, are of paramouet importance, but this revenue is eelatively insignificant when it is set against the total earning capacity of the ordinary wheeled traffic, in the L.C.O. area, which traffic is so seriously impeded by tramcars, Taking the L.C.0, area alone, in which the ordinary wheeled traffic is unduly crowded to the sides of the highway, arid tin(twistedly much more so than is the case farther from the centre of London, it only requires this congestion to be equal to a delay of one hour 'daily for each of 50,000 vehicles in commercial use for the loss to the comnwreial coarenunity to exceed the total revenue of the tramcars. Added to that loss, due to the inherent factor of tending to confine the ordinary traffic to small side portions of London thoroughfares, which are in no case so wide as the streets of newer cities, it has to be noted that many owners of ordinary

wheeled vehicles both complain about and suffer from the losses which are inflicted upon them in respect, of axle and wheel breakages, due to the existence of the tram rails.

For these foregoing reasons, amongst others, the motorbus has become very much more popular in London, with the commercial and general public, since the date ef the Brussels Congress.

Inclusive Costs of Running.

The author does not repeat nor modify the full capital and other tables which were presented with his paper at Brussels, as they hold good. He none the less wishes to repeat that the saving on capital account, over any motorbus system, compared with art electric-tramcar system, varies between 65 per cent. and 80 per cent, for the same capacity for traffic. There is no capital outlay upon track construction or overhead equipment, in the case of the motorbus undertaking. He has brought up to date the figures for London, and thee: are given herewith.

The reduction of working costs by 2.23d. per bus-mile has been accompanied by an increase of revenue in some cases, and by maintenance at the old figure of 10.5d. per bus-mile in other cases, in spite of an all-round greater frequency of service.

Conclusion.

The interval of three years enacts the Brussels Congress has been very fruitful in'demonstrating the advance of motorists organization, as much as the improved construction of the vehicles themselves. Whilst London costs have gone down as shown above, ecsts in provincial centres remain in the neighbourhood of 9d, per bus-mile. This is due to the fact that ITrad surfaces in the country are not so good as the paved surfaces of the cities. In addition, the same high daily mileage cannot usefully be covered in the country, and country services are frequently not able to average more than 70 miles a day, compared with 100 miles or more per day in London, per vehicle.

The main conclusion that is to be drawn, from the experience of the past three years more particularly, is that the case for motorbuses has been enormously strengthened, and that these vehicles will continue to earn handsome profits for their proprietors in many parts of the United Kingdom, notwithstanding active opposition of all kinds from other forms of transport.

Having regard to the contemporaneous improvements which have been effected in certain counties with regard to the construction ef waterproof roads, i.e., metalled roads in the construction of which asphaltic or tarry hinders are employed, the risk of damage to country roads, which still exists where water-binding is employed, should be a diminishing factor. It is only upon weak water-bound macadamized roads that motorbuses now do damage. In the United Kingdom, apart from Landon, there are upwards of 4500 motor omnibuses and motor chars-e-haecs, and the average profit from working these varies from 3d. to is. per mile run.

The author will be pleased, on receipt of a written request from any reader of this paper, to furnish copies of the capital and other tables which were included in his 1910 report.


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