HOW MUNICIPAL SERVICES ARE FARING.
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Continuing Our Summarized Analysis of the Latest Available Passenger Transport Returns of the Most Prominent Municipal Authorities.
MANCHESTER CORPORATION.
NO motorbuses operate in the central area of Manchester, such vehicles being entirely used as feeders to the tramways system. Nevertheless, the authorities employ a fairly large fleet of buses and since the close of their financial year Mr March 31st last, when 51 vehicles were in service, have increased its size by the purchase of eight additional machines. Both double-deck and single-deck-buses are run, the makes at the end of the period covered by the latest report of Mr. Henry Mattinson, A.M.Inst.C.E., general manager and chief engineer, being A.D.O. (17), Bristol (6), Daimler (8), Karrier (18) and Vulcan (2).
Almost a year ago the buses were in use on routes vvitte a total mileage of 41, and in the 12 months with which we are now concerned covered 1,331,470 miles, the different journeys involving the transport of a total of 10,050.147 passengers. By way of comparison we might mention that the tramcars travelled an aggregate mileage of 22,567,759 and carried 317,644,753 passengers ; the number of cars in stock.was 892. Other statistics for the respective types of vehicle can best be set out in tabular form and are as follow :— Motorbuses. Tramcars.
Traffic revenue per vehicle-mile 13.796d. 18.9674. Working expenses per vehicle mile (including power cost) 12.9014. 14.8374. Percentage of working expenses to receipts ... 78.0 Average distance travelled for ld. ... .79 mile. 1.572 miles.
Average fare per mile ... ... 1.257d. .6364.
The total income from the buses was £76,534 and working expenses totalled 171,572, the debit side of the revenue account being increased to /76,718 by £1,591 for interest and £3,555 for depreciation. The revenue account for the tramways showed total income at 11,787,711 (19.0124. per carmile) and total working expenses at £1,395,192, the sum of £392,519, -representing the difference between the two amounts, being carried to the net revenue account. After crediting interest (bank, investments, etc) and otheritems and debiting interest on loans, rent of leased lines and income tax, this amount showed a balance of £241,393 to be carried to the appropriation account, where it WAS allocated as follows: sinking fund and loan instalments, £115,923; renewals account, £116,608; street improvements, interest and sinking fund, £8,862.
MIDDLESBROUGH CORPORATION.
AS we have recently intimated in our news columns the .Middlesbrough Corporation is purchasing a number of 26-seater one-man-operated buses to amplify it existing passenger-travel facilities. The new buses will be used on in-town services, and, if the result of their operation justifies the step, many others may be purchased at a later date. At the end of March of last year the authority had eleveu buses in stock, although the annual report of Mr.
Jeken, the general manager and engineer of the tramways department, covering a period to the end of that month, shows that only six vehicles were in use on an average throughout the year. The bus services maintained by the Middlesbrough Corporation include one to Seaton Carew, run in conjunction with the West Hartlepool Corporation, another run within the borough and a third which serves the villages of Marton, Nunthorpe, Ayton and Stokesley, a distance of 12 miles. The length of routes over which bus-running powers were exercised in March last was 21 miles, and in the year with which we are dealing the vehicles covered an aggregate mileage of 236,782, the total number of pa:Aengers carried being 1,236,082.
So far as the tramcars are concerned, the corporation had an average of 19 vehicles in service throughout the year. They travelled 707,425 miles and carried 11,151,038 passengers. The following form a selection from the average returns for motorbuses and tramcars :— MotorTram buses. cars.
Miles per day per vehicle in traffic... 125.20 108 Speed per hour in miles ... 9.91 7.28 Traffic revenue per vehicle-mile ... 13.394. 22.314. Working expenses per vehicle-mile (including power cost) ... 12.434. 15.224. Number of passengers per vehicle.
mile ... 5.22 15.76 Pare charged per mile 1.404. 1.234.
Fare paid per passenger 2.58d. 1.42d.
The total income from the buses was £13,761 and the total expenditure £12,271, thus leaving a profit of £1,490 to be carried to the net revenue account. So far as the tramcars were concerned, the total income was returned at £86,858 and the total expenditure at £44,884, the balance of £21,074 being transferred to the net revenue account.
MORECAMBE CORPORATION.
riiN March 31st, 1928, the municipal authorities at 3145re
cambe had seven buses in stock, and, according to statistics prepared by Mr. H. C Ludgate, the general manager of the tramways department, these vehicles carried 1,452,704 passengers in the year which ended on that date; the total mileage with which they were credited being 195,818. The traffic receipts from the buses totalled 110,950, certain other items increasing this amount to £11,177.. Under the heading of working costs £8,275 Was disbursed, whilst total expenses, including loan repayments, came to £9,821. Thus it will be seen that the result of the year's working of the buses was a net profit of £1,556. The actual percentage of working costs to total revenue was 74.03. In terms of "per bus-mile" the average total revenue was 13.704. and the average working costs 10.244.
The authorities instituted a bus service along the sea front in August. 1919. Although in possession Of only a small fleet, the Morecambe authorities appreciate the merits of passenger-carrying motor vehicles, and their recent pur• chase of several Guy rigid-frame six-wheelers is, in itself.
indicative of the progressive spirit with which the municipal legislators are imbued.
NELSON CORPORATION.
TT must surely be unusual for any municipal authority
to be in possession of the same number of buses and tramcars, but this was the ease at Nelson -when the local authority's last completed financial year closed on March 31st last. The actual number of eac-..type in stock was 11, although only an average of six buses and six tramcars was in use per day. It is not surprising, therefore, that some of the returns for each type of vehicle showed little variation as between one another, although any figure that was influenced by seating capacity was naturally affected, in so far as the average seating capacity of the tramcars was 55 as against 22 on the buses. For example, although the total mileage covered by the buses was only 3,733 less than that by the trams (189,709 as against 193,442), the number of passengers carried on the latter was considerably in excess of that for the former, being 3,049,216, as compared with 1,349,698.
In the year with which we are dealing the traffic receipts from the trams was -£18,529 and from the buses £10,027, the total receipts in respect of the formbeing £18,668 and of the latter £10,089. The total expenses incurred in working the tramways system were £13,434, whilst the buses were operated for an outlay of £8,778. Thus it will be seen that the gross profit on the trams was £5,234, and on the buses £1,311. After meeting interest and sinking fund charges the losses recorded were £1,745 and £745 respectively.
Reduced to a per-mile basis, the operating figures for trams and buses were as follow :—Trams : traffic revenue, 22.99d.; total revenue, 23.16d.; working expenses, 16.67d.; gross profit, 6.49d. Buses : traffic revenue, 12.668.; total revenue, 12.76d. ; working expenses, 11.10d.; gross profit, 1.66d. The ratio of operating expenses to receipts was 71.96 per cent, for trams and 87.00 per cent, for buses.
NEWPORT CORPORATION.
THIS authority possesses powers to run only two miles beyond the borough boundary, and its bus services arc, therefore, strictly inter-urban. The corporation inaugurated bus services in April, 1924, and at the end of March, 1926, eight motorbuses were in service, although since that time fleet augmentations have been made and 16 vehicles, all of Karrier make, are now in use.
According to the report of Mr. N. J. Young, the general manager of the electr'city and tramways department, for the year to March 31st last the total receipts from the buses amounted to £7,481, whereas working expenses totalled £7,437, the balance of £44 representing the gross profit on their operation. This sum was increased to 1219
by contribution in respect of a through-running agreement with the Cardiff Corporation. Charges in connection with interest and sinking fund totalled £1,503, so that the deficiency was 11,284. The income derived from bus fares was 17,416, and the number of passengers carried during the year was 888,303. The expenditure included the cost of converting all the buses to run on pneumatic tyres on detachable wheels. The average total revenue was 11.247d. per bus-mile and the average working expenses 11.181d. per bus-mile.
The population served by the tramways during the year with which we are dealing was close on 100,000. The total revenue from the tramcars was £111,917 and working expenses involved an outlay of £82,251, thus giving a gross Profit of £29,666, this sum being increased to £30,928 by adding accrued interest, etc. Out of this total, •charges for interest on loans (f12,760), sinking fund (£12,121) and. income tax (i2,201) had to be met, and after these deductions were made a balance of £3,846 remained. The tram
cars, of which 58 were in stock at the of the year, travelled 1,285,707 miles and carried 17,262,187 passengers, the corresponding figures . for the previous year being 1,262,498 miles and 16,440,299 passengers.