TRAM OR OMNIBUS?

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 96, 27 April 1929, Page 7

TRAM OR OMNIBUS?

A correspondent, "A Visitor," writes to "The Evening Post" in connection with the controversy brf the question of trams —to. or not to be—and submits an article from "The World's News," which is rather apropos of the present position in Wellington and also an informative and reliable account of what is being done in other countries. The article in question, which is entitled "Tearing Up Tramways" —Traffic Lesson to the .World," has the following:— An example to the world in street traffic is being set by Wolverhampton, which has established itself as far as traffic is concerned as the fastest city in England. Deputations have come, or are coming during this year, from three British cplonies and five European countries to watch the Wolverhampton streets and to marvel thereat. An official German film was reccnly taken of the Wolverhampton street traffic, and the way it is controlled, for display to municipalities throughout Germany, and a memorandum of "How Wolverhampton has Solved the Modern Traffic Problem" has been circulated to a number of chief constables in England and Wales. There are two reasons for' Wolverhampton's success. . The town has de--iinitely abolished its tramway system—the last two,miles of tramway track is being torn up. now—and has'adopted a special mechanical traffic controller, which works electric lights at important road junctions. LONDON COMPARISON. "From the statistics I have gathered from London ,and the great provincial towns," said Mr. David Webster, the Wolverhampton chief constable, "we are at least 25 per 'cent, faster in. our streets than any place which has tramways, although our main streets carry a. great volume of heavy traffic. With tramways away and automatic traffic points we have brought clown our street accidents,by 60 per cent. The difference in the streets is remarkable. Even at the busiest times the rate of flow of'all mechanical vehicles through the centre of Wolverhampton never falls below 15 miles an hour, and normally one could drive from' end to end of the town at 20 miles an hour. "Each of o.ur electric control ■■ installations costs at first £100, and then £12 a year for electric current. For that £100 capital outlay, and £12 a year maintenance, a control will do the, work of aj policeman costing altogether £500 a year. I The saving in the ratepayers' money is so much that it is a wonder to me our system has not been adopted everywhere, particularly in London. Leeds did follow our example. It should be remembered, too, that an electric controller cannot err. It is impartial, and all. its- signals, .'Stop/. 'Caution,' 'Go on,'' cannot be misunderstood. ■..■■''■ ■ . ' Tramways, have been replaced in the town by really luxurious six-wheeled pneu-matic-tired, double-decked "trolley-omni-buses, ' taking their electric power from overhead cables, but driven and steered like motor-cars. . ■ ■ "Our. average: working speed," said Mr. Charles Owen Silvers, one of the officials is more than 20 per cent, higher than with the most modern type of electric trmncar. We save* time, particularly in setting down and taking up, because the trolley-omnibuses' are able to pull in to the pavements. We do not delay other traffic by our fixed track. Maintenance costs arc infinitely less than with a tram-way-system, for we have no track upkeep to meet. ■ ■■>! "- . ;■ ■ ' : '"We have nearly paid off our old tramway debt. It will be cleared, away by *:a™Vi 31 ' and kst year made a pro fit of £30,000 Taking away our tramway uSui, f8 hadth« e»cct of doubling the width of our roads. We have doubled our road capacity by a stroke, and saved money as well. ' There is little doubt that every tramway undertaking in towns of a size comparable to Wolverhampton or y"ars c" d with'n the "ext fe" aS hTft Pt°n haS" - lotion of