The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 9 (January 1, 1928)
London Suburban Traffic
London Suburban Traffic.
London's traffic problem grows apace. The city is served by steam railways, which make their way into the metropolis by tunnels and bridge-works galore; by electric railways providing speedy, clean and comfortable movement for the season-ticket holder; by underground electric lines of rare efficiency which burrow beneath the clay bed of the capital; by noisy road buses which hoot and toot the whole day long and far into the night; and, on certain local routes, by lumbering electric trams. With a view to rendering improved service and reducing congestion it is suggested that all these travel agencies in the London area should be co-ordinated to form one big transport pool.
The magnitude of the London traffic problem is illustrated by figures recently issued showing the growth of traffic in the past quarter of a century. In 1860 the number of passengers carried every year by public vehicles within a radius of twenty-five miles of Charing Cross—the official centre of the city—was 40 million. By 1900 the number had increased to 280 million. In 1910 the figures stood at 560 million; in 1920 at 2,800 million; and in 1925 at 3,252 million. It is estimated that by 1930 the figure will actually have grown to 4,000 million. The proposed London transport pool, it is suggested, would be supervised by an overriding public authority, and there would be no change in the ownership of existing undertakings, whether privately or publicly owned.