Accrington on Rails - The Tramways: A Complete History - Robert Kenyon

Year

Car miles

@ 1d per car mile £2,471 – 11s – 8d

Interest @ 3% £883 – 16s – 0d

TOTAL @ March 31 st , 1920

1919/2 0 £32,815 – 5s – 3d In comparison the ‘actual’ sum was £26,271, a deficit on this basis of £6,544 – 5s – 3d. Calculations on this year’s contributions at the rate of 2½ pence per car mile (which is equal to the current cost of permanent way renewals), the amount would be = £6,178 – 19s – 2d, a difference of £3,707 – 7s – 6d, which would take the deficit of this fund to £10,251 – 12s – 9d. The total length of single track is approximately 10½ miles. Taking the cost of renewals at £11,000 per mile, then there is only sufficient money set aside to renew 2½ miles or thereabouts, and this after only 13 years of traffic out of the 16 years which is the estimated useful life of the present track. The total sum taken from the rates since the tramway system was first established and not yet repaid is, at the end of the Financial Year £4,558. At a meeting of the General Purposes Committee it was resolved the salary of the Tramway Manager would be increased from April 1 st last to £650 per annum from £500 in lieu of War Bonus, and again by a further £50 from April 1 st , 1921. The Electricity & Tramways Committee met to discuss the question of tramway fares. They took into consideration the question of finances of the Tramway Department, and had before them the accounts for the year ending March 31 st 1920. This showed a loss of £295, this without making any provision for depreciation, which on 593,180 car miles run during the year @ 2½ pence per car mile, would amount to £6,179. The deficiency for the year ended March 31 st 1920 = £6,474. The estimated total expenditure for the year 1919/20 was as follows - Wages of motormen and conductors = £5,500. Permanent way maintenance = £4,000. Maintenance of rolling stock and overhead = £2,000. Interest on loans = £300. 593,180

Local Rates = £650. TOTAL = £12,450.

Add depreciation for 1920/21 on 600,000 car miles @ 2½ pence per car mile = £6,250 - TOTAL = £25,647. Deduct as sum corresponding to the average increase in income during the past four years as follows -

1916/17 - £1,169 1917/18 - £6,272 1918/19 - £6,282 1919/20 - £8,885 TOTAL - £22,608

This gives an annual average of £5,652 let us say £5,674, leaving almost £20,000 as the estimated deficiency at March 31 st , 1921, this is if the necessary provision is made for depreciation. The car receipts for 1919/20 = £50,000. Of this the workpeople contributed = £6,000, 20% in addition to this figure = £700. Whilst ordinary fare-paying passengers contributed = £44,000, 50% in addition to this figure = £22,000. This shows the ‘estimated’ increase in fares for a full year equal to £22,700. The experience of other tramway authorities where there has been an increase in fares shows, that for a short period the numbers using the trams has fallen, but after a reasonable length of time they have adjusted themselves. It will be noted that the total wages for the year ending March 31 st, 1920 amounted to £24,278, as compared with the year ending March 31 st , 1915 which was £9,006. This shows an increase of £15,272 or almost 170% in equivalent terms. The total revenue for the year ending March 31 st , 1920 was £51,880, as compared with March 31 st 1915 at £27,850, this being equivalent to 84%. For the current year it is estimated that the total wages bill will be £29,616, an increase over 1915 of 229%. It should be borne in mind that the operating cost per passenger is bound to increase, as the travelling public will not put up with the inconvenience of overcrowded cars indefinitely. It is obvious that when the new cars are delivered increased mileage will have to be operated at peak times in order to avoid the possibility of excessive overcrowding of cars.

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