THE ECONOMICS OF ROAD TRANSPORT. By K.. G. Fenelon. (Allen
and Unwin. 10s. 6d. net.) THERE is Still value in studies of railway economics such as those Sir William Acworth and Mr. Knoop produced, but they are shouldered aside to-day in the growing attention paid to road transport. Mr. Fenelon has written a very comprehensive book, which should, for a time at least, hold the field in this sphere. After a historical survey he plunges into our problems
in Great Britain, problems of commercial and private cars, omnibuses, trams and cycles. He is particularly interesting in dealing with rivalries between omnibuses and trams, electricity and petrol. Besides the vehicles he treats of taxa- tion, of roads and rails, freights and fares. Except for occa- sional comparisons he confines himself to this country, and seldom leaves his technical sphere, but in dealing with the rural omnibus services he shows that he realises their social effects : and we see his preference for healthy competition when he writes that :---
" Where a monopoly is obtained, either by a big company or a municipality, the effect is in general to raise rates or fares above the competitive level."
And we have lately seen by how many hundreds of thousands of pounds a year the London County Council tramways are subsidizedcompulsorily by those who do int use them, largely even by their competitors, the railways.
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