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;hot in the Arm or poach Operators
Page 81
Page 82
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'4K-UP OF HOVERCRAFT WITH EXISTING )ACH SERVICES CAN BOOST TRAFFIC
By E. JAMES MILLEN NAANY people have heard of hover
IVI know little about them. Those concerned with transport by road have probably tended to view this new development with some hostility as a source of possible competition, but as 1 have recently seen, far from being something of an embarrassment, hovercraft can very well be a means of attracting welcome C s. d. to hungry p.s.v. cash registers.
The hovercraft in which I travelled last week carried executives representing more than 15 well-known southern coach operators. They accepted an invitation from Moss Motor Tours (Sandown LW.) Ltd. and Hovertravel Ltd. to cross the Solent in the latest of a line of models produced by Westland Aircraft Ltd.. the 38-seater Westland SR.N6. followed by a short tour of the Isle of Wight in one of Moss Motors' luxury coaches. Those I spoke to about the craft were unanimous in singing its praises. and very early in the day one operator was telling me of his plans to incorporate the service in his day excursions to the island.
Al the present time only one hover craft is operating on the Solent crossing. This craft, owned by Hovertravel Ltd.. has been in service since the end of July. during which time it has carried more than 80.000 passengers. Under the present winter schedule an hourly service is run from Ryde/Southsea, Southsea/ Ryde. RydelGosport and Gosport/ Ryde.
At the time of my trip much public interest was being shown in the service This, perhaps, is not surprising in view of the vast and obvious difference there is between this new "with it" form of transport and the traditional form—the ferry boat-offered by British Railways.
Apart from the novelty interest of the SR.N6. doubtless its performance attracts many customers, as it will make this Solent crossing in 5-6 minutes (at a rate of about. 45 knots), whereas the Ferry takes half an hour. The difference in fare is really quite small; a single journey on the ferry costs 4s. 3d., while on the hovercraft it is 6s, in winter and 75. 6d. in summer.
At present, of course, the number of passengers that can be carried in a single hovercraft does not compare with the number that can be transported on a ferry boat. This must bring much consolation to BR, who told me last week when I approached them for their views on this form of travel: "We are interested in moving masses of people— our ferries carry 1,409 people. We are studying the position closely, but have no intention of using any (hovercraft) at the moment. We are considering the hydrofoil, too. But we cannot afford to spend public money on experimental projects."
It is interesting to note, however, that an earlier hovercraft, the SR.N2 Mk. 2, which has an all-up weight of 371 tons, is capable of carrying up to 150 passengers. Furthermore, I understand from Westland Aircraft Ltd. that their project engineers are " continuously engaged in looking to the next generation of hovercraft ". And they now have in production a 170-ton vehicle, the SR.N4 which, "when fitted with 8-ft. skirts, could ferry cars and passengers across the English Channel. Its 8-ft. skirts would allow it to cope with all except the very highest seas which would be encountered only on one or two days of the year ".
Food for thought—not only for coach operators interested in Continental tours, but surely for BR (not withstanding their commendable thrift with the taxpayers' money) bearing in mind the hovercraft's speed. But what of the Channel Tunnel? It seems there are interestingly competitive times ahead!
These hovercraft, naturally, can be equipped as freight transporters. The SR.N6, which has an all-up weight of more than 9 tons, can carry more than 3 tons of freight; the SR.N2 Mk, 2 has a freight capacity of 12 tons. As for rates, examples of those at present being charged for the Solent crossing by Hovertravell Ltd. as are follows; 4 lb., 3s. 6d.; 20 lb., 8s. 6d.; 70 lb., £1 2s.; 112 lb., 13s.
The gentleman referred to earlier who took so little time to respond to the possibilities of the SR.N6 was Mr. D. W. Arscott, general manager of Shamrock and Rambler Coaches Ltd., of Bournemouth. I asked him on the following day whether he was still of the same view. " Oh, yes ", he said "I've got the Hovertravel poster in the window, I put it in this morning."
Shamrock and Rambler run about 40 coaches and one of their popular tours is a day excursion to the Isle of Wight. Now Mr. Arseott proposes to advertise the hovercraft in connection with a private-hire day trip—Bournemouth to Gosport, hovercraft to Ryde, short tour of I.o.W., and back to Bournemouth by 630 p.m.—for Ll 85. a head. And, apparently, Charlie's Cars, an associate company which has the same board of directors as Shamrock and Rambler. also intend to make use of the craft.
George Ewer and Co. Ltd, are also interested. I gather that their representative on the day was very much impressed. A spokesman of the company told me that they experience a lot of trouble at the coach picking-up point at Portsmouth, because of the narrow streets. This, I gather, is a common complaint, and there seems little doubt that the hovercraft terminals at Gosport and Southsea are very much more accessible for traffic.
One of the trips to the I.o.W. this company offers is an 8-day tour for old people. Not surprisingly, many of these people find the physical effort involved in getting both their luggage and themselves from the coach dropping-off point on to the ferry quite considerable. With the hovercraft this difficulty need not arise
in view of handy siting of the beaching points.
As I saw for myself last Wednesday (1 travelled from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde on the BR ferry) there is some delay in boarding the ferry and rather more so in disembarking. Furthermore, upon disembarking at Ryde. further delay and inconvenience is caused by the need to travel the length of the pier to reach Ryde itself. At the moment the hovercraft travels only to Ryde, hut plans are afoot to permit travel direct to other major resorts on the island.
The managing director of a coach company from somewhat farther afield— Mr. E. A. Lainson, of Premier Travel Ltd., Cambridge—was similarly impressed by the demonstration. " We are obviously going to follow it up ", he said. "We are extremely interested in developing traffic along these lines. Day-tour passengers would welcome the saving in time as it would enable them to leave here later than 6.30 a.m. It will serve to widen the scope of the tourist by offering him a choice."
All in all, this development on the Solent does seem to be a good bet for coach operators who have a demand for Isle of Wight bookings. Perhaps the best argument for the hovercraft in this connection is its tremendous convenience.