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THE FUTURE OF ROAL PASSENGER TRANSPORT

IT is always a difficult matter to prophesy, and the prophet is, frequently, not respected in his own , country. It was, therefore, with a certain amount of hesitancy that we approached a number of prominent passenger-transport operators, with a view to obtaining their opinions as to the future of this important section of road transport. The fact that a comparatively' large .,-number has responded to our invitation indicates a satisfactory feeling of optimism, which should do much to encourage those others who may have any doubt as to the continued development of passenger travel by road. Many interesting points are raised in the various contributions, and they will certainly repay a close study.

Mr. J. F. Heaton Anticipates With Confidence Continued Development, " At a time when I consider the future of passenger transport by road to be a pressing question of great public interest I am pleased to send this message to the readers of The Commercial Motor," said Mr. John F. Heaton, chairman of Thomas Tilling, Ltd.

He points out that legislature, with the Act of 1930, commenced to deal with the matter in a manner befitting its important-part in the life of the Kingdom—upon a national basis. Subject to certain serious defects in the system of appeal set up by the Road Traffic Act, 1930, the licensing of services and the regulation of publicservice vehicles then instituted have . proved to be successful. The praiseworthy efforts of the various Traffic Commissioners have done much to establish order out of uneconomic chaos.

In his Opinion much remains to be done—the first problem to be solved is the creation of a state of safety upon the roads. No effort of Parliament and the Minister of Transport to achieve this end can be lightly regarded by -anyone; to the operator and the public alike it is an urgent, vital matter. .

The regulation of the private car is, in his view, an essential step in the campaign for safety upon the roads, and he feels sure that machinery for this purpose will be created by Parliament at no distant date. Tests as to the roadworthiness of private Cars (which are as logical and necessary as tests of the skill of their drivers) will, he thinks, be made necessary. When a uniform standard of efficiency in the design and equipment of the private car is made essential, the alarming death _ and accident rate upon the roads will be much reduced. To the public-service-vehicle operator the creation of a state of safety upon the roads will be of great value, -for with safety established the public will travel more than ever before upon the roads of England.

In conclusion, Mr. Heaton anticipates with optimism and confidence the continued development of the road passenger-transport industry. The joint advantages of flexibility and cheapness provided by coach and bus will continue to attract a public already alive to the possibilities of road travel.

"Nothing Can Prevent Continued Expansion,"

says Mr. O. C. Power.

" I am quite convinced that road travel has such a 'firm hold on the pnblic that nothing can prevent the -continued expansion of the road passenger transport ill

c32 dustry." This is a highly significant remark from such an authority as Mr. O. C. Power, JP., traffic manager of the Midland "Red" Motor Services, director, Black and White Motorways, the Potteries Co., the Trent Co., etc.

The present procedure, however, for obtaining permission to increase the frequency of existing services in his opinion still leaves room for considerable improvement, although he admits that as the Traffic Commissioners are now becoming more acquainted with the requirements of the travelling public they are gradually taking a somewhat broader view.

It is still necessary, however, when applying for permission to increase an existing service, even when there is no other road operator concerned, to prove the immediate need for such increase, which means that evidence has to be produced of consistent overloading or of regularly leaving passengers behind, thereby running the risk of police prosecution, or of inconveniencing the public.

Surely in the fifth year of the operation of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, it can now be assumed that the operators left are responsible people who would not apply for an increase in a service unless they kueNsthat to provide additional accommodation duplication was not sufficient and that an increased frequency was really necessary in the interest of the travelling public who, after all, are supposed to be the people for whom the Act was placed on the Statute Book.

Mr. Power also thinks that it is quite unnecessary for the railway companies to be consulted when a road operator applies for a normal increase in a stage-carriage service. It is time that the Traffic Coinmissioners took a firm stand in this matter and refused to be influenced by objections from railway representatives to such increases.

With regard to the opening up of new services he considers that licences should be granted for an experimental period of, say, six or 12 months, as it is not right that the public should have to wait for the need to be an urgent necessity before a service can be operated. Before the Road Traffic Act, 1930, came into operation we used to proceed on the theory that facilities created traffic, and he ventures to think that more elasticity in these matters should be a great advantage to all concerned.

Mr. Power is perfectly aware that we cannot expect to have the advantages of control without the disadvantages, but in the matters he has referred to, he thinks that the interests of the travelling public should have the first considera tion. Incidentally, an enormous amount of time and expense would be saved by the Commissioners and the road transport operators.

That Expansion Needs Greater Elasticity is a Point Raised by Mr. F. J. Chapple.

"The passenger transport industry has, for the past few years, that is to say, since the inception of the Road Traffic Act, 1230, been passing through a period of consolidation'of interests, and the first phase of this process may, in many cases, be regarded as practically completed. The extension of joint working and more comprehensive agreements between some of the major

operators will, in certain instances, follow, and in the case of the West Yofkshire Company the agreements whereby the transport interests of the Keighley Corporation .and the York Corporation are managed by the

company afford examples of how such arrangements can be carried out." Thus comments Mr. F. J. Chapple, general manager, West Yorkshire Road Car Co., Ltd.

The small but marked improvement in trading conditions throughout the country, which it is hoped will continue, is likely to provide a position that will require very careful handling. Control under the Road Traffic Act is necessarily of a somewhat rigid nature, and has a tendency to rely on restrictions and regulations based on past operations which do not apply to the same extent under improved trade conditions.

Mr. Chapple points out that every effort must be made to obtain the greater measure of elasticity which will be needed to enable road passenger operations to expand to meet the added demand which may be confidently looked forward to.

No Need for Concern for Efficient Undertakings says Mr. J. H. Watts.

There is, in the opinion of Mr. J. H. Watts, managing director of Red and White Services, Ltd., no need for concern for the future of efficiently runroad 'passenger undertakings. Since the passing of the 1930 Act the tendency of the smaller concerns to be absorbed by the larger has been the natural order of things, and it forms the only possibility of expansion for the latter. For increased prosperity, he thinks that companies operating road passenger transport should turn their attention more to progressive economy on the expenditure side, rather than to greatly increased revenue. The popularity of the ligh't car and cycle has made inroads into the stagecarriage receipts during the past few years, which has only been counteracted by the discontinuation of a lot of redundant miles which were operated by all companies prior to the Act.

The express-carriage operators had to find their level, and found it they have, or nearly so. You cannot put six machines where there should really be one and expect to make them all pay. Absorption -and coordination have done a lot during the past year or so to adjust this, but there is still a little more to be done. The field for express-carriage operation is, according to Mr. Watts, essential but limited and, no doubt, when this limited day arrives, an express-carriage ticket taken out on the coach will be available for return on the rail, and vice versa. The bad old days (as he has heard them referred to) of road-passenger vehicle operation had their thrills, and perhaps caused operators many sleepless nights, but there are still other difficulties to-day, and will be in the future, only of another kind.

A higher standard of operation is required at a lower cost of operation per mile. This alone should keep all operators busy and prevent them from resting on their laurels, even if they have the tendency to do so.

Mr. E. H. Edwardes Calls for Cheap and Safe Transport.

Mr. E. H. Edwardes, A.M.I.E.E., M.Inst.T., managing director, The Lancashire United Transport and Power Co., Ltd., refers to this subject as one that is being closely considered by all who are responsible for the control of passenger road transport. The problem of road transport of passengers is becoming more and

more important every day. The transport authorities in all cities, large and small, are faced with the responsibility of conveying their working inhabitants to and from suburban districts and the town centres where the various workshops, etc., are situated, thus involving, in numerous instances, many miles of daily travel. Consequently, the bread-winner is faced with the fact that his weekly travelling expenses have increased a hundredfold. It is little consolation to the worker, therefore, to increase his weekly income if such increase is automatically absorbed in travelling expenses.

Mr. Edwards did not wish to discuss the advantage or disadvantages of the three forms of road transport, viz., tramcar, trolleybus and bus, but is definitely of the opinion, and has expressed it on more than one occasion, that all three have their use, but there is room for improvement in each class. Until something better turns up, therefore, they will be with us for some years. The all-important points to consider in connection with road transport are reliability, safety and comfort, coupled with cheapness. The first three are well in hand, but what of the qnestion of cheapness?

The future road vehicle for the masses will be the one that can carry the passengers at the lowest fare compatible with safety, and this can only be accomplished by low running costs and a reduction in taxation. The running costs of recognized transport authorities in this country vary to a most extraordinary extent, and he is of the opinion that in the not-very-distant future all road transport must be controlled in the same manner as the electricity industry, i.e., the most economical systems to continue operating, the inefficient systems to be closed down.

Mr. A. Gray Believes in the Absorption of Small Operators.

That any thought regarding the future of road travel makes one feel inclined to do a little crystal gazing, owing to the rapid advance that has taken place during the past few years, is one comment of Mr. A. Gray,

general manager of the Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd. Transport companies, after feeling assured that their traffic routes have been consolidated, naturally turn their attentionto development, but where can they turn? Who is there that can find a new traffic route to-day? All those routes that have traffic significance are usually served by a number of separate operators, with resultant overlapping and wastefulness. This brings to his mind ari application which his company made, and within 14 days -it received 92 objections from other operators. This mass formation of separate operators reminds• him of the local authorities, when they had the power to

c34

hand out licences a.' they thought good andY proper. When the day came that they had to hand over these families of operators to the Traffic Commissioners, the Commissioners realized that they had their hands full, and we all know the view they took in trying to prevent the living being taken away from anyone, so long as he would conform to the conditions of his licence.

Mr. Gray is firmly of the opinion that the total number of motorbuses owned by• the numerous operators ou the road could be substantially reduced, and the travelling public would have a reliable and sufficient service to meet their requirements. This can only be brought about by the larger companies purchasing small concerns, and, looking ahead, he can see many more small operators receiving reasonable compensation for handing over their businesses to a larger concern. Also there is the removal from the roads of a large number of buses to be replaced by modern stock. He can also visualize the employees taken over by the large companies enjoying holidays with pay, receiving higher rates and working shorter hours. These improved conditions should result in making the roads safer.

Summing up the future of road travel, according to Mr. Gray, one can say that just as the railways have built up their permanent lines, the improvement that is taking place in roadways, the tightening up of supervision by the Traffic Commissioners, and the financial resources of the larger companies will all help further to consolidate the position of road transport.

"No Hesitation in Speculation," says Mr. R. Barr, a Protagonist of Independence.

"I should have no hesitation in making further speculation in road transport." This statement, by Mr. Robert Barr, the well-known Leeds road-transport operator, who controls R. Barr (Leeds), Ltd., and several other companies, indicates his confidence in the future of road mechanical transport.

"The railways have spent many thousands of pounds in objecting to the granting of road-service licences in

an effort to find out why their undertakings were not successful," says Mr. Barr. "As a result of the information gained, they have introduced new services, including many new excursions at uneconomic fares.

"By the operation of a large number of excursions the railways are overcrowding the main lines to such an extent that they are finding it necessary to bring back passengers during the early hours of the morning, and in an advanced state of fatigue.. This discomfort must react to the disadvantage of the railways, for passengers who have had to travel under such conditions are not likely often to repeat the experience."

Moreover, he considers that the road-transport industry, consisting, as it does, of a large number of young brains, is able to keep right up to date.

Another branch of the road-transport industry which has extremely bright hopes, in the view of Mr. Barr, is that concerned with extended coach tours. During the past few years this department has been built up to a fine state of organization and, as a result, the receipts n,re rising steadily and operators are looking forward optimistically to the future.

Furthermore, the prospects for the contract-carriage operator are encouraging. There are various reasons for such optimism, but one is of particular interest. With the clearance of slums and the strong tendency for town dwellers to move farther into the country, the advantages of the door-to-door service afforded by the contract carriage are becoming more marked.

This development has taken people farther away from stations, and the inconvenience of having to change vehicles, when travelling by rail, is placing the contractcarriage operator in a still more favourable position. Moreover, on Sunday mornings there are, in many provincial towns, no public transport facilities, so that the railways are placed still farther from the reach of residents in new districts.

Mr. Barr, who is a prominent member of association circles in Yorkshire and a staunch supporter of independent enterprise, regards monopolies as un-British, and remarks that, if a general strike were to occur, there would not be such loyalty to the Government by transport operators as in 1926, when monopolies were fewer.

He emphasizes the fact that the Government must take an unbiased view of road transport and remember the importance of the commercial-vehicle industry in connection with overseas trade. This remark applies, with particular force, to the oil engine, the development of which must not be stifled so early in its career by crippling taxation.

Mr. G. W. Hayter Considers That the Public Must Be Given the Means for Travel That It Prefers.

"One cannot help feeling that the future of passenger road transport will be governed almost entirely by the working of the Road Traffic Act Of 1930. It changed our whole conception of the industry, for by it the monopolistic conditions in transport prevailing before the introduction of the motorbus have been re-established.

"Co-operation between road and rail has taken the place of competition. What the result will be time alone will show, but so long as the industry remains in the hands of men with a full sense of their responsibility to the public. there is little danger of it getting into the moribund state of the railways 10 years ago." This is the aspect on the situation of passenger road transport put forward by Mr. G. W. Hayter, chief engineer of the Northern General Transport Co., Ltd.

In his opinion, it was nothing other than the stress of acute competition that has caused the motorbus to make greater progress in 10 years than the railways have made in 100 years. As long as the present generation, which served its apprenticeship in that hard world of competition, still holds sway, there is every hope of progress, but one may ask how will the coming generation, nurtured in the soul-destroying atmosphere of cooperation, which is only another way of describing a 'monopoly, meet competition when it arises,

Unless the public be served, it will find other means for travel. Already it is doing so; the bicycle has taken thousands of pounds away from the public service companies, and the light car will take more. Given a free hand, the leaders of the industry will meet and defeat this competition, but their hands must not be tied by bureaucratic restrictions that help neither the public nor the operator. Every facility for travel, by whatever means it prefers, must be given to the public by the transport companies and the Ministry of Transport authorities, otherwise it will not travel at all.

Mr. W. McKeag Believes the Public Will Suffer Through Fewer Independent Operators.

"I must confess that I do not approach the task of attempting to predict the future of road passenger transport with much enthusiasm. Certainly the experiences of the past three or four years do not tempt one to paint a very roseate picture. In saying this I have, of course, uppermost in my mind the paramount interest of the general public, and, quite frankly. I can only see scarce and dearer road-travel facilities for the public of this country. To me this seems to be the logical outcome of the process of eliminating competition which continues to proceed apace." This sums up the views of Mr. W. McKeag, M.P., well known as a keen protagonist of the road transport industry.

According to him, independent operator after independent operator either falls by the way, crushed under the burden of taxation and weighed down by the growing mass of restrictions and regulations, or, having grown weary of the incessant browbeating of railway companies and combines in the Commissioners Courts, sells out to a monopoly concern ; and so another nail is driven into the coffin of private enterprise.

In the Huddersfield district alone there were previous:y 35 independent operators; now only two survive. He has no doubt that there were too many, but the figures afford striking evidence of the magnitude of this process of elimination. For over three years this has been going on. and time after time a cry of more or less volume goes up from the people in the locality affected, that as soon as may be after the passing of the independent operator services have been curtailed and fares increased.

Full loads must be the rule, and frequency is cut down to ensure these, irrespective of the inconvenience caused to the general public. Such is the inevitable result of stifling competition.

Add to all this the fact that the railway companies have substantial holdings in the combine concerns. They in turn are bringing pressure to bear upon their associates, and the result is, and will increasingly be, a further curtailment of road services. Then when the monopoly is complete, the railways can afford to resume their erstwhile somnolence and gone will be the travelling concessions of recent times.

The inevitability of gradualness! The view that Mr.. McKeag takes, although he is no Socialist, is that if a monopoly is to be created by the interference of the State, then that monopoly should be operated not for private profit but for the benefit of the State.

In the meantime, he would urge all independent operators who have withstood the siege since 1930 to continue to hold out and resist the blandishments of the combines. As Britain regains prosperity, so will the value of their services increase. They built them up; they should reap the benefit.

Mr. McKeag has often been chided for saying that recent legislation was pro-railway. Well, listen to Mr. Oliver Stanley, the present Minister of Labour and Mr. Hore-Belisha's immediate predecessor, speaking in the House of Commons on -The Depressed Areas .Bill, on December 14:— "There was a happy time in this country when we thought that transport should be self-supporting and that it would finance its own development out of its own revenue. I am not sure that that is a bad state of things to try to re-establish. In the past eighteen months, partly as the result of the general policy of the Government, and partly as a result of the Road and Rail Traffic Act; we have restored to the railways, I will not say prosperity, but a considerable advance upon the condition of two years ago."—Verb. sap.

Varied Views by Mr. R. F. Dixon, Who Suggests Possible Control by One or More Monopolies.

A somewhat gloomy view is taken by Mr. R. F. Dixon, M.Inst.T., General Manager of City of Oxford Motor Services, Ltd., who suggests that the general trend is for passenger road transport gradually to drift into the hands of the larger operators, and it may eventually be controlled by one or more large monopolies to the final extinction of the smaller operators. The country would then be divided into groups controlled from a central organization on the lines of London Transport which might eventually lead to nationalization of all transport.

No one will dispute that road transport is now firmly established, especially the stagecarriage side of it, due to its greater elasticity as compared with the rigidity of rail travel, and will expand in cities and towns as their suburbs develop.

In regard to long-distance services, Mr. Dixon believes that there will always be a demand during the summer months, in view of the fact that with the co-ordination and amalgamation of long-distance operators, and the introduction of the oil engine, passengers can be carried to their destinations at very reasonable fares without any undue changing and waiting for connections.

Since the recent cut in railway fares and those of the road operators to compete against them, it is a question whether the latter can make sufficient profit during the sufruner to run their coaches during the winter months. The ■ tendency in this direction is rather to reduce than to expand services.

Mr. J. H. Ewer says We Must Go Forward, Not Backward.

Mr. 5, H. Ewer, Managing Director, George Ewer and Co., Ltd., believes that there is a future for a limited few express operators. It will obviously be a case of the survival of the fittest, with a few exceptions where the purse is long enough.

In his view it is futile for any concern to hold its own unless it is prepared to acquire and go forward. There is no room for anyone in the industry just to mark time. It is go forward or go backward, and the latter can be done much quicker and easier than is realized by many. Our particular trade to-day is undoubtedly a gamble in many respects, and although we can shape our destiny so far aS is within our power, he admits that, to a very great extent, the future is in the lap of the gods.

It is necessary to acquire competing interests, not merely to enlarge and extend our own activities but to protect what is already held, which is so often affected c36 • by the acquisition, under certain conditions, unless we have participated in this . .

The smaller operators are undoubtedly suffering a lingering death and, in many cases, it is fitting and right that they should be paid out and riot squeezed out, if this can be arranged with equity to all concerned.

The small operators to-day cannot command the confidence of the public or the patronage of the agent. They cannot maintain sufficient organization to serve what is undoubtedly a specialized trade. .

The traffic that is available, owing to cheaper rail fares and general restriction, has diminished greatly and is, in the opinion of Mr. Ewer, not yet down to bottom.. There will be insufficient traffic in the future for all existing operators. Some must inevitably fall by the wayside unless, as previously mentioned, they get some consideration from the larger operators.

There is a great number of cases where acquisition isboth possible and desirable, but it cannot come to for fear that a satisfactory transfer may not be possible. This, in many cases, is unfortunate. It deprives the small owner of the consideration he could receive for his goodwill, and keeps on the road less efficient services through lack of capital and enterprise, than could be otherwise run by the larger operator. , Further, this deprives the large operator of a means for making his existing services more efficient and lucrative..

Mr. Ewer asks all operators to play their part in suppressing unnecessary services, for a consideration to be shared between all the parties interested, and let the small man go out satisfied that he has had a square deal with equity to all concerned.

It is necessary for all operators to realize that they must not depend upon the fact of licence protection for securing a fair volume of traffic. They must not take advantage of the monopoly they have been given by offering less-efficient services. .

It is a great fault to offer inefficient service. It is hainfful to the industry as a whole as well as the operator concerned, because his passenger to-day may be some other operator's passen ger to-morrow. He may have carried a pa..ssenger score of times and given .satisfaction, but if a passenger be let down once he will make tip his mind to travel by rail next time.

This must not be allowed to occur. There must be no risk of failure to give satisfaction. The industry can ill afford to lose even one passenger. .

Mr. Ewer has kept in personal touch with all matters throughout the history of his company. Particularly has he made it his business to mix with waiting pas sengers and to hear their complaints or compliments, thus creating a public confidence in his company's organization of which he is duly proud.

His company is undoubtedly to-day one of the foremost outside the road-rail combine and Mr. Ewer claims that it probably carries more traffic per coach than any other long-distance operator in thecourse of a year. His company is optimistic regarding the future, but it 'cannot relax its efforts still further to consolidate its position, if it is to go forward, which, as he has already suggested, is the alternative to going backward and to the wall.