Chester Passenger Problems
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I WAS reminded of the old song, "The I Grand Old Duke of York" when reading a report of a recent application by Kenilworth Tours, of Liverpool, beard by the North Western Traffic Commissioners.
Kenilworth sought to add an additional picking up and setting down point at Ellesmere Port; to vary an existing point at Chester, and to revise inclusive charges on five extended tours to Midlands and South Coast destinations. There was no objection to the proposed fares revision.
Mr. E. A. Whitehead submitted schedules showing successive decreases on Kenilworth's tour to Newquay and Land's End, attributed largely to competition
from Ribble and Salopia Coaches, since they were authorized to serve Ellesmere Port. Loss of passengers had also been experienced from Chester owing to the situation of the picking up point at Christledon By-pass which was outside the city and near a clearway—an inconvenient and dangerous point.
The manager of Kenilworth Tours, Mr. A. H. Rylands, spoke of a proposed rerouteing through Chester having been suggested by the police. In reply to Mr. J. A. Backhouse (for Smith's Tours (Wigan)), Mr. Rylands said that from a picking up point in the city they moved some years ago at. the police request and now got no Chester passengers.
Called by Mr. E. T. Davies, for Salopia Coaches, traffic manager Mr. B. Parks gave evidence of their facilities from Chester. Mr. Davies submitted that peace had prevailed in the catchment areas recently, the facilities meeting public needs, and he asked for them to remain as they were.
On behalf of Ribble Motor Services, Mr. F. D. Walker suggested that the loss from Chester might be due to the offer to the public of but one tour to Newquay and Land's End against a wider range by Ribble.
The decision of the Commissioners was to refuse the Ellesmere pick up and to grant the Chester pick up, together with the revised fares list. The Chairman, Mr. C. R. Hodgson, said that Kenilworth had been pushed out of Chester and as
the business had run down it was rather hard on old-established operators if they were denied an opportunity of getting back some passengers, and to that degree a prima facie case had been made out.
To be fair to all concerned, and without detailed knowledge of Chester's traffic problem, it is reasonable to surmise that revised traffic routeing arrangements in Chester may now make possible what was manifestly impossible a few years ago when Kenilworth were "pushed out of Chester ". The point is certainly worth notiog by coach operators generally.