FORMS OF MUNICIPAL TRANSPORT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24205, 25 January 1940, Page 13

FORMS OF MUNICIPAL TRANSPORT

-STOCKHOLM ADOPTING • -■ ■--OMNIBUSES \ The Swedish capital is gradually replacing its street, car lines in the central part of the :city by omnibus routes...: , The number of omnibus lines in Stockholm is already large. Owing to the rapidly increasing street traffic and the considerable hindrances the tram cars are to this traffic the Stockholm Tramway Company, has, how-ever.-found it wise to introduce fur-ther-bus lines while the trams are subsequently to be used only in the traffic with the suburbs. This development has been found the more justified as it has been possible for the company to reduce, through constant improvements and rationalisations, the costs for bus carrying to nearly the same per. person and kilometre as for tramway transport. If plans recently submitted to the City Council are carried through, there will be only four tram lines in the central city in 1944,. In. connection with this change the first trolley buses will be introduced in Stockholm. Seventy vehicles of this kind have been Ordered from the Swedish Asea Works, of which 20 are to be" delivered before next autumn, when the first trolley line will be cpened'.. This will, later be'followed by several others. The Stockholm trolleys will be of a partly new type—single deckers with seating accommodation for 24 persons and standing room for. further 35, and equipped with a 105 h.p. motor, which gives them a top speed of about 40 miles' an hour. As Sweden has an ample supply of water power-generated electricity it is expected that the trolley buses will be used on a fairly large scale in the Swedish cities, and. in addition, the imminent shortage of fuel has considerably increased the interest in them. The present fuel problem has also made many bus owners look to charcoal '. gas as a substitute for petrol. The majority of vehicles driven by means . of. this fuel are naturally lorries, but the high degree of perfection to which the generator aggregates have been brought in Sweden have induced also owners of buses and private cars to install gas generator sets. Several buses employed in traffic on Stockholm suburban lines, as well as others, are thus at present driven by charcoal gas and the State will shortly run several of its rail buses on this fuel. - -