London's Independent Bus Owners and the Traffic Bill.
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A N IMPORTANT gathering of the committee and members ..."1..of the association of independent omnibus owners of London (known as Associated Omnibus Proprietors, Ltd.) was held in London last week to consider tbe terms of the London Traffic Bill now before the House of Commons, and to pass any necessary resolutions. Mr. F. W. Prowse, of the Fleet Omnibus Co., was in the chair, and he is to be congratulated upon his grasp of the subject, and his tact and skill: -in the conduct of the meeting. There was great unity of feeling among the 60 omnibus proprietors present_ (represents ing a total of about 100 buses) and. there Was an entire absence of useless talk, each speaker having something useful t9 say, and saying it well and briefly.
In the room were Sir Raymond Dennis (Dennis Bros., Ltd.),
Seabrook (John I. Thornycroft and Co.), Mr. Strachari (Brown and Strachan, Ltd.), Mr. Dodson (Christopher Dodson, Ltd.) and representatives of Leyland Motors, Ltd., and Straker-Squire,Ltd., so that the manufacturing side lent its support to the gathering., and in the persons of the three firstnamed took part in the discussion, and' showed that they were prepared to help with advice and in any other useful way.
Mr. Prows° took the Traffic Bill, and. showed where lay the weak spots, so far as the independent bus owners were concerned, and, speaking for the committee, he put forward proposals for amendments to be laid before the Ministry of Transport. He asserted (and the argument was naturally advanced by different speakers throughout the meeting) that there must be no monopoly in the provision of transport facilities for London travellers, and said that the association, consisting of practical men, driving and owning their buses, was jealous of the maintenance of the freedom of the road.
In the matter of the constitution of the Advisory i Committee which would be created under the Bill, should t pass the Houses of Parliament and secure the Royal Assent and becomeone of the laws of the land, it was pointed out. that the independent bus owners were likely to semi's+ only the minimum of representation on that Committee, and it is .intended to urge that the number of representatives of the interests of persons providing means of transport and users of mechAnically propelled and horse-drawn road •Vehicles, to be
334 appointed by the Ministerafter consultation with such bodies representative of those interests as he shall consider advisable, shall be six instead of four, that they shall be ordinary members (entitled•to attend all meetings) and not additional members, and that the association should have the right to nominate at least one of these.
• With regard. to the clause giving power. to-any licenSing authority to define routes within. its jurisdiction upon which regular services of omnibuses may be established, it was decided to ask for the revision of the word ."regular," the feeling of the meeting being that it might act in restraint of the present practice of shifting a bus from route to route according to the amount of traffic to be expected. There was a minority present which held that sticking to a regular route, provided each owner were given a proper status, would be found to be the better in the long run. .
Clause -7, which grants power to the Minister to restrict the number of omnibuses plying on certain streets (taking into account the width of the street and the density of traffic thereon, the existence of alternative facilities and the existence of an excess of omnIais accommodation), created a great deal of discussion, it being felt that the Minister might be induced to close or restrict a street, so far as omnibuses were concerned, should there be *a tramway or a tube along the street or in proximity thereto. The opinion was expressed that the right to revoke or suspend a licence to ply for hire should not be exercised if the bus. proprietor could show that the infractions of the provision of the Act were due to the driver, and were not authorized or done with the knowledge or consent of tire owner.
It was decided 'to establish a fund to enable the committee at once to undertake a useful propaganda for the purpose of • informing the public of the aims, objects and intentions of the independent bus proprietors, and every effort is now being made to attract to the association those proprietors who hitherto stood aloof, particularly in view of the statement of the Minister that he is not prepared to treat with individuals, but only with representative bodies. The address of the secretary of the association is 89-61, Oxford Street, London, W.1.