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26
areas.
Permission took (and still takes) the
form of ordinary licences to individual vehicles.
The capital of the Companies was small and the
scheme entirely experimental. Accordingly the
cheapest form of vehicle, viz the Ford motor-bus,
was employed in the services. The experiment,
however, proved highly successful and it soon
became clear that the Ford motor-bus was both
inadequate in size and unsuitable and even (in
the hands of Chinese drivers) dangerous in design.
In 1926, therefore, in order that security of
tenure might encourage larger investment in this
form of enterprise and consequently better service
to the public, the three Companies were informed
that they would be granted licences for a period
of three years for sufficient buses to serve
certain specified routes. They were at the same
time given to understand that they must put better
vehicles, preferably of British construction, on
the road and gradually eliminate the Ford buses.
The result has been that the whole of Kowloon
Peninsula is now covered by a first class service
of British buses. No monopoly has been
specifically granted to the owners of these
services: but the traffic authorities consider
the public adequately served and the number of
vehicles as large as the roads can safely carry
and will therefore at present grant no licences
for additional buses. The Companies concerned,
are satisfied with their British vehicles, and
are not likely to court trouble by action
contrary to the known
preference of the
authorities for British vehicles.
3.