LONDON TRAFFIC

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 105, 6 May 1933, Page 17

LONDON TRAFFIC

TIMES HAVE CHANGED

UNDERGROUND GROUP

BIG FALLING-OFF

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, February 28. Addressing ehareholders in the companies in the London Underground group at the annual general meetings at Caxton 'Hall, Lord Ashfield said that 1932 had been a bad year for traffic owing to the continued falling-qfl: in trade and industry and the bud weather. The traflic most affected had been casual or pleasure traffic. . Passengers carried during the year totalled: By railways, 379,000,000; by omnibuses, 1,050,000,000; by tramways, 207 000,000; total, 2,236,000,000. The total compared with 2,283,000,000 passengers curried in 1031, a decrease of 2 per cent, lhe decrease was not in itself considerable, but was fraught with unpleasant financial consequences. Traffic on Saturdays and Sundays had ceased to be as heavy as it was. The rate oE decline on those days was 50 per cent, more than on ordinary week days. , , In recent years the suburbs had tended to become self-contained. The standard of shops had been much improved find luxurious cinemas had been built, so that thero was not the same need or incentive to go to tho centre of London tor shopping or entertainmem. There were now well over 200,000 private cars registered in the London traffic area. They carried not only tho family but neighbours and friends, and, therefore, withdrew • more people from the public means of conveyance than at first si"ht would seem possible. The theatre traffic, which at one time was carried upon the railways and omnibuses, had now largely passed to the private cars. "The habits of Londoners are changing," said Lord Ashfield. "Tastes in amusements have altered. Hiking is fashionable, motoring is steadily spreading .downwards." STILL DECLINING. The year 1933 had opened badly. Traffic had been further depressed by an exeep-" tionaliy cold spell of weather, by the severe influenza epidemic, and by a briet but fruitless strike. Yet London continued to grow, and the time would come when the present decline in traffic would cease. Complaining. of the heavy burde"n o£ taxation, Lord Ashfield said that in 1932 the sum the group paid in licensed vehicle duty and petrol tax represented the whole of the earnings from their road motor transport vehicles for seven weeks of the year. "London transport," he added, "cannot remain solvent and progressive unless it,is freed from the deadweight^ of taxation' which it now carries. Witlv better times, which must come sooner or latex-, our prosperity should be gradually restored. I therefore see no reason for taking a pessimistic view olf our future. With regard to the financial results the average dividends paid upon the ordinary shares of th* Common Fund Companies in 1019 were 2.30. per cent. In 1028 it reached 5.69 per cent., which was maintained until 1930. In 1931 it fell to 5.10 per cent., and in 1032 to 3.42 per cent. I believe this setback to be temporary only." The companies in tho combined group are the Metropolitan District Railway Co., the London Electric Railway Co., the City and South London Railway Co., the Central London Railway Co., the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., the Metropolitan Electric Tramways, Ltd., the LondonUnited Tramways, Ltd., the South Metropolitan Electric Tramways and Lighting Co., Ltd., the London and Suburban Traction Co., Ltd., and the Underground Electric Railways Co. of London, Ltd.