MOTOR COACHING IN ALL SEASONS.
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What is Done by an Important Manchester Concern to Secure All-the-yearround Use for its Fleet of Vehicles.
eliND of the most enterprising and
vigorously conducted passengertransport organizations in Manchester is the concern known as Eniway Motor Tours, which is owned by Mr. F. Davies, who has recently initiated services between Manchester and London, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and Newcastle-under-Lyne' and who maintains daily services to Leeds, Harrogate and Newcastle-on-Tyne. All-theyear-round work is thus provided for the motor coaches.
The business of Eniway Motor Tours was inaugurated about 12 months ago with two eight-seater cars, one a Lancia and the other a Vauxhall. During the past year a Reo 26-seater saloon, a Reo 20-seater all-weather coach, a Laftly 20seater of a similar type, and a Lancia saloon have been put into service.
Eniway Motor Tours regularly hires a 26-seater Associated Daimler saloon and a 20-seater Thornycroft saloon bus from other companies. Incidentally, two Reo 20-seater all-weather coaches are on order for delivery early this year. When necessary, vehicles are hired from Manchester and Blackpool owners, and one day last season over 60 coaches from outside concerns were employed by the concern.
In addition to the regular long-distance services, a new local route between Manchester and Prestwich has been opened up. This is a 15-minute service on which saloon coaches are used. The route mileage is about eight, and the fare from Prestwich to Manchester is 4d.
Some idea of the extent of last year's summer business of this concern will be gleaned from the fact that to One destination alone—Blackpool-20,000 passengers were booked. The daily service to Blackpool is still being maintained,
c36 but the principal traffic is at week-ends. The Blackpool run is always most popular with Manchester people, and Mr. Davies informed a representative of this journal that the bookings on this one route constituted approximately 90 per cent, of the total day and half-day tickets issued.
One of the interesting features of the organization of the Blackpool run is the facility which enables passengers to travel by the morning coach, which provides them with the opportunity for spending a full day in Blackpool and returning home at night, with the alternative of travelling in the evening and arriving in time to attend one of the Blackpool theatres. Passengers stay the night at Blackpool and leave on the following morning. For the outward morning journey the fare is 6s. return, or
7s. &I. for the long-date return, and for the evening journey 3s. single, 4s. day and 5s, &I. long-date return. Frequently at week-ends it is necessary to
put four coaches on this service. •
Since the close of the last summer season, long-distance motor-coaching services have been developed, the most successful of which are those including Newcastle-under-Lyne, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Coventry. and London in the itineraries. Outward journeys from Manchester are made on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week, and return journeys from London on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. The fares are as follow :—London, single, 16s. &I., return 30s,; Cerventry, single 10s., return 18s, ; Birmingham, 9s., teturn 18s.; Newcastle-under-Lyne, 4s. &I., return 6s. ; Wolverhampton, 7s. 6d., return 14s. The two Reo coaches are reserved for this route, the mileage being 223 each way. As the fares represent a Substantial reduction
on third-class railway charges, considerable traffic has been attracted to this service. Since its institution, there has been an average of 14 passengers per journey both to and from Manchester, and SO per cent, of the travellers contracted for the through journey from Manchester to London.
Encouraged by the success of this venture, Eniway Motor Tours extended this service to Glasgow during last August, and, at that time, the tour from Glasgow to London must have been the longest in point of mileage 400 miles each way.
The latest development of the concern is a daily service between Manchester and Newcastle-on-Tyne, a distance of 130 miles. This route is worked by Associated Daimler and Thornycroft saloon coaches. Up to the time of writing, not a single journey has been missed during the three months since the service was established. The single fare to Newcastle is 13s., and the return charge 21s. 6-i., and passengers May book to the intermediate places, such as Leeds (4s. 6d. single and 8s. 6d. return) and Harrogate (7s. 6d. single and 12s. (Id. return). A good proportion of the business obtained on this route is from passengers undertaking the through journey. From Manchester an average of eight through passengers is booked daily, and from Newcastle there are about 15 passengers daily.
Apart from the organized tours, the ordinary programme of trips is considerably augmented during the season by special tours. For instance, during the August holidays of last year, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., there were departures at half-hourly intervals to such places as Blackpool, Morecambe, Chester, Southport, and Llangollen, as well as parts of Derbyshire. As has been indicated, Blackpool is always an extremely popular destination, and passengers can be booked for this resort when it is impossible to get business for any other destination.
Fares last season were on a much more uniform basis, and Manchester coach owners generally are hoping that during the forthcoming season it will be possible to obtain rates which are warranted by the quality of the vehicles operated.
A Feature Made of Extended Tours, Extended touring is a regular feature of the arrangements of Eniway Motor Tours, and Mr. Davies states that during the forthcoming season it is intended to concentrate on these even more than on the daily tours. The Reo saloons have proved particularly well adapted for these long-distance journeys, the most popular of which have been those to the south coast. The full seating capacities of the largest coaches in the fleet have been frequently occupied on this work, and during the season the average number of bookings per coach was 20. The seven-day tours to the Cornish Riviera involved about 1,000 miles of travel and, inclusive of meals Rad first-class hotel accommodation, the fare was 9 guineas. The Scottish tour, for some inexplicable reason, was not so well patronized. The fare for this—a 1.000-mile tour—was 10 guineas. The Devon rind South Coast journey was unquestionably popular, and the fare was 7i guineas for the six-day tour.
On extended tours all-weather coaches with plenty of headroom, and built so as to enable passengers to command a good view of the scenery without having to leave their seats, are considered eminently desirable by this concern. Allweather coaches with collapsable roofs and with efficient side curtains have Proved very popular. Even on the daY and half-day tours a decided partiality is shown for the open coach.
Eniway Motor Tours has a working arrangement with John Bull Motors, of Blackpool, which concern is also interested in a daily service from Blackpool to Manchester. It operates a Leyland Lioness saloon coach and Eniway Motor Tours a Lancia 20-seater on this journey, the departure time from both Manchester and Blackpool being 9.30 a.m. and the return journey being started at 5.30 p.m. Mutual understandings of this description do much to promote economic organization of tours, whilst much better services can be offered to the public at lower rates.
Another agency held by Eniway Motor Tours is that for the Claremont Omnibus Service of Burnley, which works the Burnley-to-Manchester journey. The concern is also an agent for Lewis Cronshaw, Ltd., Blackburn, which maintains non-stop runs from Blackburn to Manchester hourly.
Eniway Motor Tours has had under eonsideration the development of motorbus services, but it is not easy to obtain I icences. It is reported that coach owners sending vehicles to Manchester have frequently commented on the difficulty of locating convenient places where vehicles can be loaded and unloaded, Eniway Motor Tours is fortunately placed in this respect, as it has its own private parking ground, which, of course, is proving extremely useful to those companies with which it has running arrangements.
The estimated average running cost per vehicle is put at about 6d. per mile, including maintenance charges. The tyres on the vehicles now in service have given very good mileages. Those on the Reo have to date run 16,000 miles, on the Lands 15,000 miles, and on the Leib, 12,000 miles and are still good.
A Capacious Waiting-room.
Eniway Motor Tours has recently taken possession Of larger premises at Sla, Peter Street, where there is a large waiting-room for 100 persons. Plans have been prepared for the building of a cafe in conjunction with this station. A new daily service to the Potteries has been opened, the fares being from Manchester to Stoke (or vice versa), 4s. single and 5s. 6d. return. The route mileage is 40. Two 20-seater Studebaker saloon coaches maintain these services.
It is interesting to note that uring the past season Eniway Motor Tours spent about £750 in up-to-date advertising, and it is stated that the majority of this has been in newspapers.