New London area Private Stage Service is Doing Well

18th September 1964, Page 101

18th September 1964

Page 101

Page 101, 18th September 1964 — New London area Private Stage Service is Doing Well

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'100D support from the public is reported by Super Coaches -I(Uprninster) Ltd. for the stage carriage service which it arted last month under the name of Redbridge and District :otor Services; the service is in the London area and prior nction was obtained from the L.T.B. for an application to e Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner. (It is significant that, spite this sanction, references to the new route as a " pirate " rvice have appeared locally; the company has taken .vertising space to stress that it is operating with full London ansport approval.)

The service rims from Chadwell Heath, Essex, to Woodford idge ,via Little Heath, FairIop, ,Barkingside and Tomswood II and, except for a short section at Little Heath, the roads vered have not previously had a bus service. A timetable s been published for the service, 'which operates every day ;!ept Sundays and Bank Holidays. The first bus starts at i3 a.m. and the last of the day finishes at 10.44 p.m.

One man Operation has been used, with conductors at certain -y busy times; the headway is 15 min. during the rush hourS.

30 min. during the day and 60 mm. after 7 p.m. Loadings were light to start with, hut within two weeks of starting some journeys operated to capacity (hence the need for conductors) and the company is thinking of using double-deckers for these. Evidence from passengers suggests that some of them are being saved long and roundabout journeys involving several changes.

Extra services put on for the morning rush hour were the only poorly supported ones and these were withdrawn last week; but a 20-min. frequency will be started shortly, and some other journeys are being retimcd to serve factory employees. More traffic is expected when the schoolchildren's return to schbol has settled into a clearer pattern. • Used as the mainstay of the new services are two 1956 A.E.C. Reliances with Duple 43-seat front-entrance coach bodies formerly owned by Mansfield and District, while an ex-London Transport RF model is kept as a spare. Already double-deckers owned by the company (an Atlantean coach and a ROe-bodied, full-fronted Regent) have been used on certain timings.