New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-20
THE MOTOR ohNIBUg

In England where the use of electricity for
the operation of street railways is moro of =
novelty than In the United States the wisdom
OF the practice is occasionally challenged For
instance, an engineering expert writing to
Ihe London Times" few days ago, expressed
the opinion that some of the smaller English
cities which had authorized the construction
or trolley lines might in time regret their
precipitation" He then proceeded TO noint
out the merits of the self propelled omnibus
which is probably more common in the streets
of London than in New-York or other Ameri-
can cities. although still too new to admit Of
a thoroughly satisfactory comparison with the
electric car.
In at least one respect the omnibus is dis
tfnctly superior TO its rival. In extremely nar-
row streets it is less of an obstruction to draws
cabs and private carriages and is less liable to
be delayed by blockade than vehicle which
must follow line of rails The first cost of
a motor omnibus is estimated by the CORE
| spondent of The Times as about the same as
that of the trolley car, but the latter requires
an additional investment of capital for track
overhead wire or conduit and power house An
omnibus line then, calls for q smaller outlay to
begin with. On the other hand, less power is
needed to move a car than a carriage which
runs on the ordinary pavement of a street
Rails facilitate movement by reducing friction
Again a vehicle which generates its own power
! experiences greater difficulty in climbing steep
grades than one which derives power from a
central station Finally, the trolley car has
from two to three times the capacity Of the
omnibus Theoretically, If not practically.
therefore, it's earnings should be larger
The contributor TO our London contemporary
has undertaken to get little light on this last
point, but cOnfesses that he has not been able
to obtain as much he could wish. Here
however is the result in a nutshell: For the
omnibus the cost of operation is nine or ten
pence per mile and its receipts thirteen or
fourteen, an excess ranging from One-third to
onehaf. For the trolley car the cost of opera
ton averages six pence and the receipts ten
pence, the margin being two-thirds of the oper
ating charges.
The superiority Of the trolley system. though
manifest Is not so conspicuously indicated
by these figures one might expect and "'The
Times writer himself evinces a little surprise
/ He suggests that perhaps the omnibus has
enjoyed temporary popularity because it is
a new toy. However, it is possible that another
exceptional factor which he overlooked has
entered into the comparison. If the majority
of the patrons of the omnibus, for any reason
rode for shorter distances than the trolley
passengers represented by the statistics, the
receipts per mile would make better relative
showing. Were the omnibus more extensively
adopted. especially in towns which have yet
neither form of service, the financial exhibit
might not be so favorable. To compare the
revenue from short rides by one vehicle with
that from long ones by the other would be mis-
leading. Nearly equal conditions must be as
sumed before an intelligent choice can be made
There is another fact of which our English
friends may well take cogniZance. The trolley
is by no means limited to the streets of cities
and N reds f,u1al x-
thousands of lines now run from one centre
OF population TO another, interurban cars
making use OF urban rails. The traffic within
a city is greatly enhanced thereby, and the
profits of the urban railway companies are
correspondingly increased. So far as We are
aware, there no interurban stage lines and
we hear no talk OF any. Hence town that