PASSENGER TRANSPORT AT HEREFORD.
Page 23
Page 24
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
What is Being Done in an important Agricultural District from which Many Market Towns are Served.
"DASSENGER transport services in
Hereford and district are organized mainly by two companies—Hereford Transport, . Ltd.. and the Birmingham and Midland Omnibus Co.,. Ltd. The local company maintain a very useful and rather wide service, but the Birmiaghana company have the largest number of vehicles operating in this county. Another company, the Hereford Motor Co., run ii. small service known as the "City," but the chief feature of their activities is in connection. with motor coaches. There is also a number of omnibuses running into the town on market days (Wednesday) and Saturdays. Messrs. Pettifer run vehicles from Bromyard and district, but the main services are run by the two companies referred to at -the opening of this article.
Services in and around a town like Hereford are always interesting as presenting different features from those generally coming under review in industrial centres where frequent services every day of the week can be profitably run. In Herefordshire there are rush days and slack days.
Rural folk do not travel every day, but when they do they all aeem to turn out together. An indication of this is to he found at Hereford and, when it is pointed out that Hereford is an important market centre, it will be realized that large crowds foregather from all the country districts in • the vicinity. Indeed it takes every avail able bus to deal with the huge amount of passenger traffic on this particular day, and.. week-ends are equally busy periods. Daring the intervening days, however, little traffic is available, and the difficulty is met by sending buses to
work on services to other market centres situated in different parts of the district. Even this does not solve the difficulty of securing sufficient buses for the week-end, because every centre has its own special week-end traffic. It looks, however, • as though some places in this rural area are neglected, even on Saturdays.
Hereford Transport, Ltd., run their yellow buses an a number of market routes on different days of the week. In some cases markets are held in different centres fortnightly. As examples one may mention those at Usk and Monmouth, which are held on alternate Mondays. On these claya, Monmouth is concentrated on one week and Usk the week following, although, of course, a smaller service is provided on the no-market days.
Then, again, services are run between the different market towna on their respective market days. For instance, buses run from Monmouth to Ledbury on the latter's market day (Tuesdays). Wednesday is market day in Hereford, and frequent services are rule to many parts. Markets are held at Brorayard on Thursdays, and Leominster on Fridays. whilst Ross market is held on Thursdays, and Abergaaenny on Tuesdays and Fridays. As Hereford Transport, Ltd-, appear to have concentrated on this Area (Ross-MonmouthAbergavenny) these places are better looked after on market days than Bromyard and Leominster, although the latter places both receive some attention. Hay (market day, Thursday): comes into the same category.
Services on routes on the Abergavenny, Monmouth and Ross districts are run almost every day, and the reason for this would seem to be that there is a market in the district every day of the week except Wednesdays, and, of course, Saturday is a general
marketing day in most districts. But as indicating how this company concentrate on market days one may mention that they do not run services to Hereford itself, except on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Hereford Co.'s services on these days, however, are fairly extensive and run at frequent intervals. The company run about fifteen services on routes not converging upon Hereford. These are not, of course, run every day or all on the same days. Apparently the only Sunday service is between Monmouth and Ledbury.
The. Birmingham and Midland Omnibus Co., Ltd., run some forty-six services, only two of which are suspended during the winter months, and their "Red" buses are now a recognized feature of the countryside. Like Hereford Transport, Ltd., this company concentrate on market towns on market days, and they switch their buses from one part of the county to the other on different days to serve the villages round the various market centres, but the Birmingham and Midland Co. run more regular daily services from Hereford.
Of course, the " Red " services extend all over the Midlands, and, in some cases, there are very long runs. The run fr,om Birmingham to Worcester is well over twenty miles and this is connected with a service to and from Hereford via Bromyard on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. On the other days there is a modified service on this route between Hereford, Stoke Lacey and Bromyard, and Bromyard, Brinsty, Knightwiek and Worcester. The journey from Hereford to Worcester is over thirty miles long.
In addition, another long-distance service is run between Hereford and Worcester via Ledbury. A daily service (with a curtailment in the number of buses in use on certain days) operates between Hereford and Eardisley; Hereford, Madley and Bredwardine ; Hereford, Much Birch and Ross ; Hereford and Fownhope ; Hereford, St. Weonards and Garway (not on Mondays). There is a regular service between Hereford and Ledbury, except on Mondays.
Apart from these services, operations are mostly concerned with week-end and market activities. Some districts only get a bus a week, and one or two only once a fortnight, apart from owner-driver conveyances. Some local services with 2d. stages are run in and around Hereford city and suburbs, and there are buses of the Birmingham and Midland Co. operating between one market town and another without touching Hereford, as, for example, Leominster and district, Hay, Clyro, Ludlow, Leintwardine, etc. The markets concentrated on are Leominster '(six routes), Hereford, Ludlow (Shropshire), Hay, Rington, Ross, Monmouth, Ledbury and Bromyard. Herefordshire is full of market towns.
These services havefl been explained in some detail to show some of the differences between the methods of 'Beating with rural and urban passenger transport, and the difficulties to be met. It must be understood that the two companies under review do not monopolize all the traffic in the towns mentioned, although in Hereford and district they deal with by far the greater portion of it.
MO