1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172 
Municipal Transport Tendencies
Page 83
Page 84
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE employment of motor vehicles and appliances by the municipalities of this country can now be looked upon as one of the brightest sides of the commercial-vehicle industry, which is being so troubled and restricted in other directions.
In general, the progress on the passengercarrying side has been more rapid and more sustained than that in connection with public cleansing. This is, perhaps, a natural sequence of economic depression. People must be transported and they demand comfort, and the results of providing smooth-running vehicles of good appearance is immediately reflected in the revenue obtained; whereas in such branches as refuse collection and street cleansing, systems which have been in existence for years have sometimes been retained to avoid capital expenditure. The situation is, however, also improving in these less conspicuous but highly important spheres. Powerdriven appliances are again beginning to make headway, on account of their better value 'from the hygienic point of view, their efficiency in respect of speed and the economy which they show on the ton-mileage basis.
Satisfactory Trolleybus Progress.
On the passenger side the progress of the trolleybus has been particularly satisfactory, nearly 16,000,000 more passengers having been carried on this type of vehicle, and although compared with last year there are only 25 more of these vehicles in operation, arrangements in hand show the importance of the developments which are occurring, whilst more and more tramway systems are being reduced or abandoned, eight having vanished in the course of the year.
On the bus side there was the comparatively small increase of 35 vehicles, and it must be remembered that whereas the trolleybuses number 538, municipal motorbuses total 5,714; the number of passengers on the bus side, however, increased by nearly 90,000,000. The importance of municipal passenger transport is shown by the fact that, taken as a percentage of the _ total volume of public-service vehicle traffic throughout the country, 22.46 of the passengers were carried in municipal vehicles.
Factors Affecting Bus Operation.
' The number of bus-operating concerns has been slightly reduced to 97, but this is partly due to a merger and partly to co-ordination agreements between municipalities and operating companies, by which the companies have taken over the vehicles and services and the municipalities share the profits. In other cases fleets have been sold outright to other operators. One of the most significant moves at present is the proposed merger in the Lancashire-Cheshire area involving capital valued at something like £10,000,000 and a large number of thickly populated areas in which, hitherto, the bus traffic of the individual municipalities has been restricted to comparatively small areas; a merger would give the important facility of enabling traffic routes to pass through as many of the places affected as was thought necessary. The small increase in the total number of municipal buses in operation must not be considered as indicative of the number bought during the year. The actual additional capital expended in this period, in connection with motorbuses, exceeded a million and a half pounds.
There was a slight reduction (.04d.) in the revenue earned per bus-mile, but as the working costs per mile increased by .18d. the combined effect was a reduction of over 3 per cent. in the gross profits; part of this may be put down to increases in fuel costs, etc. Progress in respect of fire-fighting equipment was, as is to be expected, somewhat slow, but, here again, there are signs of renewed activity and a tendency for the older and less-efficient pumps and other equipment to be replaced by up-to-date appliances designed to meet modern conditions.
• The Extending Scope of the Trolleybus
AA COMPARISON between our analysis of the ./.motorbus and trolleybus fleets of municipal undertakings contained in this issue and that published in our MunicipalNumber of a year ago reveals the crescendo of the popularity of the trolleybus. Many obsolete tramways have, of necessity, been continued in operation until the track and other equipment should become due for renewal, and it so happens that many renewals have recently become necessary, or will be falling due in the near future.
Traffic conditions which favoured the use of tramways—in particular, main routes in towns with heavy traffic, high frequency and considerable peak loads—are, in many cases, now best satisfied by the trolleybus, and, for this reason, 1 general extension in its use may be anticipated.
There is no question of the trolleybus ousting the motorbus from its strong position, for operating-cost figures show in unmistakable fashion that the fields of usefulness of the two types are distinct.
Where the overhead equipment is still good for some years of further duty, and the poles may be made strong enough to carry the additional wire, where also it is desired to reconstruct the road surface, but not, if possible, to disturb the output of the power station, the trolleybus is attractive.
Its accelerative, hill-climbing and braking powers and its silence in operation, coupled with the economic way in which it handles high-frequency and peak-load traffic, are, perhaps, its best features. The trolleybus makes possible high average speeds on town routes, resulting in increased mileage and revenue per vehicle per annum, and although it can never attain to the flexibility of route which is the feature of the motorbus, we can confidently watch the advance of the trolleybes in municipal-transport systems.
Room for Greater Municipal Mechanization
THERE is work for representatives of makers municipal motors in the persuasion of certain local authorities to complete the mechanization of their transport systems. It is surprising to find that there are still important towns retaining methods of refuse collection and public cleasing that were discarded, as antiquated, some years ago in smaller and less-wealthy districts. Whilst the municipal councillors concerned may be stable and businesslike men, they have not always sufficient imagination to realize that the cheapest method of transport is not necessarily the best service to the public. They too often reject any modern proposal for mechanization that may not offer immediate financial return. They must be shown that the value of health cannot be measured in terms of £ s. d. and that public hygiene, which is promoted by the use of suitabbe. motors for refuse collection and cleansing, is of greater importance than a small saving of money.