. SPEEDING-UP BUS SERVICES.
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r TN ITED AUTOMOBILE SKR
VICES, LTD.," whose head offices are. at Lowestoft, and whose motorbus ramifications extend to several parts of the country, have recently brought a new motorbus time-table into operation in the Northumberland district, the • occasion coinciding with the substitution of a number of comparatively Slow vehicles by new express buses shod with pneumatic tyres., Previous to regular work being found for the vehicles, the mayor, mernbefa of the corporation, and other public men i of Blyth were invited to nspect the buses n the Post Office Square. This they were most pleased to do, and the. sssembly of officials was particularly struck by the attractive and wellbalanced appearance of the vehicles, and subsequently partook in a trial Sun to
• Whitley Bay and back, a trip in which members of the general public were also invited to participate, for which purpose four out of six buses were set aside. During this demonstration run the comfort and smooth running. of the buses
• were freely commented upon.
Many of the vehicles hitherto serving the districts in Northumberland have been of a comparatively slow type fitted with solid tyres, but express pneumatictyred vehicles are now being put -into operation on the following routes
mythCramlington-Newcastle. • Blyth-Seaton Delairal-North Shields. .Blyth-Seaton Sluice-Whitley; Bay. Segbill-North Shields.
Whitley Bay-North Shields.
Ten new vehicles have been put into service, and these are operating from the company's depot at Blyth. They consist of thelatest saloon-type coach bodies fitted on Daimler chassis. The bodies are the product of the company's coach factory at Lowestoft, and they provide extremely comfortable riding. The Sops of the vehicles are so constructed that, during the summer months, they can be detached and Cape-cart hoods, which can• readily be brought into use, substituted in their places.
All the vehicles are of the finut-. entrance type, the doors being under the control of the driver; apart front the
T IS GENERALLY agreed that, so
far as' motor coach design is concerned, tbe tendency is to favour the smaller type of vehicle, but, in the case of the motorbus, there is a decided move in the direction of vehicles of greater seating capacityFor certain classes of service, and notably in small towns and villages in rural areas far removed from large industrial centres, the pneumatictreed single-decker is ideally suited but for general all-round inter-tewn suburban service the double-decker is the most serviceable and remunerative type of vehicle.
The earliest type of double-decker was extremely limited in the matter of seating capacity, and, so far as London
fact that -this makel for an extremely safe entrance,it also avoids the dust nuisance which is prevalent when an -open-type entrance is used. Each of the vehicles is fitted with an emergency exit in the rear-body panel.
The -United saloon buses would appear to he some of the smartest in pro A.-insist service, and the public in the Blyth districts are very loud in their appreciation of the up-to--date and comfortable facilities which they •provide.
It it interesting to note that, continu lug their programme of progress and expansion, the company will shortly be providing many additional buss of this type in the various distriete. in .which their vehicles operate. To meet ;---these requirements, the output of the coach factory is at present taxed to its utmost, is concerned {and the Metropolis sets the fashion in transport matters of this. description), they carried less than half the number of people who could he seated on a double-deck tramca-r. As a matterof fact, the tramcar has been responsible in nosmall degree for the development of the large-capacity bus. although growing traffic demands have eXerted the greatest influence.
The need for vehicles of large seating , capacity has been accentuated by the tendency of the populations of large "cities and towns to migrate farther from their centres to the suburbs. Many of these districts are virtually untapped • by tramway services, and, although in some provincial centres extensions of the existing tracks have been carried out, motorbuses in increasing numbers are being utilized for linking-up tramway dead-ends with these new centres of population. It is this wholesale migration to the suburbs which has created a traffic problem bristling with difficulties. In London, where the problem is most acute, the provision of three different forms of passenger transport has effected
partial solution, and it is worth noting that in meeting, and overcoming, the difficultie,s the authorities who minister to the wants of the travelling public' have seen fit to make use of vehicles possessing a larger carrying capacity.. The latest types of London buses now seat 60 per cent, more passengers than. their prototypes of five or six years ago.•.;
In provincial areas the small-capacity, bus certainly has its advantages, but its use is strictly limited to country services for linking-up straggling villages through which the vehicles owned by the larger operating companies may only pass at infrequent intervals. For dealing with the traffic of a town of moderate size during the rush hours the large-capacity unit is essential for the comfort and convenience of passengers.
The Problem of the Peak Load.
Bus-operating companies, we know, are faced with the difficulty of dealing with light and heavy traffic during certain hours of the day and at " rush " periods, and, no doubt, th& best solution of the problem is to be found in the employment of large and small-capacity buses when the traffic offering is high and low respectively. In some cases this method is adopted, but it involves conaiderable capital outlay and is thus beyond the reach of the smaller companies. It is quite certain that the small unit cannot possibly cope with heavy traffic demands, and we are, therefore, forced to consider the merifi of the large. capacitybus.
The double-deck vehicle was at one time generally regarded as unsafe for use on country roads, and its employment was more or less confined to London. Prejudice against the doubledecker. for provincial tnse is, however, dying down, and in all parts of the ;country ,vehicles of equal and, in some cases, greater seating capacity than those in London are in regular daily. service.
Such a vehicle is. that which the Coventry Corporation will shortly put into service. This bus, illustrations of which appear on this page, comprises a Mandalay chassis and a 58-seater body produced in the works of the Hickman Tasdy Building Co., Ltd., 3, Grove Road, Balharn High Road, London, S.W. 12.
Of course it is only possible to carry such a large number of passengers in absolute comfort within the compass of a. vehicle of more or lees average wheelbase by using a forward-dash type of chassis, for it enables much space ordinarily occupied by engine bonnet, and driver's cab to be used in the build of the body itself. In the ,Hickman body 28 passengers are carried in the interior compartment, which is 16 ft. 10 ins, long and 6 ft. 10 ins. wide, the width of the body over the pillars being 7 ft. It will thus be seen that the maximum seating space is secured, a feature for which the special method of framing up and trussing, as -well as the patent method, of forming and reinforcing all joints throughout the framing, are responsible.
This method enables a relatively light body to be used, apart from making for added strength in the superstructure. Theseats in both upper and lower decks are disposed in the conventional manner, transversely across the frame on each side of a central gangway, those in the interior being 34 ins long, as compared with 32L ins, on the upper deck, where the slight variation is brought about by the fact that the top deck is stepped-in slightly. This, by the way, is a feature of all Hickman doubledesk bus bodies. The space between seat back and seat back in every case is 2 ft. 4 ins., the width of the gangway being I ft. 3 ins. The top deck gives accommodation for 30 passengers, who, in bad weather, can obtain protection by the use of special aprons which are fitted. To give support to the roof four brass stanchions are fitted inside the body, these being k staggered to secure proper distribution of the Weight. They can be also used as grips by_etanding passengers. The seat cushions are well sprung and they are upholstered in good quality leather ; back squabs are also provided. With the Hickinau method of framingup an elbow rail, which gives bracing to the body panels, extends along each side, and it is upholstered at intervals to provide a comfortable reit, for the outside passenger on each seat. In other respects the body conforms to generally accepted practice, but throughout its design there is much evidence to indicate that considerable attention has been given to the question of comfort and convenience of passengers.
The overall length of the, vehicle is 25 ft.11..' ins., its overall height being 12 ft. 8,ins. the height to the level of the floorboards of the upper deck being
9 ft. 6 ins. Tbo wheelbase of the Maudslay chassis is 15 ft. 6 ins., the gross overhang being 7 ft. 6 in., of which 3 ft. 6 ins, is occupied by tho conductor's platform, so that it will thus be seen that the chassis only extends 2 ft. 14 ins. beyond the centre of tile front axle. The side lifeguards, with which the bus is equipped, are not set back, as is usual, but cover the full track of the rear svheels.
The bus is 'finished in the familiar colours of the ...Coventry Corporation tramcars, the city coat of arms being imprinted on the doors a the driver s cab, which is enclosed.