LOOKING BACK 15 YEARS.
Page 18
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AS AN INTERESTING sidelight on the organization and operation of London's bus service in the early days of the movement, it is notewarthy to recall some of the means which were employed to bring additional revenue to the coffers of the various operating companies. One London company in particular considered that it was serving either its own interests or those of the public by diverting its omnibuses from their regular routes on holidays. It was said that it was ene thing to " snap " an extra profit, whilst it was another to establish a reputation for studying the convenience of one's patrons. Temporary increases of revenue were easily gained by these changes, but such extra income was of doubtful value as affecting the ultimate good of the undertaking.
Bus Revenue.
THERE were about 40 Pioneer motoreabs plying for hire Motorcab on the streets of London History. in the middle of 1906.
This small number was but the thin edge of the wedge of what was then the coming revolution of the hackney carriage trade, although the livelihood of the time-honoured Jelin was not, for the time being, seriously attacked. That his existence was gravely threatened was gathered from the different announcements of the large cab companies which were at that time seeking capital from the public. Of the existing companies which then had motorcabs in active operation, the Metropeli
tan Motor Cab and Carriage 'Co., LW., hadthe largest number of vehicles on the streets, 15 actually being licensed, although the number owned by the com pany was considerably greater. The next company in point of size was the London Motor Cab Co., Ltd., with 13 cabs on the .streets, whilst half-a-dozen other companies had small numbers in use.
In those days there were very few instances of owner-driven cabs, and we have since passed through a period when practically all the vehicles operating in London were company-controlled, until the present time bears witness' to the remarkably large number of cabs which are actually driven by their owners. Drivers, have been afforded the -opportunity of purchasing taxicabs on the. instalment. plan, and this.has undoubtedly done much to popularize the running ef cabs as a means of livelihood.
STUDENTS of the London motor-omnibus movement Bus were, in 1906, looking forDepreciation, ward with no small degree of interest to the first balance-sheets of the various London companies, as future prospects, it was thought, would be largely affected by the rates of depreciation which were allowed in drawing up these statements, At least one London company of the good old-fashioned sort, had adopted the cautious policy of writing off no less than 33 per cent, per annum on the first cost of their road vehicles. Whilst it was
deemed that this heavy charge would be excessive in some cases, it was maintained that it was better to err in the direction of safety than to render accounts temporarily attractive, no matter how delusive by insufficient provision under this vital head. Confidence in the uadertakinge would not have been inspired unless 20 per cent., and in some eases 25 per cent., was written off the first cost of the earlier vehicles at the end of the first 12 months' service.
EARLY in laos, the Reducing Bus Berlin police authorities
Speeds. ordered the speed of the
city's motorbuses to be reduced, mainly on the ground that their comparatively high rate -of travelling was a source of danger to traffic generally. There was at that time only one line of motorbuses in Berlin, extending along the Friedrichstrasse, a busy main thoroughfare very narrow in parts A new time schedule which was fixed came within seven minutes of that laid down for the horse-drawn buses, and consequently the chief advantage of the self-propelled vehicle. practically disappeared. The police order came as a surprise to non-official persons who had watched the motorbus at work. Meddlesome interference of this sort. has largely disappeared with the• mechanical advances which have been made, although many think that the restricted speed of 12 m.p.h. for motorbuses could, with safety, be increased in many instances.