TRANSPORT RIVALRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20088, 27 October 1928, Page 16

TRANSPORT RIVALRY.

CHALLENGE TO RAILWAYS. CONDITIONS IN BRITAIN. COMPETITION FOR PASSENGERS. I)Y SIR ARCHIBALD HURD. Remarkable changes are occurring in all forms of transport—by sea and by land and by air. As the steamship, having practically banished the sailing ship from tho seas, now has a serious rival in the motor-ship, so the steam locomotive, having driven the horse coach off tho roads, is being challenged by the motor-coach. It is little more than a century since about 3000 coaches, such as Dickens delighted to describe, still passed daily over (he British roads which had been made \.y Macadam and other engineers to develop better communications in tho British Isles. Tho railways caused these roads to be deserted; and now traffic—passengers and goods—is taking to the roads once more, and the old turnpike inns are again thronged with travellers of tho new era of open-air travel. As a result of the competition of the roads, British railways, in which upwards of £1,000,000,000 of capital have been invested, have suffered a depreciation in sharo Values of over £100.000,000 in the last five years, and in view of the continued progress of motor engineering and motor-coach building there is no saying that the railways will not suffer still further loss in tho next few years. Road Improvements. A great change has already come over the old turnpike - roads from John o Groats to Land's End and from Wales to the Wash. They are already overcrowded with vehicles which bear testimony to the triumph of the internal combustion engine. A motorist who recently travelled from the Kent coast to London, a distance of only about 60 miles, passed nearly 100 charabancs crowded with holidaymakeis, and, in addition, innumerable private motor-cars. The Government obtains each year about £20,000,000 from motor licences, and now a tax of 4d a gallon on imported petrol will further increase the revenue.

That tho growth of rnoior traffic will continue is evident from the increase year by year in the number of cars and heavy lorries which are being manufactured. Successive Governments have been so embarrassed by the development of road traffic that for 10 years past they have been subsidising great schemes for tho broadening of old roads, some of them dating from tho time of the Roman occupation, and the construction of new roads broad highways which can accommodate four or' live lines of traffic. This road work is still being carried on under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport, and within a year or two, newly-laid highways will radiate in all directions over Great Britain, penetrating to the North of Scotland and still further opening up the small towns and villages of Devon and Cornwall to tho south. A small motor-car can now bo purchased for little more than £IOO, and the cost of running, including all charges, is only about a halfpenny a mile, and this means that the possession of a car has been brought within the reach of men and women of moderate means.

Tho railway companies arc making desperate efforts to cut down their passenger fares to meet this competition So that they may make further reductions, the railway workers have agreed to reductions of wages equivalent to from £2.500.000 to £3,000,000 annually. This agreement between the railway managers and their staffs suggests that next year, when tho holiday season opens, the rivalry between the railways and tho newer forms of transport will become still more keen. There are already signs that excursion and tourist fares will be cut down even below the pre-war level, though all operating expenses are so much higher than they were. The Coming of tho Motor-Coach.

A still more remarkable development has occurred during tho last few months. The motor charabanc which has become increasingly familiar since the close of the Great War. is now being replaced on popular routes by the motor-coach, wellupholstered and sprung and offering complete protection from wind and rain when the weather is inclement, and fresh air :iml sunshine when tho day is fine Ihe motor-coach constitutes a triumph for the motor engineer and the coachbuilder; it. moves along the road, if not. with the speed, at any rate with much of tho comfort. of the most, luxurious motor-car. Owing to the fact, that the companies engaging in this new adventure have no charges to meet for making and maintaining permanent ways, building and repaiiing costly tunnels, working elaborate signalling systems or building and staffing vailway stations, as is the caso of tho lailwavs, those who choose the new form of road travel can travel cheaply. Tt is now possible, for anvonc in the TjOndon aiea. for lns'nnce. to buy a ticket for 50s. which will enable him or her to travel a distance of 500 miles in any one week, visiting in succession tho attractive towns within 100 miles of tho metropolis Travel by Night.

The newest of all developments is the motor coach for night travel. A company lias recently been formed in London which is establishing a series of services primarily for the convenience of business men who wish to travel in comfort at night al the cost of a third-class railway fare. Kadi of those coaches has ten flunks in two tiers, the hunks being similar to those with which sea travellers were once familiar, and the designers of the coaches have given the a large measure of privacy. , The conches are so admirably sprung thai liltle vibration is fell The travellers sleep throughout the night and in the early morning, as they approach their destination, aro served with a cup of lea and a biscuit. A service between London and Liverpool has already proved a success, and other coaches will run at night between London and Manchester, and London and Plymouth The measure of support on these routes will determine the extent to which others are opened. The promoters are satisfied that their night Coaches will prove serious competitors to (lie first-class sleepers, only available lo tho wealthy, which are provided by the railway companies An immediate result of this competition has been the decision of the rfiilway managers to build third-class sleepers Development ol Aviation. riic railways aro not only suffering from this serious rivalry on the part of self-propelled vehicles, but there is u growing inclination on the part of more wealthy people to use either aeroplane? or seaplanes for travel The example set by Lady Ileath and others is being followed more and more by other men and women who can afford to purchase niv| aeroplane or seaplane for their personal use. The younger generation is undoubtedly acquiring the "air habit." and young people are not merely flying in Great Britain in pursuit of pleasure or business, but are visiting the Continent by this new means So altogether the railways are experiencing a "bad time" and hence the belief, shared by many observers of the course of events, that, in the British Isles, at any rate, no more railway tracks will he laid, since tho profits of those now existing are steadily shrinking.