PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
LANCASTER AS A BUS CENTRE.
A County Town Well Served by Passenger Vehicles which are Used by Holiday-makers as well as Residents.
T ANCASTKR possesses a highly de
veloped passenger transport service, linking the town with centres of population in some instances a considerable distance away, and in meeting the requirements of the inhabitants a wide diversity of types of vehicle has been brought into service. Being a county town with good marketing facilities for the country districts, Lancaster is an important centre for shopping, whilst it possesses a number of places of interest to holiday-makers staying at Morecambe, who appreciate a change from the seaside and visit the town in large numbers. Thus passenger transport in Lancaster may conveniently be divided as between the ordinary business services of the town and district and the summer-time holiday traffic, which in the height of the season, is considerable, particularly between Lancaster and Morecambe.
In Lancaster itself the corporation runs an electric car service to is number of districts farther afield, and this is supplemented by electric buses which have seen good service. Up to this season the Lancaster and District Tramways Co. and Fahys, Ltd. of Morecambe, have had the sole riglits of running a joint service between Lancaster and Morecambe, for which the Lancaster and District Tramways Co. secured rights in the old days of the horse cars, the lines for which have just been re
moved from the roads. This season, however, after prolonged negotiations, other concerns have come in, and now County Motors, Ltd., of Dalton Square, Lancaster, have commenced a service which starts from Dalton Square, and extends to West-end Road, Morecambe.
Dalton Square is a little beyond the starting point of the tramway company and Messrs. Fahys at Stonewell, and another part of Morecambe is served.
The service of County Motors, Ltd., does not provide penny fares in Lancaster, but the older service is able to give this advantage through the facilities held by virtue of the fact that they are the successors of the old tramway
company. County Motors, Ltd., are also endeavouring to get, facilities for serving other parts of Morecambe, but we understand that these are not being readily granted. Although competition has naturally arisen the through fares have not been affected, as might have been expected in the circumstances, hut both companies offer reduced fares for the return journey, and there is no lack of vehicles an the road. Workmen are allowed to travel the return journey at single fare.
County Motors, Ltd., link up Lan-. caster and Kirkby Lansdale and Ingleton with an all-the-year-round service, which is very popular with visitors in the summer time, and with shoppers and market people at other times. A long run through very pretty country is provided at a fare of 2s. for the single journey and 3s. for the return journey. Services are also run to Cockerham to the south and Caton and Brookhouses to the east, with Saturday services to Dol. phinholme and Abbevstead. A very useful series of services is run by Lambsfield Motors, Ltd., of Lancaster, who link up Morecainbe and Lancaster with Kendal, bringing in Carnforth, Warton Burton arid Milnthorpe. Through fares from Morecambe to Kendal are available at 3s. for the single journey and 4s. 6d. for the return journey, and many places are touched which are inconveniently placed so far as the railway is concerned. A very smart fleet of buses of large seating capacity is used, and kept in the mostattractive condition, and a carefully worked out time-table is strictly adhered to. The buses start on regular service very early in the morning and run as late as half-past ten at night.
One interesting feature of this company's service is that arrangements are made whereby a vehicle leaves Lancaster at 8.30 p.m. and stays the night at. Milnthorpe in order that an early morning service through to Kendal can be provided.
Some of the buses make detours in order to take in more remote villages, whilst others do not make a through journey for the whole distance, this depending upon the demand at any particular period of the day. To the country people such services must be a great boon, especially as the buses run , strictly to time and at fares which are in keen competition with the railways.
Finally, Lancaster is linked up with the south through Garstang, to which centre Messrs. Castle Motors run a service about every hour, and this connects with another run by Pilot Motors, through to Preston, return fares from Lancaster to Preston being available for 2s. 6d. From Lancaster to Garstang,
distance of 10 miles, the single fare is is., but for the addition of but 3d. the returnjourney can be undertaken. For the most part the services in the district are maintained by all-weather saloon buses, and generally they are very smart in appearance. There appears to be an. absence of direct opposition between the various services, with the exception of the Lancaster-Morecambe route, but this is probably as well, because much of the traffic is village-tovillage traffic, and ..otripetition would inevitably lead to bad financial results. The buses on the Morecambe to Lancaster services are very frequent during the summer, and in addition to Crosville-type Leyland saloons Messrs. Fahys have in use two LeyIands of the toastrack type, of which they took delivery this summer, and these are very popular with visitors in fine weather. Dalton Square, with S, circle of trees round a monument, provides an excellent bus station, services starting from various points.
Morecambe, of course, is noted as the last town at which horse cars are still in use, and they are run along the promenade in conjunction with petrol buses. Other notable vehicles in the district are the petrol railcars which run between the promenade and Heysham, in the area of the Heysham histrict Council, but we understand that these vehicles will be superseded before next year by up-to-date motorbuses, since the powers of the company operating them 'expire shortly. Already passengers on this route have the choice of the rail .vehicles and petrol buses, and the latter travel beyond the rail system and set down passengers at a more convenient terminus.