Better Buses for London's Passenger Services.
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THE production of a six-wheeled chassis with a rigid frame, expressly built for bus service in London, is a' landmark in the development of the tSpe, for it cannot but prove a success in its facility for handling passenger traffic and it.must help in reducing street congestion, and if that be the case; the employment of the six-wheeled double-deck bus in any city suffering from a great volume of traffic will begin materially to expand.
The new London bus, in certain important dimensions, compares thuswise with the present type of four-wheeled covered-top-deck bus :—The wheelbase of the latter is 15 ft. 6 ins, and of the six-wheeler 18 ft. 6 ins. (to a point midway between the two driving axles), whilst the overall length of the two vehicles is : four-wheeler 26 ft. 61 ins., six-wheeler 29 ft. 11 ins. respectively. As the four-wheeler seats 52 persons and the sixwheeler 68 persons, with the same knee-room for the passengers, it follows that, for an addition in overall length (and in occupation of street length) of 2 ft. 61 ins., no fewer than 16 extra persons Can be carried, the increase in total length of 9.3 per cent. thus giving additional accommodation to the -extent of 30.8 per cent. This is a great achievement, and it astonishes us that there are still concerns in the commercial motor industry who are blind to its importance and Alio assert that The Commercial Motor is not assisting the industry by fostering the. development of the six-wheeler.
If, in time, all four-wheeled buses in London were displaced by six-wheelers, the traffic which to-day calls for the employment of over 5,000 fourwheeled buses could be handled by about 4,000 sixwheelers, and it is obvious that the total bus mileage of London, which annually amounts to oiler 170,000,000 miles, would be reduced proportionately. This alone would mean a substantial economy in road wear, but to the considerations to be borne in mind must be added (1) a 'reduCtion in axle weight and (2) the use of pneumatic tyres. It is conceivable that the use of six-wheeled buses in London would produce a saving of 25 to 30 per cent. in the road maintenance costs rendered necessary by bus traffic. The saving which the use of the multi-wheeled type of chassis could effect in the wear and tear of provincial and suburban roads, the, foundations of which are not so strong as those 6f the chief urban arteries, would be even more marked.
There is another important point to be considered, and that is the probability that the introduction of the six-wheeler will still further popularize bus-travelling for pleasure, ensuring a fuller use of the buses out of the hours of peak-load traffic. This will ensue from the use of pneumatic tyres which, with the six-wheeled support, will give ease and comfort in riding comparable with what is given by the private car. The solid-tyred bus, considered as a pleasure vehicle; is not attractive to everybody, but the pneumatic-tyred six-wheeler will be quite a different proposition. Hence, the effect of the use of the type upon revenue may be quite remarkable. It will be the saving of vibration and its ill-effects upon load and road and upon maintenance costs of vehicles which will gradually bring the goods-carrying vehicle on to more wheels than four.
The Vindication of the Rigid-frame Six-wheeler. •
WHEN, in 1922, this journal -began its campaign in favour of the vehicle with more wheels than four and pointed out the advantages which would probably accrue to users and the, roads, there were many sceptics and we were actually warned that the journal would eventually be brought into disrepute through "barking up the wrong tree."
Because certain immature and ill-conceived designs had failed in America some designers and users in our own country considered that it would be useless to endeavour to produce something more successful here and that, if built, there would be no demand.
Compare these pessimistic views with what is actually occurring. There is hardly an important bodybuilder in the country who is not busy con structing bodies for six-wheeled buses and coaches. Practically every chassis builder is either already producing six-wheelers or has designs in hand. Municipal authorities are ordering them by the dozen and the largest bus company in the world Is putting vehicles of its own design and manufacture on to the streets of London.
As an additional incentive, the War Depa:rtment recently decided to subsidize a type which should prove a most satisfactory medium for the transport of goods, and already users are displaying great interest in this scheme.
The six-wheeler has proved to be the most satisfactory type of vehicle which can carry heavy loads on Pneumatic tyres, and the riding comfort of these vehicles is such a revelation that the travelling public will undoubtedly demand increases in the transport facilities thus afforded.
No, the six-wheeler is not merely a passing fashion which can be doomed by a few voices crying in the wilderness. It may still be in its infancy, but it is rapidly throwing off its swaddling chithes and showing that it is a lusty child Avith a wonderful future before it.
A Fairer Scale of Commercial Vehicle Duties.
WHEN the Finance Bill reaches the cornV mIttee stage of the House of Commons, Colonel Howard-Bury, supported by representative associations, intends to move an amendment to the first schedule of the Finance Act of last year with the object of making the gradation of duties on. commercial vehicles less steep. ' The scale he proposes begins at—not exceeding 10 cwt. unladen £8, 12 cwt. £10, and 15 cwt. £12. Then by jumps of 5 cwt. the scale ascends to 80 cwt. and afterwards to 90 cwt. and 100 cwt., with £60 for the vehicles exceeding 100 cwt. as at present. For the first two tons there are only three rates of tax at present, as is shown below, but under the amendment there would be eight.
Colonel Howard-Bury willmeet with a great deal of sympathy with his proposal outside the House, the proposal being one which has already been mooted in these columns, and the justice of it may also appeal to a large number of members, but interference with an important part of the scheme of taxation for the year has little chance of acceptance by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
There is an undoubted case for the moderation of the incidence of the taxes in the direction of "gradualness," especially in the lighter categories of commercial vehicles between 1 ton and 21 tons, unladen weight, but the effect upon revenue may be serious, though no precise indication has yet been given as to the financial effect of reducing the intervals in the scale.
It may be hoped that the Chancellor of the Exchequer in committee will present some figures in support of his reasons for resisting Colonel Howard-Bury's amendment assuming that he adopts that course. In any case the Moving of the amendment will serve a good purpose in drawing attention to the unequal operation of a scale which ought to be brought more into line with the variations of the subjects taxed.
Colonel Howard-Bury's scale is as follows :—