LONDON TRANSPORT

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 24, 29 January 1934, Page 11

LONDON TRANSPORT

A COLOSSAL SYSTEM

TWO THOUSAND MILLION

PASSENGERS A YEAR

STAGGERING FIGURES (Written for "The Post" by Nelle M. Scanlan.) LONDON, December 30. I have just been talking to Mr. Frank. Pick, general manager' of London's Transport Board, and the man who is mainly responsible for tho coordination of all tho transportation facilities of this great city under one head. . It comprises trains, tubes, buses, trams, coaches, and trolley-buses. At fine time- there was a cut-throat policy between some- of them; an overlapping of services, and pirates skimming the cream at rush hour, but not providing serried at the less remunerative hours of tho day. With the problem of traffic congestion constantly increasing, and the need for some controlling authority to govern tho wholes system, it still took years to bring about the change. He has. given me some staggering figures- relating to this vast undertaking. The magnitude of this task of bringing London's millions of workers to Bhop and office punctually every day, oJ facilitating shoppers doing their shopping, and'business people transacting business,, of enabling people to see London, and keep moving, timed to tho second—such numbers of vehicles are positively intimidating. Yet it is done, smoothly, .owing to perfect organisation, and all tho time it is expanding; extending lines here; perfecting/ improving, anticipating. The detail of its records reveals every increase and decrease, the drifts and tendencies of population, and tho amazing way in which these needs aro met. The London Transport Board's statur fory area of control covers 2200 square jniles," practically a' radius of thirty miles around Charing. Cross, which is taken as its central point. -And. the population is estimated at 9,500,000 people. The board has 375 miles of railways under its control, some of ■which it owns, others it leases, and on a portion, of the suburban branches of the main lines it controls .the running ht the trains. ' .•-. : ' ■It also has 56 miles of underground, trains, and its trams cover 329 miles. The" trams act as feeders, and are not permitted in tho centi'o of the town. The best way to see London is from top of k bus, and many of us still mourn tho passing of the open-top buses. These old buses were a delight in-.summer, .but gradually they are being eliminated. When I asked Mr. Pick why, lie told mo that a,record of passengers revealed that the coveredtop buses brought in a higher return, and showod that, on tho, whole, they were more popular. You may still see some of these old buses, but not many. In tvot weather the little apron for the knees was scant protection, and in London's Jong" winter it was a cold ride home after a long day's work ori top of an open bus. . The- new buses have enclosed, tho driver's scat and the staircase- mounting to the:topj! they are larger, too, and Many have six wheels. The seats are wider and m6re comfortably sprung. The milage covered by the buses is 2095, • and the total annual run last year was 230,000,000 miles. The average run of each bus, per day is 130 miles. Their average Speed in the- central area is ten miles an hour, but when you realise the constant stopping and starting .and the hold-up amidst traffic-, it.;, Will .be,-realised that ~ the average must seem low. In tho country they, average thirteen miles. The number of passengers, carried annually is about 1,060,000,000, and the weight of bus- tickets issued is 871 tons. The buses .also consume 40^000,000 gallons •of.petrol. . ~ ■ . Every day 1400 . umbrellas, walking-' •sticks, and parcels are left behind in buses. If you call at the lost property office, which has recently been opened at the Baker Street Station, you will See-this vast accumulation. London's honesty surprises foreigners. If-you can describe what you have lost, and give some idea of the time and the bus, it will be. returned to you. Motor coaches, which transport the residents who live at a greater distance, . now number 311, and their annual run totals 21,000,000.mi1e5, with-an average of 209 miles a day, And an average speed of 19-miles. nil hour. But when you nieot them on a country road they never seem to be doing less than thirty. The coaches carry about 16,000,000 passengers a- year, and use 3,000,000 gallons of petrol. The average speed of tho railways, taking in all services, is 20 miles an hour, but tho-average speed ou fast tracks is 35 miles. ~-.. The trolley-bus has been through the experimental Stage, and there is now a suggestion of extending it. It has the advantage o£ the tram, drawing its pdWer from overhead, but .has the mobility so essential, tho lack' of which is the great handicap of the tram on fixed rails. It cannot draw into, the kerb to pick up or drop passengers, it cannot manoeuvre its way through traffic; One faulty tram will hold! up a long lino of vehicles on the rails behind it and cause appalling congestion. The total number of trolley-busos now in use is 61. More people ride in buses than in any other public vehicle.. Taking the total population of the London transport area,'the* average total of rides per head is 206 -miles '. in a bus, 108 on a . tram, 43 on a railway, which, of course, includes the underground tubes, 3 miles On a trolley-bus, and 2 miles on a coach. The board's annual bill for coal must be considerable, a's it uses 526,491 tons. The total number of railway stations owned or served by its trains is 44.2, and there aro now 122 escalators at stations and 133 lifts. , The number of the board's employees is 72,000, and salaries and wages total '£14,000,000 Annually. The board's gross takings aro £500,000 a. week, and it pays in direct taxation £2,500,000 a year. The total capital involved is over £109,000,000. Every W.eck there aro now posters outside all the underground stations. They bo strange and'weird or extremely lovely, an expression of tho art <>f yesterday, or tho startling. '' moderns" of tomorrow. If a poster is interesting tho company will buy it. If you have an idea they will listen to you, but you must bo brief. If you have an invention they will try it. The Transport Board's head office is at the St. James's Station at Westminster. It is a- tall, modern building, with the two famous Epstein statues, "Night" and "Morning," carved in stone over their door. They created TfiS controversy that greets most of Epstein's sculpture. They wei'o attacked and abused, and like Jils "Kima" in Hydo Park they might have been tarred and feathered if they "wore not out Of roach. You may or you may not like them, but they ox-, press the modern progressivencss of the head of this organisation. This is MO die-hard concern. ■ The active manager of this enormous concorn would seem to have a full-time job, but Mr. Frank Pick has just been asked to bo chairman of the newlyformed committee which is to coordinate art and industry in British affairs. It is an honorary job, and he .has accepted.it. Ho is interested in ar.b as Well as industry, and will bring a keen mind to tho I'o-ordinfiiion of these two elements, which have for far too long been divorced..