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NOTES REFERRED TO IN ENCLOSURE NO. (1.)
Hong Kong Tramways, Limited.
PROPOSED MOTOR BUS SERVICE ALONG QUEEN'S ROAD. INTERVIEW WITH THE CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE.
1. I had a long interview with Mr. Wolfe on December 31st last on the question of motor bus operation.
2. It appears that although we were informed by the Government nearly three years ago that motor buses would not be allowed along Queen's Road the attitude of the Government has suddenly changed and not only will motor buses now be allowed along Queen's Road but the Government is anxious to come to an arrangement with some company which is prepared to operate a service from Causeway Bay to Whitty Street by Caroline Road, Queen's Road East, Queen's Road Central and Queen's Road West.
anxious to create a new motor bus com- 3. It appears that Mr. Taggart pany in Hong Kong with the object, inter alia, of operating this motor bus service parallel to the tramways. I told Mr. Wolfe that the offer contained in our letter to the Colonial Secretary dated the 12th February, 1925, still held good and that we were both willing and anxious to run this service.
4. I further pointed out that although, admittedly, the Hong Kong Hotels, Ltd., introduced motor buses into the Colony this was done as a legitimate branch of the Hotel business for the purpose of conveying passengers between the two principal hotels on the island, our Company started in, on passenger transport in Hong Kong (and on a much large scale than Mr. Taggart) as far back as 1904.
5. Mr. Wolfe is anxious to be fair to all parties and he asked me whether we would object to Mr. Taggart undertaking the Queen's Road motor bus service if we were granted a quid pro quo in the shape of an undertaking by the Govern- ment to allow us to take over the Kowloon buses in perhaps two years time.
6. Although this sounds attractive it is necessary to bear in mind that the Government is opposed to and will not grant a monopoly and the best we could hope from the Kowloon offer would be that none of the three companies at present operat- ing in Kowloon would have any of their licences renewed after say January, 1930. Even then I imagine we would be expected to either compensate these companies or take over their vehicles at an enhanced figure. I say enhanced figure because although we might not pay more for each individual bus than its then market value, the aggregate amount would be far more than this heterogeneous collection of different makes would be worth to an operating company wishing to standardize on a modern fleet comprising vehicles of the most suitable make and design.
There is another most important feature which occurred to me and which contributed to my inability to give Mr. Wolfe an affirmative answer to his question regarding this quid pro quo. It is as follows:-
7. Some motor buses I saw at the Commercial Motor Show in London seat 72 passengers and although Mr. Taggart's intention, if he is granted the Queen's Road concession, is to run buses seating less than half this number he would, as an enterprising man, naturally introduce larger vehicles as time went on and as traffic developed, and although in the first year or two he might not compete with
the Tramway Company to any serious extent, I am quite certain that in a few years time especially if petrol drops considerably price or a cheaper form of fuel becomes general-the small buses would be superseded by double-deck six wheelers equalling or exceeding in seating capacity our present tramcars.
8. I asked Mr. Wolfe whether, since he felt he must do something for Mr. Taggart, he had considered working the other way round and giving the Queen's Road concession to the Tramway Company and the 1930 Kowloon promise to Mr. Taggart. He said he had not, but asked whether we would consider that. I told him that although a reply to such a question would necessarily have to come from the Board, for my own part I would say a bird in hand is worth two in the bush and that I would rather operate the Queen's Road service now than ac- cept some promise for the misty future which, however sincere and well-intention- ed to-day, might prove much less substantial in a few years' time when perhaps the present Governor and Mr. Bernard and even Mr. Wolfe himself may have left the Colony.
9. Again it ought to be borne in mind that one of our reasons for apply- ing to the Government three years ago for permission to operate motor vehicles along Queen's Road (particularly Queen's Road East) was due to the Government having notified us that our track along Praya East was to be moved north quite a con- siderable distance. We realised then that any person say at Wantsai Market desir- ing to go into town by tramcar would have to walk nearly a quarter of a mile to the tramline and it was realised that a motor bus service along Queen's Road would be much more profitable after than before the completion of the Praya East Reclamation scheme.
10. Mr. Wolfe asked whether, if we were allowed to run the Queen's Road buses, we would undertake the service to the University and Felix Villas, etc., I said we provided Mr. Taggart wished to withdraw his buses along these routes. would be quite prepared to do so. I went further and said that the Tramway Com- pany was quite prepared to undertake all the motor bus services as well as the tramway services and trolley vehicle services which are now or which at any future period may be required in the Colony.
11. Our Queen's Road scheme was submitted to the Government nearly three years ago and one of Mr. Wolfe's reasons for considering Mr. Taggart's proposition is that Mr. Taggart would be prepared to run a taxicab company as part of a large company which, however, must include the Queen's Road motor bus service, and as the Police had never had the slightest trouble with the Hong Kong Hotel buses with regard to satisfactory maintenance or upkeep it is only natural that Mr. Wolfe would welcome a taxicab company which could be relied upon to maintain its vehicles in a first class condition.
12. Finally I made this suggestion to Mr. Wolfe; that although my Board of Directors would feel that they had been treated unfairly if any company other than the Tramway Company was permitted to operate a regular motor bus service close to and parallel with the tram lines I hoped that should this unhappy state of affairs eventually come about the Government would give an undertaking that the Tramway Company and only the Tramway Company would be permitted to operate motor buses actually along the tram track which we of course maintain and which being necessarily in the centre of the road-bears most of the heavy trans- port of the Colony for the whole of the 9 miles which separates Shaukiwan from Kennedy Town.
January 3rd, 1928.
(sd.) L. C. F. BELLAMY.
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