AN IDEAL TYPE 01 IR COACH STATION.
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Why Stations May Be Required : Where 1 ,! Situated : How They Should Be Designed.
LAST YEAR there was a considerable increase in the number of motor coaches in service, but, during the forthcoming season, the increase is expected to be even greater than that which occurred in the previous year ; in fact, one estimate puts the total number oamotor coaches expected to be in service in the simmer at 15,000.
Even last season a considerable amount of difficulty was experienced by the proprietors owing to interference by the police and from petty restrictions imposed by some of the local bigwigs. A few of these restrictions are admittedly justified, but others are certainly aiot so; in any case, these restrictions will probably become even more severe as the number ofcoaches increases and, in certain places where charsh-banes are particularly numerous, it is quite probable that they will be debarred from stopping in the streets or squares in order to pick up or set down their complements of passengers.
At Bournemouth, for instance, the coaches are allowed into the main square for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, but, not. satisfied with this restriction, some members of the council have been agitating for a reduction of this time to 10 minutes, in spite of the fact that it would be palpably abaurd to expect the whole of the motor coaches to unload and refill with passengers, who, incidentally, have, in many cases, to be tempted into taking trips; all within such a short space of time In order to meet the difficulty, a, concern at Blackpool is taking the bull by the horns and inaugurating a motor coach station, and the description of this, whiah appeared in our issue of last week, has aroused so much interest, especially amongst char-iaba.ncs owners and municipal authorities, that we feel that the subject of motor coach stations deserves amplification, as the establishment of these stations would appear to present a solution of the present difficulty. There are many arguments for the centralization of motor coach traffic and few against it. Taking any of the large seaside resorts which are recognized centres of the motor coach business, the visitor at any one of these must., if hetwishes to indulge in a motor coach trip to any particular place, wander about the square and promenade or other places where the motor coaches congregate and there endeavour to find a, vehicle which is going to the particular place he wishes to visit. Now, the average seaside visitor is not an energetic person and does not wish to be one, and, unless things are made quite easy for him, he will not go out of his way to meet them, but : will probably settle matters to his., own satisfaction by reclining at his ease on the beach ; if, however, he knows that by going to al particular point, viz., the motor coach station, and asking at the inquiry office for the routes, destinations, and times of departure of the various coaches, and there be able to obtain an immediate and satisfactory answer, he would be far more likely to look upon his proposed trip from a more favourable aspect ; also. he would not be harassed by the certainly objectionable touting which is prevalent in certain districts and which is likely to bring the motor coach into disrepute if continued.
The question of the situation of any particular station depends entirely upon the. sites available. Where a hundred or more coaches have, to be catered for at any particular moment, the station will have to be of considerable size and, probably, the choice of suitable sites will be somewhat limited. In any case, the station must not be far away from the centre of the town, otherwise its purpose as a useful adjunct to the motor coach services will not be served. At the same time, it must not be in any way cramped, as over-congestion of the vehicles would mean delays and -consequent irritation to owners, drivers, and, last but not least, to the passengers.
What form the station must take depends upon the circumstances, and upon the shape of any suitable Da site available, but, in any case, the station will have to make provision for the comfort of the passengers, the garaging of a considerable eumber of motor coaches for indefinite periods, and the supply of petrol, lubricating oil, carbide, water, and any other essentials ; it will also be necessary to provide a restroom and canteen as well as lavatories for the drivers and conductors whilst they arewaiting, and, where possible, facilities should be provided for undertaking small running repairs, an inspection pit being a useful adjunct to this section. As a guide to those interested in this subject, we publish two designs of motor coach stations which may serve as a working basis. These have been prepared by an engineer who has had considerable experience in the control and operation of large fleets of motor eaaches. It will be seen that so far as the various departments of these stations are concerned,
they are practically identical, the two varying only in the disposition of these departments and the method of parking the vehicles. We .would particularly emphasize the fact that these plans are not for stations of any particurar size, and they must be modified accordingly for the number of vehicles with which it is proposed to deal.
Dealing with the first, it will be seen that all the buildings, with the exception of the office for tile garage foreman and checking-in clerk, are concentrated into one part of the station. At the front is a, platform some 3 ft. 6 ins, in height, 8 ft. wide, and sufficiently long to allow for the loading or unloading of at least three coaches simultaneously. This would call for a total platform length of approximately 75 ft. Behind this platform is a block of buildings comprising a cafe, cloakrooms, and lavatories for ladies and gentlemen, and the offices
for enquiries, the station manager, secretary and clerical staff. Behind this again are the,petrol and oil stores, drivers' canteen and rest-room, fitters' shop and running repairs shop with its inspection pit.
The petrol and oil stores should be provided with kerb-side type petrol pumps and portable lubricating oil tanks complete with pumps. A passage leads from the main offices to the oil stores and other parts, and communication is ensured between the café and drivers' canteen. The fitters' shop, inspe,ction pit, and petrol stores are on the ground level, whereaa the other departments are on a level with the platform.
The booking-office is situated at the approach end of the platform, a special entrance being provided for the public as close as possible to this point, and a shelter or rest-room being built for the convenience of those waiting to book or for friends to meet before doing so. Vide steps lead up to the platform.
The station is so arranged that the vehicles all progress in an anti-clockwise direction. A char-ha banes arriving at the station with a lead from another destination would proceed straight to the pladorm where it would unload its ccinpleanent of passengers, and, if it is going to make another journey, it would then be given a berth number, and would proceed round the park until it reached its berth, into which it would be backed, except in the case of those vehicles stationed in rows, when it would drive straight into its allotted place, the driver and conductor retiring to the drivers' rest-room and canteen until Such time as they would again he required; this time having arrived, the driver would be warned from the general office and he would take his roach round in the same direction as before, possibly taking in petrol on the way, pick -up his passengers at the platform and then drive straight out.
A char-à-bancs entering the station to obtain passengers for other destinations would merely pick these up and go straight out. It is important to allow sufficient room within the station for loaded orunloaded vehicles to wait their turn at the platform, as otherwise congestion might occur at or near the entrance, to which, if the entrance were situated in a thoroughfare, the police might take strong exception. It will be noted that, in practically every ease, the vehicles are so positioned that any particular machine can be driven out without disturbing others. It will he advisable to provide kerbs so that, when backing a, coach into position, the rear wheels would go up against these before any damage could be done to the rear of the body.
We will now deal with the alternative plan. This, as will be seen, leaves practically the whole of the centre portion of the station free for the parking of the vehicles, the offices, etc., being positioned at the side, • with the exception of that of the garage foreman and checking clerk. One of the .advantages of this design is that the entry and exit are combined. It is therefore an easy matter to keep s, check on all the machines. Also,'the public need•never enter the space devoted to the vehicles, except when they are actually travelling in them, and any risk of :vehicles running into them is thus obviated. As shown in the plan, passengers enter or leave by way of a waitingroom, which can be made • a convenient rendezvous for families and parties. This waiting-room is on the same level as the platform, and the booking-office is conveniently situated next to it. The cafe, lavatories, offices, etc., are, in thennain, disposed as in the previousiplan, but the fitters' shop, stores and running repairs shop are situated on. the right, so that any vehicle requiring attention can turn into the running repairs shop immediately after unloading its passengers.
The petrol and oil stores are situated on the extreme right., and behind these is the drivers' canteen and rest-room, 'a lavatory for the drivers being also embodied. The office of the garage foreman is
connected by telephone to the general offices and to the drivers' canteen, so that the drivers can be warned when they are to go on. duty. It will be noted that the vehicles, in this instance, all move in a clockwise direction. A vehicle arriving for loading would drive straight in and up to the platform and, after obtaining its passengers, would then -complete its tour of the station and go out atthe same door, whilst coaches bringing passengers from other parts would drive in, deposit their passengers and park up, according to the numbers of the berths allotted to them.
It is impOssible in these general Oar-, , to go into the dimensions of the cafe, waiting-room, etc., nor is it necessary, but these should be large enough to cater for a considerable number of people, In fine weather, it is hardly likely that passengers arriving would want to do more than wash and then make for the places of interest in the town, but, in showery weather, it is quite possible that a considerable number of people might gather in the waiting-room and cafe until the weather had improved, and it must be remembered that, as the average motor coach carries some 28 persons, it would not require many coach load* to form a crowd of fairly large proportions.
Whatever design of station is adopted, everything possible should be done to make the way clear for the passengers or intending passengers, and a clock
indicator, similar to those used -on some of our main line railway termini, would be of the utmost assist: ance. Such items of information as the times of departure of the various coaches could be given, and a device of this nature would do much to relieve the inquiry office of considerable work.
In the selection of sites for motor coach stations considerable attention should be paid to the type of soil. It must be remembered that the loaded motor coach i . fairly heavy vehicle, and, if the soil be soft, the park may require the expenditure of a considerable amount of time, labour and material in order to make it suitable to carry the loads imposed by a considerable number of vehicles. The actual surfacing would probably consist of asphalte or concrete laid on a substantial foundation and constructed so that the drainage could be efficiently carried out.
It will be noted that, up to the present, we have only dealt with the actual motor coach termini, but it is quite possible that the scheme may extend to places en route, although, naturally, on a much smaller scale. At present, one often sees the wayside inn surrounded by motor coaches, and the enterprising proprietor may find it to his advantage to .arrange a si.naple landing-stage for the passengers and a suitable parking ground for the vehicles. At Places to which sightseers fleck, the hotels might combine to build a small station.