The Fourth Annual London I raffic Report.
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An Exhaustive Study of the Problems Pertaining to the Migra ion of London's Population with a View to the Direction of Further Traffic Facilities.
We are happy to be in a position to present the first comprehensive review of the fourth report which has. Just been published in regard to a problem which is of world-wide interest. it will be remembered that the last annual report published by the London Traffic Branch of the Board of Trade dealt very largely with the necessity for the construction of a large number of new main thoroughfares in the Metropolis if further tramway developments were to be possible.
In the introductory note to this new Blue book, Sir Herbert Jekyll emphasizes the fact that, of all the improvements that are desirable in the matter of London's traffic, none is more pressing than that of the roads themselves.
The Royal Commission on London Traffic, which completed its inquiries in 1905, first. drew official attention to the fact that London's most difficult problem was attributable to the narrowness of many of the most used highways. It was as a result of this recommendation that the Traffic Branch was directed to institute an inquiry on these lines, This inquiry has been of the most. exhaustive nature. •" Little remains to be done," says Sir Herbert Jekyll, " to complete the preliminary examination of the roads." As valuable addenda to the statistics and particulars which have been compiled in this respect, we welcome the further series of tabulations with regard to the intensity and incidence of London's traffic proper. The first of these enumerations was taken early in 1910. A more comprehensive analysis is fully reported in the new Blue book. The London County Council has given great assistance to the London Traffic Branch in this portion of its work ; the Statistical Department of the Council undertook the analysis of traffic.
A large portion of the new report is devoted to the consideration of the problems pertaining to the migration of London's inhabitants, and it is from a study of this most complex of problems that it is hoped to evolve some plan of campaign whereby it may be possible usefully to direct the efforts of all those official and private authorities who may be concerned with the further development of transit facilities throughout the Metropolis and its surrounding area. This is, of course, of interest to the industry with which we are so intimately concerned, but we need not deal further with this statistical information which is given by the London Traffic Branch in the present instance than to pay a tribute to the thoroughness with which the task has been accomplished. The further development of London's unique motorbus-transit system is perhaps the principal problem with which we are concerned in this respect, although incidentally, of course, the whole character of the intensity of the traffic throughout the capital is of interest to those who are engaged in the supersession of the horse.
The Travelling Habit.
The tables dealing with the total numbers of passengers carried by the principal public-service systems in the Metropolis are brought up to date as far as the end of 1910. We find that in that year the local railway companies carried 14,500,000 more passengers than in the previous year, the tramways were responsible for an increase of 76,600,000, and the omnibus companies 66,200,000 increase in the total. The number of journeys per head per unit of population of Greater London increased from 198.1 in 1909 to 218.5 in 1910. This is indeed remarkable testimony to the manner in which the travell;ng habit. is growing, and
perhaps to the way in which Londoners are gradually forgetting to use their own legs. It must not be forgotten that these huge totals take no count of many other forms of passenger conveyance, e.g., of the 11,000 cabs, etc.
Changing Neighbourhoods.
The section of the report which deals analyticallS, with the problems of migration is placed first, and of this we shall do no more than quote a paragraph which deals with the part that is being.played already by the motor vehicle in respect to the change of type of neighbourhoods.
Good facilities also favour the substitution of business premises for dwellings in the centre of London because; if easily accessible from all parts, the valuable land in central districts can in this way be turned to better account. Improved communications, coupled with the extended use of the telephone, have wrought remarkable changes in this respect, Shops in suburban districts which formerly supplied local wants have been closed because people find it easy to deal with large shops in central parts. The movement is spreading far beyond the suburban region, and great retail establishments now deliver grade free of charge by motor vans up to 30 miles, or even mare, from the centre."
The Prosperous Motorbus.
A tribute is paid to the network of tramways for the manner in which it has assisted materially to take the population outwards all round London.
" lot9r omnibuses, which began to come into general Use in 1907. made little advance in the next three years, but now apdear to have entered on a period of progress and prosperity. The bulk of their traffic, like that of the tramways. is local. and it is doubtful whether they have so far affected the distribution of population to any great extent ; but the volume of tynnibus traffic is now so large in an elliptical area about 16 miles from North-East to South-West, and 10 miles from North-West to South-East, that it must in time contribute substantially to the progress of migration." " The places furthest from the centre now served by motor omnibuses on week days are Sidcup 10i miles, Ealing sg and Wanstoad 7. It would not be surprising if they travelled longer distances in future, or if new applications of mechanical haulage to the conveyance of passengers on roads were discovered, Among the advantages which, in some respects, road vehicles have over tramways, arc that, not being confined to particular roads or to comparatively wide streets, many more routes are open to them, and that, being able to traverse parts of the central area where tramways would be inadmissible, their passengers can, as a rule, be carried to their destinations with fewer changes So far as they merely abstracted traffic from railways or tramways they would have no effect upon migration, but a large field appears to be open to them without entering into direct competition with either, and should the industry continue to advance at the present rate, mechanical vehicles may do much to assist in spreading population throughout the area of Greater London. In COrn. molt with tramways and all road vehicles their usefulness would be greatly enhanced by the increase and improvement of arterial roads."
An Omission About Overcrowding, Dealing with the problem of the business rash hours, the report draws attention to the fact that the capacities of local railways and tramcars are already in most instances taxed to the utmost, " It might ha difficult," we read, "in the case of tramcars either to accommodate a larger number of passengers or to add greatly to the frequency of the services. The local railways can increase their capacity by running longer trains. The abnormal number of passengers which they carried on the 22nd and 23rd June shows what. they are capable of doing." It is interesting to note that the reporters make no mention of the highly-dangerous overcrowding which is not only permitted but encouraged during certain hours of the day on some of the tube railways. That eneh overcrowding should be allowed by the authorities below ground, whilst the carrying of a single extra passeuger on a motorbus or a tramcar is liable to be visited with severe penalties, is a clear case of inequity.
-• It should not be overlooked that the carrying capacity of tramways, and even of railways, is limited, and that, in curtnectfon with population, it is effective capacity at certain busy times of the day—especially in the morning—that counts."
" Omnibus traffic need only be limited by the number of vehicles which the companies find it profitable to roll, and in their case capital expenditure, entailed by additional services, would be little more than the cost of the vehicles."
Migration, we are told, may he expected to increase in volume because the capacity of existing means of locomotion is not yet exhausted. New facilities will be provided.
The most promising lines of advance are to be found in the improvement of arterial roads, the growth of mechanical transport, and improvement in railway communication with the enter suburbs, followed, in course of time, by the eleetrificalHo of suburban railways."
Central Authority for Road Improvements.
Under the heading " Arterial Roads," consideration is given to the situation which arises when a local authority is engaged on a town-plann'ng scheme, which it hopes to evolve almost entirely with regard to its own individual interests. No central authority exists to which appeal can be made or from which authority can emanate to insist upon co ordination between schemes of this kind in adjacent districts. The Improvements Committee of the London County Council, in the course of some observations on the operations of the Road Board, emphasizes the need for the centralization of authority in the matter of street improvements. It again urges the necessity of widening Euston Road throughout as the opportunity occurs, and draws attention to the desirability of improving East India Dock Road, Kingsland Road, Edgware Road, King Street, Hammersmith, Fulham Road, and High Street, Putney.
Huge Areas now Covered by Road Deliveries.
As an instance of the extraordinary developments in the use of the ordinary highway which have taken place within the past few years, the case of delivery of goods from big central stores by motorvan is quoted. It will be remembered that in July of this year, we published an articledescriptive of the extensions which had been made to the free-delivery area of Maple and Co., Ltd., during the past 20 years. The eventual extension—from 180 to 1,800 sq. miles— has been entirely accomplished by the employment of a large fleet of motorvans. This is mentioned.
The G.P.O. Traffic.
Another instance of the renewed use of the highway is that of the motorization of many mail services.
" The conveyance by the General Post Office of parcels by road has also increased largely. As in the case of goods it :s a question of time and expense. Nine p.m. is the earliest. hour at which parcel vans can be loaded, and the interval between this and the hour of morning delivery is approximately 11 hours, which has to include halts for the collection and delivery of mails at towns en route. With regard to expense, mails and parcels are carried by road only when road transport is cheaper than conveyance by railway. In recent times delivery by road commenced as far back as June. 1887, when four-horse coach was run to Brighton. Soon afterwards coaches were run in all directions, the greatest distances being London to Oxford 67 miles, London to Brighton 53 miles, and London to Colchester 54 miles. Motor yens have now taken the place of horse vans, their greater speed enabling longer distances to be traversed in the same time, while the diminishing expense of maintenance reduces the cost of conveyance. At the present time parcels are conveyed by road to Birmingham 109 miles, Ipswich 67 miles, Portsmouth 84 miles,
Bri AAA 120 miles, Dover 87 miles, Leicester, Eastbourne, etc. I\ bile the radius of delivery has been enlarged, the time raved in the journey to such places as Brighton, Ipswich, Colchester and Oxford permits of postponement in the hour of collection. This is shown by the following examples :-
Ito se Van. Motor Van.
Hour of collection in London 10.30 p.m. 12 midnight.
Hour of arrival at Oxford 8.5 a.m. 7.9 a.m.
Hour td collection in London 9.45 pen. 11.21 p.m.
Hour of arrival at Colchester 5 a.m. 5 a.m.
Hour of arrival at 4:eswich 7.20 a.m. 6_54 a.m.
" The great increase that has taken place in the conveyance by road of goods, parcels and mails is the direct result of the invention and development of self propelled vehicles. It has of course added largely to the use of the roads, especially in the neighbourhood of 1.on don. "
Units of Obstruction Again.
We are pleased to note that the interesting system of classifying different types of traffic in " Cnits of obstruction ' has been continued and to some extent enlarged. The opinion is held by the compilers of this report, and rightly we believe, that the bare enumeration of the number of vehicles passing any given point duringa certain period is of very little use other than as some indication of the way in which the horse has disappeared. In order to classify and compare the streams of traffic in different thoroughfares at different times 'of the day and year, it is necessary, we fully agree, to reduce each unit of traffic to some comparable figure. This, in the report published at the beginning of 1911, was termed " The degree of obstruction." Once this isascer tamed for each class of horse or motor vehicle, it is a simple task to ascertain the average volume of traffic, the average density of traffic, the average vehicle and the maximum density all expressed in units. The hour of greater density of traffic and the relative proportions of goods and passenger vehicles can also readily be deduced thereafter. The density of traffic obviously depends on two main factors one is the volume of individual vehicles, and the other is the net available width of road open to wheeled vehicles.
The total width of a road is in very many instances not a direct gauge of its available width for traffic. It is surprising to what an extent obstructions are allowed even in the most-congested thoroughfares of the Metropolis.
" The most pernicious and the least necessary ci all fixed ete :erections are centre lamp or tramway standards, which mt.. only occupy valuable road space, but have the effect of dividing the traffic into two streams to the detriment of both. If they were equal this division would be less objectionable, but up traffic is heavier than down at certain times and liahter ii others, sc, that one-halt of the road is generally
gested than the other, whereas in an undivided road traffic is evenly distributed over the whole breadth at all times. Centre standards also prevent fast vehicles from passing slower traffic, and except on necessary refuges, should not, as a rule, be allowed."
Elaborated Traffic Census.
Last. year, in our review of the Third Report, we reproduced a sample table of traffic-census figures as an illustration of the work that was being done in this respect by the L.C.C. for the Board of Trade. The present. report contains a number of these tables, which, as we have already remarked, are more comprehensive than those of last year. In 1911 a census was taken between the 9th May and the 12th July at HO points, including all the bridges and "tunnels across the Thames in the Metropolitan district." These new results are not strictly comparable with those of the previous report, as many of the points of observation have been revised and new ones have been added. Nevertheless, we consider that the office is compiling most valuable data in this respect for use in future years, and we think the importance of its continued efforts in this direction cannot be over-rated. The, published figures this year should form an excellent basis for future comparisons, but it is natural that at
first the most practicable arrangement of observation points could not be selected.
London Bridge Takes a Back Seat.
We may perhaps extract a few figures with regard to the London bridges. They will be sure to interest all those who use the roads for goods or passenger
haulage. Blackfriars Bridge, we find, carries the greatest volume of traffic all told ; 17,401 vehicles pass over it in 12 hours. Westminster, London and Tower Bridges come next in order. Westminster carries the largest number of passenger vehicles in 12 hours 10,437, whilst London Bridge comes next with 6,174. Blackfriars, Waterloo and Vauxhall Bridges are next in order. Tower Bridge carries the largest number of trade vehicles--8,811, in 12 hours, and Blackfriam, London, Waterloo and Westminster Bridges follow respectively. Traffic is most congested on Tower and London Bridges. It will therefore be seen that London Bridge by no means holds pride of place in
the matter of gross totals or of class totals. It is, however, well up in the list in the matter of density.
Street Improvements for Tramways.
Under the heading " Streets and Roads," the tramway problem naturally comes in for discussion. Quotation is again made this year from remarks which have recently fallen from the Improvements Committee of the London County Council with regard to the manner in which the policy of the Council is hindering the proper improvement of thoroughfares which are not directly affected by tramway extensions. This Committee again emphasizes its regret that the Council has to accelerate improvements which are vital in the interests of the tramways, and has therefore to neglect equally important alterations which should be made for the benefit of those to whom the trams mean little but congestion.
"The Improvements Committee again drew attention to ' the serious extent to which work with regard to improvements for the general traffic is being affected by the tramway policy of the Council. During the earlier years of the electrification of the system, the Council very naturally devoted attention principally to those routes which were of sufficient width not to involve any considerable expenditure on street improvements. These advantageous routes are now practically completed. In future the extension and reconstruction of the tramway system will, to a great extent, lie along streets in which a heavy expenditure on widenings will be necessary. The Council has to accelerate certain improvements and to undertake others in the interests of the tramways, and, consequently, to retard or postpone other improvements which may be regarded as more urgent from the point of view of the general traffic requirements of London. It is natural that the Council should wish to give every facility to the development of a revenue-producing undertaking, but it is not always realised how seriously the interests of particular localities and of the general traffic of the county are prejudiced by the delay or postponement of important improvements in order that other improvements may he accelerated in the interests of the tramways, and it is essential that the tramways account should bear its full share of the cost of such acceleration in order that the rate revenue shall be free for the execution of improvements no less henelicial to the ordinary citizen in other parts of London.' "
The White Elephant Subway.
The elaborate and expensive subway which was intended to facilitate the movement of foot passengers across the Elephant and Castle tramway junctions is not used to any appreciable extent by genuine foot passengers : it is mainly given over to the local children as a convenient playground.
" A system of subways for foot passengers has been constructed at the Elephant and Castle,' where six main thoroughfares converge, and the road traffic is exceptionally heavy."
" The object of the subways is to furnish pedestrians with safe means of crossing dangerous streets, but so far the public do notappear to avail themselves to any great extent of the alternative."
The Elephant and Castle subway cost. £20,000. Motorbus and Motorcab Topics.
As usual, considerable space is given in this report to a review of the situation in regard to public carriages. As, however, the tabular particulars of the licensed vehicles are not carried further than the end of 1910, there is no use in our repeating them here, as we have, during the past year, given much more recent totals in our columns. We are glad to notice that, at last, the incorrect total which had on several occasions appeared in the matter of the number of four-wheeled hackney carriages for 1905 is corrected.
Under the beading " Cabs," a short resume is given of the development of the motorcab from the time of its first appearance in London in 1897. The motor-omnibus industry in London is reviewed to the extent of nearly three pages, and is largely concerned with the history of the movement up to the middle of 1911. We need not, therefore, repeat much of the information that appears in the report, as in most instances it will be familiar to our readers.
" The growing prosperity of the motor-omnibus industry is attributable partly to the suppression of wasteful competition, and partly to improvements in construction, standarization of types, and greater efficiency of organization and administration. Mechanical improvements have already gone far to make the vehicles reliable, to reduce the cost of maintenance, and to diminish noise and vibration in running, thereby increasing the comfort of passengers, and doing much to popularize the system of transport.. Very little time is now lost through mechanical failures owing to the systematic overhauling which omnibuses undergo. The expenses of working and maintenance save diminished steadily year by year. Up to the early part of 1908 they amounted to as much as from 12 to 14 pence per omnibus mile: they have now been reduced to an average of 84d. Invention is still active, improvements continue to be made, and it is understood that further reductions of working expense* may be made. Earnings vary widely on different routes and are much affected by weather. They may be put at 104d. per omnibus mile on the average, and are said to be well maintained, notwithstanding the increasing number of vell;cles on the streets.
The Taxation of Trams and Buses.
A paragraph which is, perhaps, as important as anyth:rig in this report, with regard to the relative economic value of tramway and motorbus systems, is that in which a useful comparison is made between the taxes which a-re due from an omnibus proprietor and from the owners of London tramcar. A comparison is rightly made on a basis of " per seat-mile,"
" Thongh Omnibus Companies pay no rates in respect of the roads which they use, internal-combustion omnibuses, which form 95.5 per cent, of the mechanical vehicles, make a substantial contribution to the maintenance of the roads in the shape of the petrol tax, which amounts to about £45 per vehicle per annum, equivalent to .3d. per omnibus mile, or .009d. per seat mile. The London County Council pay £98,000 in rates on their tramway lines for the year ending 31st March, 1912 which works out at .008d. per seat mile-, so that of the two, the tramways are the less unfavourably situated in regard to these burdens."
The Speeds of Trams and Buses.
Useful observations were made in August, 1911, with regard to the relative net speeds of motor omnibuses and of tramcars over the same routes. We quote the results of some of these tests in cxtenso.
" The point to point speed of motor omnibuses has increased of late, without Increase in their maximum speed, owing to the greater frequency of the services which diminishes the duration of stops, and the more rapid acceleration of the
newer types. The following comparative speeds of motor omnibuses and tramcars are the averages of a number of observations taken in the course of one hour on certain days in Auroist, 1911:— " Whitechapel High Street.--Aldgate Station to Bow Bridge, distance 2.7 miles.
" Average speed of motor omnibuses = 9.55 miles per hour.
tramcars = 8.74
" Commercial Road.--Junction with Whitechanel High Street to Poplar Station, distance 2.6 miles.
" Average speed of motor omnibuses = 8.83 miles per hour.
tramcars = 8.35 '• Kingsland Road.—Shoreditch Station to Ball's Pond Iliad. distance 1.3 miles.
" verage speed of motor omnibuses = 10.05 miles per hour. tramcars = 9.74 North End of Walworth Road to Camberwell Green via Walworth Road, distance 1.4 miles. '• Average speed of motor omnibuses = 10.13 miles per hour. tramcars = 8.16 " Westminster Bridge (west end) to Peckham (north end of Bye Lane) via ' Elephant and Castle ' and Walworth Road, Eltstanee 3.7 miles.
• ' Average speed of motor omnibuses = 8.93 miles per hour.
" Westminster Bridge (west end) to Peckham (north end cf Rye 1 4110) via Kennington and Camberwell N t!NY Road, distanee 3.8 miles.
" erage speed of tramcars = 7.137 miles rf,r
The Earnings of L.C.C. Trams.
Under the heading " Tramcars," we learn that the number of such vehicles licensed in the Metropolitan area in 1910 was 2,531. Of these, 1,482 belonged to the London County Council. With regard to the receipts from tramways, it is again interesting to note the figures which are re-quoted in this report. In 1910-11, traffic receipts from the working of electric lines averaged 11.28d. per car-mile against 11.81d. per e ar-mile for 1908-9. Working expenses averaged 0.4%d. per car-mile for 1910-11. The surplus on working, therefore, is 4.Scl. per car-mile against 5.17d. per tar-mile four years ago. Thus, for the first time on record, the surplus on working has fallen below 5d. a
e ar-mile. The report does not discuss the insuffi
• ciency of this margin to meet sinking-fund and interest charges. Why? The Finance Committee, in a recent report to the Council, pointed out that it was more than likely that this " surplus " would have dropped to 4.1d. per car-mile. The average number of passengers per car-mile was 10.5 in 1910, as against 12.6 in 1905.
About the Trolleybus.
Some prominence is given to the new railless systems which are being tried in Leeds and Bradford at the present. time. A description is given of the equipment which has been installed in those two cities, and some figures are included which purport to show the cost of running trolleybuses:
"The system would appear to be most applicable where the promoters are seeking a profitable outlet for surplus elec t rical energy, and traffic is likely to develop to an extent ,.iiffiyient to justify the construction of a tramway. In such a case the overhead equipment could be utilized, and the additional expense of conversion would be limited to the cost ni -laving rails and the provision of suitable lulling stock. In other conditions it is doubtful whether the system offers any advantages over a series of self-pronelled vehicles." An analytical survey of all the developments which have been completed or are in hand in connection with the suburban and tube railways serving London occupies many pages of this Blue book. We need not deal with them in detail, although, in passing, we may mention the quaint wording of the paragraph in which reference is made to the extension of the Central London tube to Liverpool Street.. We read that this extension will enable passengers from the Great Eastern and North London Railways '• to find their way underground to and from stations on any of the London electric railways." Such is the fate of the modern underground traveller in London. It isL.he, avowe.d object of the tube railway authorities, once they get a passenger below ground, to keep him there until he has finally reached his destination. There is also a reference to improved facilities at Cannot Street Station ! (sic).
The G.P.O. Tube Proposals.
The section of letterpress which has caught the eye of the Daily Press to the greatest extent is undoubtedly that which deal with the proposed system of underground haulage for mails, which has been schemed for the General Post Office services in the Metropolis. From the point of view that the supersession of royal mail traffic from the streets of London would materially assist to relieve the congestion of those thoroughfares, the project of these smallgauge, electrically-propelled goods trains running between the principal postal depots is of considerable interest. There appear to be nearly 1,000 mail vehicles of all kinds in use throughout the area of the London postal service, and this number is growing.
The C.M.U,A.'s Traffic Notices.
Under the heading "Regulation of Traffic," mention is made that the Chief Commissioner of Police signified his approval of notices directing traffic in the Hammersmith Road to " drive near the left kerb," and that he inst.' ucted the constables on duty to secure compliance with the directions as far as possible. This action on the part of the Commissioner was taken in consequence of representations made to him by the Commercial Motor Users Association, we are reminded.
The report is a useful addition to the literature dealing with the problems of road transport gener-. ally. That the labours of the London Traffic Branch of the Board of Trade may be continued will be the wish of all those whose business is liable to be so directly affected by any developments that. may take place in th's connection in the future.