MUNICIPAL BUS FLEETS UP BY 17 PER CENT.
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There are now 2,500 More Municipally Operated Buses in Britain than in 1948. "The Commercial Motor" Analysis Reveals the Increases which Have Taken Place in the Past Year THIS year's analysis of municipally operated public service vehicles acquires a new significance in the light of the British Transport Commission's proposed schemes for the co-ordination of road passenger services in different parts of the country.
The figures published here have been collated by "The Commercial Motor," and a new item of this annual feature is a table giving an analysis of all municipal vehicles by makes and types. The total of vehicles can be seen to be over 17,000-a 17-per-cent. increase on the total for 1948, which was 7 per cent, greater than the 1947 total. Twentyfive per cent. of all buses and trolleybuses in Great Britain are run by municipalities. The grand total gives an indication of the degree to which fleets have been expanded since the war to meet the peak-load problem and the requirements of new housing estates.
Old Vehicles Not Yet Replaced There is, however, need for even more new vehicles to satisfy commitments which are becoming heavier every day. Moreover, the existence of 197 petrol-engined double-deckers suggests that old vehicles have not yet been replaced. Nevertheless, manufacturers have performed prodigious feats, for the number of vehicles on order has been reduced to about 2,500, as against 5,300 outstanding at the beginning of the year. Of the number on order at present, 1,124 are Daimler motorbuses and trolleybuses, 818 A.E.C., 760 Leyland, 456 Guy and 396 Crossley.
Examination of the table reveals that nearly a quarter of municipal vehicles are of Leyland manufacture, whilst A.E.C., Daimler, Guy and Crossley machines follow in that order of prominence. Sunbeam trolleybuses are the most popular, there being 625 of this make out of a total of 2,446. Thirty undertakings operate trolleybuses.
In the analysis that follows, the present fleet strength is indicated and, for comparison, last year's figures are given in brackets. The abbreviations " P " and " 0 " stand for petrol-engined and oil-engined vehicles respectively.