Page:Bradshaw's Shareholders' Guide for 1905.djvu/19

xiv. decline in third class passengers is due largely to the growing importance of tramway competition, which cannot any longer be ignored, especially by the railways dealing with suburban traffic round London. In 1896 the third class passengers numbered 888,604,000 or about 125,000,000 less than tramway passengers in the same period. In 1903 the tramway passengers exceeded the third class railway passengers by no less than 287,496,000, or over 20 per cent. Every year the tramway systems are being extended in all parts of London, and their competitive power presents one of the principal problems with which the railway manager will be faced during 1905. The following table sets out the comparative figures of passenger traffic during the past decade:— The companies which show increased passenger receipts during the six months ended 30th June, 1904, are the Great Central, Great Eastern, Great Northern, Great Western, London and South Western, London, Brighton, and South Coast, Midland, and the South Eastern and Chatham Railways. Decreased returns for the six months ended 30th June, 1904, are exhibited by the Lancashire and Yorkshire and the London and North Western, owing largely to the cotton crisis and to tramway competition at Manchester and elsewhere. There has been a tendency for third class season tickets to increase since 1899, the advance in 1903 over 1902 being 10 per cent. On the other hand there is a small decrease in second class season tickets. The only explanation of this change is to be found in the tendency of workers in large towns, such as London, Liverpool, and Manchester, to live farther out, as the figures show that the increase in third class season tickets is in the longer distances.

A comparison of the goods traffic receipts with a decade ago is unsatisfactory because in 1893 the great coal trade dispute was being waged. The comparison between 1903 and 1902 shows an increase in the minerals and merchandise conveyed of only 7,000,000, or 6 per cent., as against an increase of 20,700,000, or 5 per cent., in 1902. The falling off is doubtless to be attributed to the poor state of trade throughout the country in 1903, and it is satisfactory to note that for the six months ended 30th June, 1904, there was a considerable improvement, in comparison with the corresponding six months ended 30th June, 1903, although some allowance must be made for the fact that the year 1904 had an extra day owing to the operations of leap year. Companies which showed increases were the Great Central, Great Eastern, Great Northern, North London, London and South Western,