The Motor Omnibus World.
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The Wirral Railway Company has followed the example of the Mersey Railway Company in applying for powers to operate motor omnibuses in Cheshire. There will be no less than six Bills of this character before Parliament during its next session, affectingdifferent parts of the country.
A service of single-deck Milnes-Daimler omnibuses has been started between the dock gates of the Newport and South Wales Alexandria Docks and Railway Company and the town. It is anticipated that this service will prove a great convenience to thousands of wo:-kers.
The Great Eastern Railway Company seems to be having more than its share of trouble in respect of its motor omnibus services. Numerous complaints about the condition of roads in the Samford Rural District Council's area were considered at the last meetingof that body, and the highway surveyor reported having used large extra quantities of granite for the repair of the roads. The other side of the question was put forward in a letter, addressed to the chowman, from Mr. Godfrey A. Hempson, agent for Lord Bristol's Shotley estate, stating that he had been instructed by the Most Noble the Marquis of Bristol to ask that the attention of the Samford Rural District Council might he called to the fart that the Great Eastern Railway Company had been obliged to suspend the motor omnibus service to Shotley, owing to the sharp stones which had been 'placed on the road for about a mile and a half just beyond Chelmondiston, and left unrolled. "These have so damaged the tyres," the letter continued, " that until they are rolled in, and the road put into proper condition, the general manager of the company informs Lord Bristol that. it will he impossible to continue the service, and also that, upon complaint being made, the reason given by the surveyor was that the roller had been sent away for repairs, and the council declined to allow him to hire another. Lord Bristol has been at great trouble and some expense in assisting to establish the motor service alluded to, and which meets a want of the district. His lordship feels very strongly that the public ought not robe inconvenienced by the cessation of the service through the neglected condition of the road named, which might, at small cost, be quickly repaired, and he trusts that the council will at once give the matter their earnest and proper attention."
The surveyor pointed out that the rolling of the roads had been effected when the letter from Lord Bristol was received, and that the Great Eastern Railway Company had. been advised accordingly, but they had not resumed the running of the motorbuses.
The old London companies Are finding it necessary to indicate their names in large. letters on the side panels of their vehicles,. and the two photographs which are reproduced no this page serve to illustrate thedeparture. It is not out of place that weshould draw the attention of all operating companies to the necessity for much larger Letters on the destination hoards than are employed for horse-drawn omnibuses. It Is it physical impossibility for visitors to London to pick out the names on the ridiculously small boards now employed until it
is too late to board the bus. it
Another point of importance, both from. the point of view of the public convenienceand the companies' revenues, is the palpable disregard which some drivers show for people who wish to be picked up other than at points where it is the practice to stop for a few seconds. Both verbal and written complaints have reached these offices from would-be passengers who have been left on the side-walk by drivers in charge of vehicles with many vacant seats_ It is one thing to get over the ground. quickly, but the takings must suffer if thisis made the sole object, and if no regard is paid to those wishful to travel.
It is reported that a motor omnibus service will be installed between Portmadoc and Borthygest, in North Wales,. about May next.
The Eastbourne omnibus service continues to give satisfaction to its proprietors, the Eastbourne Corporation, and to. the residents. This service was undertaken by the town. under the Eastbourne Corporation Act of 1902, and steadily improving results have been obtained each successive year. It is satisfactory to note, in connection with the alleged; damage caused to macadam roads, that no separate allocation of charges has been found necessary by the corporation, although it is reported that an extra expenditure of :t1.0o has been incurred.
A movement is on ft■:■L at Bury St. Edmunds to secure motor-omnibus services in that district. The matter has already been discussed by the Town Council, and the Great Eastern Railway Company will be petitioned on the subject.
It is officially stated that the service of motor omnibuses which was established by the Great Western Railway Company between Slough and Beaconsfield has already brought about a marked increase in the number of season-ticket holders between Slough and London.
Mr. W. Worby Beaumont, M.Inst.C.E., M.Inst.Mech.E., M.1.E.E., has been appointed by the Home Secretary, Mr. Herbert Gladstone, as technical adviser to the Ch!tf Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis on all matters appertaining to the construction and use of motor omnibuses.
A financial group purposes establishing a motor-omnibus line between the Zoological Railway Station in Berlin and Beelitzhof, via the Kurfiirstendamm, Haleasee, the Grumwald and the Kronprinzessinweg, and is at present negotiating with the municipalities interested. The whole journey would take over an hour, and would be completed at a rate of travelling not possible in the crowded streets of Berlin, which would favour the mechanical vehicle.
An important conference took place in the Blenheim room of the Hotel Cecil on Monday last, the 8th instant, between manufacturers and owners of motor omnibuses in the Metropolitan area. The chair was occupied by Mr. H. G. Burford, of Milnes-Daimler, Limited, and important decisions were arrived at in regard to the matters which are to be placed before the Chief Commissioner of Police this (Thursday) afternoon. The meeting lasted for two heirs, and the whole of the draft regulations were considered in detail.
The London General Omnibus Company has altered the route for its own vehicles, and others working in association, which had the Law Courts for their terminus until Saturday last, to coincide with that of the Vanguard omnibuses belonging to the London Motor Omnibus Company. All now run to the Elephant and Castle. The route for the New London and Suburban Omnibus Company's Leyland vehicles has, similarly, been extended to Waterloo Station, instead of stopping at the foot of Kingsway.
It is reported from Paris that a considerable number of motor omnibuses will be purchased by the Paris General Omnibus Company this year, but we are sceptical on that subject owing to the monopoly which is held, and to the high price of petroleum spirit. The first permanent service to be instituted, as a result of the trials made during the recent Salon, will be with vehicles constructed by M. Eugene Brittle, who has received an order for seven omnibuses to supplement the present horse-drawn service between the Place Clichy and St. Germain-des-Pres. As we go to press, we learn that this number has been increased by fifteen, the additional vehicles to be placed on a new line from the Porte Maillot to the Hotel de Ville. It is anticipated that the first vehicles will begin to run in June. Council and general meetings of the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers were held on Monday evening last, at the Hotel Cecil. The proceedings and elections will be officially reported in our issue of next week.
The Motorcar Emporium, Limited, of 1, Addison Road North, London, supplied the chassis for each of the omnibuses which are illustrated on the first page of "The Motor Omnibus World " this week, and each of these is part of a large order received from the respective companies by the Addison Road house.
Some members of the Bavarian Automobile Club, amongst them Count SchOrnborn, Dr. Uebel, and Director Kaufmann, have applied for the concession of a motor-omnibus service in Munich. The idea is to supplement the tramway service, especially for the outskirts of the city, thereby t:tvingthe municipality the construction of unprofitable lines. The promoters reckon upon the city's eventually taking over the omnibus service and issuing to tramcar passengers correspondence tickets enabling them to travel on by the motorbuses, thus providing for extended travelling.
The Chester Town Council cannot get away from the subject of motor omnibuses. Twice have the members received adverse reports from their officials, but a fresh resolution was carried at the council's last meeting, on the motion of Mr. W. Vernon, as follows :—"That the tramways committee be instructed to obtain information of the cost and upkeep of motorbuses, and of their efficiency and suitability for the districts of the city not intended to be supplied with tramways, and report to the council when the period of 12 months has expired from its last discussion."
It may interest some owners of omnibuses to know that, during the month of January, owners of land adjoining highways may be compelled, on the order of justices in Petty Sessions, to cut, prune, or plash any hedge, or prune or lop any tree (not planted for ornament or shelter to any hop-ground, house, building, or courtyard), and to cut down Ash, Elm, and other trees (except Oak trees) growing in hedges near highways ordered to be widened and enlarged. This is under the Highway Act, 1835, sections 65 and 66, and in default of compliance surveyors are permitted to do these things, and to charge the cost against owners.
The county surveyor for the Isle of Wight, Mr. S. R. Cocks, in a report just issued dealing with the effect of motor traffic, says :—" The motorbuses have now been running on the roads for about six months, and that in the best part of the year, so that it is early to say what the wear will be and how the roads will stand it. As far as I can ascertain by inspection, the well-made roads have not suffered much, but where the roads are weak the wear and tear has been such as to cause ruts along the rout surfaces; if not attended to, these would soon cut right through the metal."
. The Hon. J. W. Taverner, Agent-Genera for Victoria (Australia), interviewed on Friday by a representative of "Tuft CbmmExcur MOTOR" at the offices, 142, Queen Victoria Street, E.C., said that some time since he sent a despatch to his Government suggesting the advisability of running motor omnibuses to connect branch railways. By the last mail information had arrived from Melbourne to the effect that the Railway Commissioners were about to start motor omnibuses to run from Malvern to Prahan through the centre of three thickly-populated suburbs. This will be the first motorbus line in Victoria. The tramway company maintains a horsed omnibus service to connect with its cable trams to the City. The Commissioners were initiating id. sections, as against a 3c1. rate by the horsed bus. The company had determined to stick to the old fare, and expressed the belief that the more frequent horsed-bus service will drive the motors off the streets. When the mail left Australia, the competition between the horsed vehicles and the motorbuses was to commence in a few days. Mr. Taverner informed our representative that if the present experiment was successful, he anticipated that he would receive from his Government, in the near future, a large order for motorbuses.