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on city services, Mr. Neal thought that they were unlikely to increase revenue.
Car. F. Heptonstall (Doncaster). declared that bus operatives worked too many hours and something must be done about it. Although conductresses in Doncaster earned more than women in other industries in the district, there was no queue for municipal employment. Mr. Neal. strongly disagreed with the employment of women as conductors, on the ground that the work was far too arduous.
CIIr. C. Blackwell (Manchester) was in favour of abolishing workers' fares.
Mr. J. Atherton (Eastbourne) entirely disagreed with Mr. Neal's attitude towards the Ro.S.P.A. dispute. The Society's insistence that a conviction for speeding should disqualify a driver from a safe-driving award was a grave reflection on those who, in the past, had been responsible for deciding whether road safety had been prejudiced.
Aid. R. Broadley (Burnley, Colne and Nelson) returned to the question of wages. Transport must, he said be made attractive. Facts had converted him to the belief that wages must be graded by areas..
In support of this view, Mr. Neal pointed out that 22 undertakings Were already paying from 9d. to 19s. a week above the national rates. He was not suggesting a return, to the old grouping s■stem, but the market rate must . be paid to ensure a fair share of the availal
M.P.T.A. to Run Training Schemes?
A PROPOSAL by Mr. W. M. Hall PA (Liverpool) that the Association s ho uId consider promoting training sell:A-nes in municipal passenger transport received widespread support. The icLa was that the M.P.T.A. should
administer and pay for the arrangements for training pfornising young employees as technicians and is senior officers in other branches.
Grammar-school boys were not attracted to engineering in municipal passenger transport and recruits with lower standards of education had to he accepted. The five-year apprenticeship was not in keeping with modern conditions and the range of training given was too narrow. Studentships were needed, said Mr. Hall, and in this matter Aid. W. Marshall (St. Helens) agreed with him: Aid. Marshall and Mr. H. Museroft (thiddersfiekl).„added that general managers should have personal pupils, but Mr. Hall did not favour that system.
Both Mr. Museroft and Cllr. BlaCkwell stressed the importance of paying good salaries .to men of ability. Mr. T. Bamford (Doncaster) thought that general managers were now less appreciated and respected than in the past.
Mr. Hall had contributed one of the six short papers to which a morning's discussion was devoted. The proceedings were opened by Mr. Ben England (Nottingham), who . sought ways of extracting more work from staff. He suggested, rather dubiously, a bonus for each improvement of 0.1 m.p.h. in overall average working speed in an undertaking. Savings could be made at stops and termini. The real answer to the problem of greater "productivity" in traffic staff was extra and continued effort. To introduce an incentive scheme in the_ maintenance shops at Nottingham would involve extensive rebuilding.
Bonuses Condemned Aid. Broadley' condemned bonuses for traffic staff on the ground that dangerous practices would be encouraged and the quality of service would suffer. Mr. G. H. Pulfrey (Hull) said that America had found that a good hourly rate of pay produced better results than complicated bonuses. Mr. R. A. Fearnley (Coventry), however, favoured incentives and pointed out that a bonus scheme had improved the output and contentment of staff engaged in servicing Coventry's buses.
Mr. L. T. Merrall (Rawtenstall) attacked the standardization of fares by mileage, and pressed the advantages of low charges in creating traffic and improving gross revenue. He thought that the mileage method, now becoming popular, required further investigation. Consideration must be given, in fixing fares, to local conditions, including competition, and he denied that apparent anomalies were necessarily bad.
Mr. T. P. O'Donnell (Ashton-underLyne) said that a historical basis must not be used in computing fares.
Aid. H. Watton (Birmingham) pointed to the hardship that would be caused to people who were transferred from city slums to outlying districts if they were to be charged an economic fare on distance. The fundamental purpose of municipal transport was being forgotten and municipal general managers were being forced into the position of company managers, who had to make profits.
Aid. Burton (Doncaster) and Aid. Broadley both wanted fares to be abolished—a proposal that evoked' a derisive reception.
Aid. R. Weir (Blackburn), president, promised that the Association would discuss the question of passengers boarding and alighting at involuntary stops. The matter had been raised by Mr. J. Cooper (Leicester), who said that the Minister of Transport had undertaken to consider making legislation to prevent the practice if there were a national demand for it.
Leicester had failed to gain Parliamentary ,power to prohibit boarding and alighting at involuntary stops, largely because of the Minister's opposition. Since a London magistrate had held that London Transport had no authority to ban the practice, Leicester had changed a notice of prohibition to one of warning, and boarding and alighting accidents had •increased by 40 per cent.
Mr. E. G. A. Singleton (Burton-onTrent) dealt with the influence of sickpay schemes on absence. He quoted a mass of statistics, which were not easily comprehended, compiled to show the number of days lost before and after the improvement of Burton's sick-pay plan.' The survey was too limited in scope to yield positive conclusions, but tended to suggest that improved allowances during sickness did increase absence. The paper was not discussed by the delegates Mr. R. Mackenzie (Halifax) submitted a suggestion that half a bus fleet might be renewed every eight years, insteaot of purchasing a few vehicles annually. He reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of the proposal, particularly with regard to loan charges.
Mr. F. S. Taylor (Newcastle upon Tyne) took up the question of loan debts, which, he said, must be avoided in future. He doubted whether a 16-year life could be assigned to a bus, because obsolescence had to be considered.
New Leaders Elected
AT the annual meeting last Friday, Mr. H. Muscroft was elected president in succession to Aid. R. Weir. Mr. Muscroft has been engaged in municipal transport for 40 years, and for 22 years of them as general manager. During his career he has served four undertakings and has been general manager at Huddersfield for 14 years.
Mr. R. A. Fearnley, who has been general manager at Coventry for 22 years, was 'elected vice-president. He has the distinction of having been the youngest general manager in municipal transport, having been appointed manager at Keighley at the age of 26.
Mr. E. R. L. Fitzpayne (Glasgow) was re-elected honorary treasurer.
The annual meeting of the Association was followed by that of the Federation of Municipal Passenger Transport Employers, from which the Press was excluded.