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Promising Futuri 'or Bus Operators

8th June 1956, Page 58
8th June 1956
Page 58
Page 59
Page 58, 8th June 1956 — Promising Futuri 'or Bus Operators
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Traffic Losses Not So Great as Imagined : Television. Most Serious Threat : Future Largely Dependent on Lower Costs

AHOPEFUL view of the future of passenger road transport in Britain was -presented before the Institute of Transport Congress at Southport, on Wednesday, by Mr. T. Robert Williams, M.A.(Cantab.), LL.B.(Lond.), M.Inst.T., an executive of the British Electric Traction Co., Ltd.

Although he agreed that the industry would be affected by private transport. television, railway modernization, mobile shops and the development of new suburban shopping centres, it was his opinion that the effect would not be in the way, nor to the degree, that other speakers and writers had suggested. Television he saw as the most serious threat.

Lower Operating Costs

On the positive side, Mr. Williams forecast substantial reductions in operating costs through lighter and largercapacity vehicles, one-man operation, crush-loaders, the removal of speed limits, and the improvement of roads.

Introducing his paper, "The Future of Passenger Road Transport," he said it was concerned principally with the provincial operator.

Dealing with cycles and motorized cycles, he said the competition they provided might not be without its blessing. Their use indirectly eased the bus operator's worries in the peak periods, but there was a tendency not to employ them in bad weather and, at such timcs, the operator had to cater for abnormal loadings in the peaks.

In off-peak periods, the cycle was a disadvantage to its owner if he was married with children. It did not provide family transport and, consequently, more often than not the bus was used for both pleasure. and shopping.

Mr. Williams said that opinions on the competition of the private car differed widely, but to a large degree the conclusions that had been drawn in relation to itseffect on passenger road transport in the future had been highly coloured by events in North America. He suggested that that experience was not an indication of what was likely to be the position in this country.

Different Economy

The fundamental economies of the U.S.A. and of Canada were entirely different from those of this country. As practically self-supporting countries, they could fully sustain a progressive increase in real wages and a consequential fairly rapid rise in living standards.

Because of Britain's heavy dependency on imports and exports, it was most unlikely that this country's progress to a higher standard of living could ever compare in its speed or degree with that which had recently been experienced in North America, or with that which was likely to occur in the future.

In North America, the financing of the purchase of a car was an easy D4 matter, and thc terms were such that the majority of the population could afford to buy one. By reason of the historic background of the U.S.A., the main indication of status was the outward display of wealth, and the ownership of the latest and most expensive car was a natural facet. In Britain, the use of public transport by all classes was in the natural order of things.

The geographical nature of North America was partly responsible for making individual transport a natural thing. In this country, the public service vehicle was part of our life and upbringing.

He was convinced that the ownership of private cars in the future would not increase to anything like the same extent as it had in North America. He was equally convinced that the competition of the car in Britain would be far less severe.

Another factor which had played a part in producing the heavy loss in traffic in public passenger road transport in North America was the flat-rate fare system.

Whilst this had great attractions before the war, the higher operating costs and the change in the value of money had led to successive increases until, generally, flat fares were approaching some 20 cents, or is. 6d. Most North American operators wished they had not adopted the flat-fare system, but they felt it was impossible to change.

In this country, with fares dependent on the distance travelled, operators had been able to retain the majority of their short-distance passengers. The average fare paid, including both short-distance stage and long-distance express services, was about 5d., which emphasized the great volume of short-distance traffic. It was from that that there stemmed the major difference of the attraction of bus services in this country, compared with No parallel could be drawn for Britain from the happenings in North America. In this country, public transport, catering as well as it did for the short-distance rider, would be well patronized by car owners as they found it more difficult to park in the centre of towns.

"A lesson to be drawn from the American experience is that the minimum fare on any service should be kept down to the lowest figure consistent with overall operating costs and vehicle loadings," went on Mr. Williams. "This ' catch ' traffic can make all the difference between profit and loss."

He dismissed as " minor " the effect of mobile shops.

Television was a different problem, and one which in many respects could prove to be the most severe competitive attraction. Unfortunately, its effects

were felt at off-peak times, when every passenger was a much-sought-after customer.

Looking back to the early days of sound radio, it was possible to find some solace in the fact that television was still a novelty., It would not be unreasonable to forecast that when the novelty had worn off, additional .travel in the evenings might well return in a large degree.

At the present time, it was clear that the viewing audience in summer was smaller than in winter, and it would be contrary to human nature and the attitude to life generally in this country if people in summer did not wish to be in the open air rather than indoors.

Effect Not So Serious

"This might well have the effect of accentuating the seasonal nature of operation of some companies, and of causing other companies which, by and large, are not materially affected by the season of the year, to become somewhat seasonal," Mr. Williams said. Whilst television must have an adverse effect on traffic, it might not be so serious as many people thought.

He could not imagine the railway, modernization plan having a material influence on competition with the public service vehicle over journeys of up to 10 miles. The advantages of door-to-door transport over a short distance offered by the bus were too great to be outweighed even by speedier rail travel, which, in any event, was difficult to achieve over short distances. The road operator might suffer from speedier and more frequent rail services on medium-distance travel of, say, 50 miles.

But there were three considerations which would weigh heavily with the would-be rail passenger. The higher speed must show an advantage over the door-to-door journey time by road; fares would have to be somewhere about the same level; and there was the natural desire of the traveller to see the towns and countryside through . which he was passing, something he saw in greater detail and with more intimacy by road.

Subject to the third consideration faster and more frequent rail services at comparable, or even higher, fares would undoubtedly attract traffic on long-distance journeys, but road services over tong distances were but a minor facet of the industry Intensified rail competition could not affect the fundamental structure cm economy of the bus industry Indeed. the modernization programme might well divert to the road an appreciable amount of short-distance traffic now carried by rail.

Much of that traffic would not be lucrative in itself, but if it augmented the revenue of existing unremunerative road services it would benefit the road operator. It would also benefit the public, because that additional revenue might enable a road service which would otherwise have had to be abandoned to continue to operate.

The future of passenger road transport lay to a large degree in economies still to be achieved in operation. The introduction of the single-deck vehicle with the larger seating capacity should result in the saving of buses and crews at peak periods. When all were of that type, the saving on 100 vehicles should be at least 10-15 per cent of that number, which, at a conservative estimate of the money saved, would be large in respect of the profit margin of aft undertaking.

Cheapness from Automation

Automation in the process of chassis manufacture and, to a lesser degree, in bodybuilding, would appear to be highly probable in the future, and with it should come a reduced cost for the vehicle. The use of non-traditional materials in manufacture, particularly of bodies, appeared to be growing apace, with a corresponding reduction in costs. Plastics mouldings and fibre. glass panels contributed to lower cost.

Another avenue so far not fully explored in this country, whereby substantial economies could be effected, was the use of one-man-operated buses Experience had shown that these were suitable for many rural services, but not for town work. It was, however, believed that they could be operated on town services if an appropriate farecollection system could be devised.

A flat fare was unacceptable, hence fares would vary in amount, and the driver-conductor must ensure that he was paid different amounts for different lengths of ride. It was difficult for him to check whether or not a passenger was over-riding. Mr. Williams was not aware of a proved satisfactory method of solving this problem, but a ticket-issuing machine which, being set by the driver for each stage, would be operated by the passenger pressing a key for his destination, and one for the type of passenger, might be developed.

On the insertion of the correct coin or coins by the passenger, the machine could issue a ticket of a specific colour, or obvious marking, for each fare from that stage, a change-giving device being incorporated. On leaving the bus, the passenger 'would have to present his iicket to the driver, who would see immediately whether or not the passenger had over-ridden.

It was fairly certain that crushloaders would be unpopular except in industrial areas. The extent to which that design of vehicle could be intro duced depended in large degree on the preparation of the public mind beforehand to convince travellers that they were not being exploited by the operator, but that it was the cheapest and best form of travel in the circumstances. Probably, the experimental introduction of such vehicles would cause difficulties unless all the buses on the route were of the same type.

Whatever might have been the views of operators in the past on the provision of queue shelters, it was now fairly clear that they attracted passengers to bus travel and promoted goodwill, Money spent on shelters would assist in retaining bus traffic over the years.

"Undoubtedly, in relation to the attraction of traffic, or even the reten. tion of existing traffic, more thought needs to be paid to the comfort in which the passenger rides," Mr. Williams went on.

Whilst in many ways the modern bus was more comfortable than the average private car, it lacked provisions which enabled it to be kept at a comfortable temperature irrespective of outside weather conditions. Apparatus both for heating and ventilation, as well as doors at entrances and exits, were needed. The comments of passengers who travelled in comfort in heated vehicles and later in unheated buses had to be heard to be appreciated.

The 8-ft.-wide vehicle enabled seats to be provided in comfort. Even on buses operating the shortest distances, ample luggage racks, suitably placed so that articles on them were visible, were desirable. With regard to fare collection, the present maximum dimensions of the public service vehicle could still be improved. Most operators agreed that there was a much greater tendency for fares to be missed on double-deckers than on single-deck buses. And older or incapacitated people, who disliked mounting to the upper deck of a doubledecker, often avoided travelling in case there was no room in the lower saloon. The post-war enhanced acceleration of the bus had contributed to that dislike.

If it were possible to have a singledecker with a length of 35 ft. permitting eight extra seats, so that the total seating accommodation would be in the order of 52 persons-60 with eight standing—it might well be that operators would prefer single-deck buses to double-deckers.

Single-decker Safer Whilst it was conceded that the additional 5 ft. in length might cause difficulty at sharp corners in certain towns, that in itself was no reason why such vehicles should not be permitted, subject, if necessary, to specific restrictions by the Licensing Authorities on certain routes. The single-decker had much to commend it on safety grounds. On a single-deck bus, opening and closing the door could be a natural task for the driver Mr. Williams saw that with a return to normality in employment, the industry would be able to consolidate the goodwill which took such time and effort to build up.

Although the case for the abolition of the fuel tax was strong, he implied that if such a step was not forthcoming a fair solution would be to tax equally all oil fuel used in thii country. If that occurred, the tax would be about 41d. a gallon.

Direct Cause of Danger

There was no justification for prohibiting the public service vehicle from operating at the same speed as private cars. The driver operated to a timetable, which removed any incentive to continuous speed. The restriction of public service vehicles to 30 m.p.h. on the two-thirds of the total road mileage which was unrestricted to most other vehicles meant that their drivers must continually seek to overtake. Consequently, as many stretches of road were wide enough for only two opposing lines of traffic, that artificial restriction was a direct cause of danger.

Congestion caused by public service vehicles having to move unnecessarily slowly on unrestricted roads gave rise to irritation and frustration by drivers of following vehicles, often leading them to take unnecessary risks when overtaking.

The industry's future was bound up closely with what could be done with the roads.. But whatever the Government did in relation to the roads, it should ensure that no artificial obstacles would be set up against the free passage of public service vehicles.

Tags

Organisations: Congress
Locations: Southport

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