The Motor Omnibus World.
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The London Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, has now Aad delivery of ma Milnes-Daimler chassis. All the latest ones have 3oh.p. engines.
Mr. T. F. Carter, engineer of the Associated Omnibus Company, Limited, will open the discussion at the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers on Monday.
One more of the old-established horsed omnibus owners has put a motor omnibus on the road, namely, Tom Hearn. The vehicle is running between Finchley and Oxford Circus.
The Woking.Tradesmen's Alliance is taking active steps to secure full information in connection with the proposed omnibu,; service to embrace Woking Station, St. John's, Knaphill, and Chobham, with a suggested later extension to Woking Village, Send, and Ripley. The sub-committee which has the matter in hand consists of Messrs, Henry Quartermaine, W. R. Skeet, W. J. Boullin, and W. Arthur Elton, all of Woking.
We are indebted to Driver M. J. Cooper, Road Engineer Charles Steavens, and Road Fitter W. Toleman for an interesting account of a smoking concert held at the Red Lion Hotel, Walham Green, on the 17th ultimo, under the auspices of the drivers and conductors of the London and District Motorbus Company, Limited (" Arrow " lines). .Early in the evening the " Arrows " were joined by the " Vanguards," and various members of both parties contributed to the evening's entertainment.
The Bournemouth Tramways Committee, we are informed by Mr. F. W. Lacey, the borough and tramway engineer, has ordered two motor omnibuses. These will add greatly to the public convenience and will also feed the tramways. " Berna "chassis have been purchased, through Messrs. Straker and MacConnell, Limited, of 36-46h.p., bodies for which, to hold 28 passengers, will be built by Messrs. Knight, of Dorchester. The Bournemouth Corpora. tion has special powers with regard to omnibuses.
The chairman of A. Darracq and Company (1905), Limited, Mr. J. S. Smith-Winby, in his recent speech at the statutory meeting of the company, stated that M. Darracq had been carefully studying the whole subject of commercial motors and omnibuses for some time. He was still engaged in considering this question very carefully, and an interesting announcement might be anticipated later on. The board had, in the meantime, decided not to embark upon the manufacture of heavy vehicles of this description, which were obviously of a totally different class of manufacture from the pleasure car or light delivery van.
Great confusion has arisen over a statement which was circulated by the Secretary of the Royal Commission on London Traffic in a covering document which accompanied Vols. V and VI of the report. The offending sentence read : "There arc 3,471 horse and 307 motor omnibuses in London." The Daily Press put various constructions upon this, nearly all of them hazarding the opinion that it referred hack to the date when the report was drafted. As a matter of fact, it refers to February i5th last—three weeks ago. The figure has to be corrected, however, by the deduction of 22 vehicles withdrawn from service, and our census of February 26th, which showed a net total of 303 motorbuses in service, is the latest and only authentic published register which yields a revised return.
The alleged dangers of the motorbus form a fruitful theme of discussion in various London papers. Correspondents insist upon pointing out their risk of extermination by fire, tide-slip, and the possible sudden death of the driver. We are quite sure that whilst all these things are possible in extreme cases, coMparison with what would happen in the event, particularly, of a fire in an underground subway, should certainly convince passengers that they are infinitely safer above ground, and run no risk of being caught like rats in a hoie.
The remarks made in our recent Editorial on the subject of the noise made by motorbuses have been commented upon recently by the " Daily Express," and from that journal we extract the following comment : " We hear that people are up in arms again against the motor omnibus, that harbinger of better times, because of its noise. Dear, dear l Shall we be forced to wrap London in cotton wool, so that there shall be no noise whatever? Noise is sometimes good for people. The more noise, the more activity. Besides, we get used to all sorts of noises after a while, and then we forget our aversions. The motor omnibus may be noisy to-day, but it is merely because it is noisy that its projectors learn to make it silent. Therefore give it a chance."
The Munich City Fathers have not yet made up their minds on the introduction of motor-omnibus lines into the city's traffic, although the police, like Barkis, " is willin'," and a company is ready with the money to utilise the eagerly-awaited concession : a group of capitalists have been standing ready these three months and more. Meanwhile, motor firms hover around expectantly, for Munich is the third city in the German Empire, and can boast of a population of over half a million. The Brunswick firm of Missing is, however, doing a little more than sending representatives: one of its omnibuses was driven to Munich, the firm organised a series of runs over the Projected lines, and the authorities were invited to a practical trial of the up-todate method of locomotion. Dr. von Borscht, the First Burgomaster, seemed to go home persuaded that it was just the very thing Munich wa-ted. The worthy mayor was in I he first party of municipal experimentalists, and expressed ids entire satisfaction with everythincr,