Maidstone and D istrict Hits Back
Page 50
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ASTATEMENT was issued on Monday night by Maidstone and District Motor Services, Ltd., about Gillingham (Kent) Town Council's appeal to the public to forward to their town clerk complaints concerning the company's bus services throughout the Medway towns, Members of the council at their meeting last week described the bus services as " shocking" and " quite disgusting," and there was criticism by All H. Smith, a Chatham dockyard employee, about the alleged hardships of fellow workers using the buses, Aid. H. Mannering described the Maidstone bus services as
being run by a ".terrific so-called private enterprise monopoly."
The company's statement, issued by the general manager, Mr. A. J. White, referred to the report last year that it was possible sometimes to span the Atlantic in little more time than it took to make a road journey through traffic-choked Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester.
Mr. White said the traffic conditions had been progressively deteriorating due to the build-up of vehicular traffic and this had been severely aggravated by road works.
Bus crews were doing a superb job and the company regretted that irregular operation of services caused delay and inconvenience to passengers, but it could not assure them that there would be an improvement until the road works had been completed and buses could run without obstruction. The completion date was unknown, so no forecast could be given about how long the dislocation would continue.
"The public is assured . that on the completion of the works, bus services will he improved," Mr. White added.
N.C.R.T.C.H. AS COMPANY
THE .National Conference of Road
Transport Clearing Houses has been registered as a 14mited company without share capital. Subscribers are Pitt and Scott (Haulage), Ltd., Pitt and Scott, Ltd., Twentieth Century Transport, Ltd., J. E. Wright and Co., Ltd., Norman John, Ltd., and Freightways (Londan), Ltd., all of .London. The regiStered office is 1-2 Babmaes Street, London, S.W.1.
IT WAS, 'SO THERE
ACHILD'S tricycle is a road vehicle. That is what Mountain, near Halifax, police discovered' last week, after a 3-tOnner had reversed over a child's tricycle. The driver contended that it should not be reported as an accident, because a triCycle was not a vehicle. The police found that in 1896 a tricycle had to be recorded as a road vehiele, so they " booked " the collision.
ENGINEERS WANT MORE
THE engineering unions have made a claim for a "substantial pay increase." They want an extra Li a week. The claim is at present being considered by the Engineering and Allied Employers National Federation.
ATKINSON TO RAISE MONEY
ARIGHTS issue to raise £325,000 was announced last week by Atkinson Lorries (Holdings), Ltd. Ordinary shareholders registered on August 31 will be offered 2m. 2s, ordinary shares at 3s. ld. each.
Heavy Load Goes by Road and River
A180-TON casting was moved this
week from Sheffield to Liverpool by B.R.S. (Pickfords), Ltd., on a 24-wheel Crane 200-ton trailer:. The casting will eventually be delivered to Bournemouth, but is being machined in Liverpool first. It is more than 35 ft. long, 15 ft. wide and 9 ft. high.
The journey, which began on Tuesday, was expected to take three or four days. An indirect route had to be planned via Birkenhead, and there the casting was unloaded from the Pickford unit and taken acrOss the Mersey on a floating crane towed by two tugs. The empty Pickford unit was then driven to Bootle and through the Mersey tunnel, for which journey special permission was obtained. The casting was then reloaded for the final journey to the English Electric works in Liverpool.
SCOTTISH TRANSPORT COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS
THE 'Minister of Transport has I appointed two new members to the Scottish Transport Council. They are Col. D. H. Cameron of Lochiel and Mr. Robert McKean. Reappointed for another term of office are the chairman, Lord Kilbrandon, Sir John Banks, Mr. I. P. R. Napier, Mr. Robert Taylor, Mr. W. Hughes and Mr. T. G. Robinson.
The Council was set up in February, 1956, to examine questions of common interest for the transport undertakings which are, nationalized, controlled by national undertakings or are State-aided, for the Purpose of assisting in developing an efficient and co-ordinated system of public transport in Scotland.
Lo.T, PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
'THE presidential address to the Insti1 tute of Transport is to be given in London on October 10 by Mr. K. W. C. Grand, a member of British Transport Commission, who is the 1960-61 president-elect. The address will be given at the Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London, W.1,
TWO FINED FOR BLACK SMOKE
AHALIFAX driver, David Addison, and his employer, Jack Lumb, haulage contractor, of Hohnfield, Yorks, were fined £1 and £5 respectively by Brighouse magistrates last week for using and per nutting the use of a lorry emitting excessive smoke. The magistrates were told that the amount of smoke emitted reduced visibility on the road, which was well used.
MINISTER GETS ROAD ADVISER A N urban road adviser has been I-1 appointed by the Minister of Transport. He is Mr. C. D. Buchanan, who was previously a principal inspector (special inquiries) in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. Mr. Buchanan, who has been working in the Ministry of Transport for some time now, will study long-term development of roads and traffic in urban areas and their influence on urban environment,