Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-01-25
Unusual Year of Development
" Recorded for Motor Trucks
Spirit of Cooperation Between Various
transportation agencies Has
= Worked Many advantages.

units one OF the largest years in the
history of the industry. With the
exception of the banner year, 1923,
when 3s2,760 units were made in the
United States, last year was the
Iarg in point of production.
Other DEVELOPMENTS. however. In
the motor truck and bus business
record 1924 as I year of unusual
accomplishment, Among these may
be enumerated: 1853 trolley companies
were using $500 busses; many indie
pendent, operators were successfully
engaged in city and iuterurban bus
transportations the taxicab industry
was on sound footing with large
export as we'll as domestic trade; the
Boston and Maine Railroad pointed the
way TO economy on short haul routes
through the adoption of motor veh:-
CIe&;s the American Automobile Asso-
ciaNon formed an organization Of
truck and bus operators.
England and Japan were large
purchasers last year of American
made taxicahs, according to a report
on the motor truck and bus industry
for 1924, prepared by Windsor T
White, chairman of the motor truck
committee of the National Automo-
bile Chamber OF Commerce.
Americn stiu on Top.
american manufacturing methods
in taXicab production apparently still
retain the predominance which was
wrested away from Europe during
the World War" states Mr.. White,
for the reported market for taXicabs
is still a big factor TO American
manufacturers.
1T was only several years ago
when the modern motor bus chassis
was developed. Unlike the jitney
movement, the trend toward the
motor bus has come primarily as in
tcrcity, rather than municipal use,
although there has been notable
increase in the number of motor busses
used to supplement street railway
service in our cities.
Within the past two years and al
most entirely within the last i
months there has sprung up an ever
growing network of passenger car
rier highway lines, IN which COM
Portable and even II, 'rious specially
designed, low-hunE motor coaches
have predominated. AS this has de-
veloped, the term motor coach has
sprung into being to create differen-
tiation from motor bus, which is now
generally applied to the city or
street-car type Of construction.
Coach Is Profitable.
so comfortable is the new motor
coach that it has been found profit
able for their users to invest as much
as $4,000 to $40 in single unit.
Passengers seem TO prefer long rides
of from SO to 100 or more miles in a
motor coach to the same ride by rail-
road train, and are willing to pay
fare greater than the train fare, but
less than the railroad fare and Pull
man charge combined.
I'm the intercity operation of motor
coaches, as in the uses of all other
forms of passenger carriers, II is de-
sirable, if not necessary, 70 own eX-
ira equipment for the handling Of
peak loads. This extra equipment, II
used for this purpose only, is eXpen-
sive and lowers considerably the
margin of profit from what reason
ably might be expected. Accordingly,
the practice which has greatly de-
veloped during the past year of char
tering such extra equipment for spe-
ciaI occasions or groups has added
materially to the profits of motor
coach operation in many localities.
Don't Expect 10 Supplant Trolley.
Leaders in the motor bus industry
do not. hold TO the belief that the
motor bus will soon, or perhaps ever
replace the trolley in the mass trans
portation field. They do insist, how
eyer, that the bus must be an impor-
Jant factor in city transportation If
the electric railways are to give the
full service which public convenience
and necessity requires.
1T is significant to note that this
attitude Of the bus manufacturers is
shared by an increasingly large
number of trolley officials-so much
so, in fact, that during 1924 the num-
her of trolley companies using motor
buses increased from los to 16S, and
the number Of units used by them
70 EMO
Lower operating costs for the mo-
tor bus give it predominanCe over
The trolley on light traffic lines and
enable trolley companies 70 extend
\ co-ordinated service from newly
settled regions to their rail heads.
When requirements OF track or wires
or bridges or repair of highways be-
comes essential, the motor bus is be-
ing increasingly used to reduce capt.
tai expenditures.
Parallel Lines Increasing.
Another field into which more and
moro trolley companies are going ts
that of motor bus lines parallel to
their own tracks, where "seat-for-
ALI bus policy at a rate of fare higher
than that charged for trolley service
is regainiing for the electric railroad
patronage formerly lost to the owners
Of passenger automobiles, who now
Will not use the trolley.
That a field exists for motor coach
use by steam railroads, some of their
officials are beginning to realize, al
though complications here exist that
do not enter into the trolley field.
Rail leaders everywhere willingly ad-
nit the desirability of setting up
feeder lines leading to the rail heads,
but not all are at present willing to
grant the necessity for service paral-
telling or replacing steam lines.
"One of the few rail lines that con-
cedes the public demand for motor
coach service and has established its
own coach service IS the Spokane,
Portland and Seattle Railroad, which
now sells round-trip tickets good for
use between these cities by either rail
or motor coach: One railroad which
has dropped it's rail service and has
set up a motor coach service which it
is planning greatly to increase Is the
Boston and Maine Railroad, which is
haul line on it's Ashburnham CMass.)
branch. ..f- ..~..-.
Would Substitute Trucks.
rail lines would willingly substi-
tute motor coach and motor truck
passenger and freight service on many
non paying branch lines were it not
that in almost every case local i'm
dustries which do a considerable full
car shipment business would be Seri-
ously Handicapped. To this argument
the Boston and Maine Railroad replies
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