'BUSSES OR TRAMS.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 1509, 8 March 1920, Page 5

'BUSSES OR TRAMS.

What is the grout need of Palmerston? —Traction.

What kinds of traction are required? —Some system of motor traction, speedy, reliable, cheap as possible. What kinds of traction are in vogue for street purposes? Two—Petrol , internal combustion, electric.

What are the advantages of petrol?— Flexibility of force and speed. i Which is the cheaper for street traction ?—Electricity. What arc the advantages of electricity?— Greater cheapness, reliability and ease of motion.

What are the drawbacks of petrol motor transit? —Smell, jerkiness of transit and greater depreciation leading to increased cost of running. If electricity has advantages what forms of transit are available by electric traction? Three:—.

(1) Electric tramways driven by power supplied by overhead cables to motors in the car with return current through the rails. (2) Electric tramways with ears supplied with power by electric storage batteries carried in the car.

(:i) Electric vehicles with self-contain-ed batteries running on ordinary roads with rubber tyred wheels. Which of the above systems is the the best.—This depends largely on what class of roads you have to run over, the grades and curves to be encountered and the traffic available. Where grades are heavy and curves acute, the overhead system undoubtedly is the only one, as on heavy grades the self-contained vehicle is very costly for small populations, as the overhead cost of running is extremely liojcvy a In more thinly populated districts, self-contained vehicles on tramway rails have been tried and proved successful. Where roads are not specially prepared for motor traffic this might be more suitable.

For a town of wide distances and scattered population, whose streets have been formed and coated with permanent sealed coating so as to stand motor traffic, a system of electric motor busses has many advantages. Unless the streets are specially prepared for motor traffic, the cost of maintenance on the streets is far too heavy to allow of this system. The advantages of this system are greatly added to if electric light and power are provided in conjunction. The advantages are: —

Cost. —For a system calling for 8 cars or busses the comparative cost is: £IQO,OOO annual overhead. For overhead system no including powerhouse, G miles track, 8 cars, car shed, etc.: Interest, 5 perj cent., £5,500; sinking fund, 11 per cent.. £1,500; depreciation, 31 per cent., £3,500; total, £10,500. For 8 self-contained electric busses with similar attachments, £30,000. Interest, 51 per cent., £1,650; sinking fund, li per cent.. £450; depreciation. 31 per cent., £1,050; total, £3,150.

Power.—Under the usual system of purchasing power as set out by the Government, power is purchased by the killowat year, that is, you pay for the highest amount you use, called the peak load, as if you used it for the whole 24 hours, the busses could be charged from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. when otherwiso the power would be running to waste, consequently the loss in power efficiency through the battery as against the cables estimated as GO-SO would be far more than made up by the gain through lower cost charge.

EUNNING COST

This would be similar in both systems other than as set out above, excepting maintenance. Putting repairs and maintenance at 3 per cent, in the one case and 15 per cent, in the self-con-tained batteries, we have:— Overhead, 3 per cent . . . . £3OOO

Self contained, 15 per cent £4500 It may be claimed that a percentage of road maintenance must be charged to the debit of the busses account. As against that the present motor traffic is rendering it absolutely necessary to prepare the streets to carry such traffie and very little extra maintenance will be called for under the circumstances. Still, a certain amount could be allowed for and still have a balance of running costs favourable to electric busses. Have electric busses been tried?— Electric vehicles are being used for a variety of purposes. New Plymouth has an electric bus which has proved so successful as a feeder to the trams that the tramway engineer has reported in favour of extending this system rather than extending the trams. Christchurch Tramway Board is using them for the same purpose. Napier is using two electric trucks, and in two years' use they have cost nothing for repairs and they find rubber tyres stand 14,000 miles. Christchurch Borough is also using' the trucks.

In the event of the traffic increasing, could electric busses be used?— All that would be necessary would be to increase the numbers of the busses. But in the event of its being decided later that the traffic warrants the overhead system the only loss would be the body of the motor busses in use as the chassis could be used for ordinary commercial trucks, or the busses could be used in the further out portions of the town as feeders for the trams. On the other hand the probability is that the cost of putting in the overhead system will be nothing like as heavy in five years' time as it is now.

How soon could an overhead system be constructed? —Not less than three years from now, and probably longer. How soon could electric busses be ready?—As soon as the power is available, probably 12 months from now. If overhead trams are put In, will electric lighting and power cost more? —]STo, the only difference is that in the one case the trams will bear a proportion of the cost of the power house, etc., estimated at £15,000. In the other case the whole cost of this is borne by the electric power and lighting scheme, and in the event of trams being decided on later this could be amended and the cost adjusted accordingly. And in the event of any electric traction such as busses being decided on, the proportional part of the cost will be borne by each department. The Borough Council being the owner of both schemes, the matter after all is only a

book-keeping adjustment in any case

the fixed tramways. In Melbourne, he said, the question of re-organising the tramway system was at present occupying the minds of authorities concerned. In that city the old cable system was still used. Whilst the trams may Still bo continued under, perhaps, a different system, there was a very strong agitation for the installation of motorbusses to take their place. Motor-bus-ses would be absolutely the thing in Xew Zealand if it were possible to ran them on a cheap consumption basis, and Dr Fitt held great faith in the gasolene engine system, which was a means of minimising the cost. The War had taught the world what a blessing the motor was, and furthermore, motorbusses. during times of railway, tramway and other strikes, in the Old Country, had proved a wonderful boon ftJ the populace. He also thought that in time to come motor-busses could, in

some countries, be run in the fame manner as the railways, and be of great commercial value. When in Christchurch recently he had asked himself the question as to what system Palmerston was likely to adopt. The people here should be provided with some means of transit, and he was confident that the motor-bus was the correct thing to instal.