The proprietors of all public conveyances (for hire) shall be numbered,
licensed, and find such security as shall be satisfactory to the
authorities. Every proprietor, before he can change the locality of
his establishment, is bound to give forty-eight hours’ notice of his
intention to remove. The sale of such establishments can only be
effected by undertakers (_entrepreneurs_), duly authorised for the
purpose; and the privilege of the undertaker is not transferable,
either wholly or partially, without the sanction of the authorities.
The proprietors cannot employ any conductors, drivers, or porters,
but such as have a license or permit (_permis de conduire_, &c.).
Neither can a master retain or transfer any such permit if the holder
of it have left his service; it must be given up within twenty-four
hours at the prefecture (chief office) of police, and the date of the
man’s entering and leaving his employ must be inscribed by his late
master on the back of the document. Proprietors must keep a register
of the names and abodes of their drivers and conductors, and of their
numbers as entered in the books of the prefecture; also a daily entry
of the numbers of the vehicles in use, as engraved on the plates
affixed to them, and a record of the conduct of the men to whom they
have been entrusted. No proprietor to be allowed to employ a driver
or conductor whose permit through ill-conduct or any cause has been
withdrawn. In case of the contravention of this regulation by any one,
the plying (_la circulation_) of his carriage is to be stopped, either
temporarily or definitely. No carriage shall be entrusted to either
driver or conductor, if either be in a state of evident uncleanliness
(_malpropreté_). No horse known to be vicious, diseased, or incapable
of work, is to be employed.
The conductors are to maintain order in their vehicles, and to observe
that the passengers place themselves so as not to incommode one
another. They are not to take more persons than they are authorised
to convey, which number must be notified in the interior and on the
exterior of the omnibus. They are also forbidden to admit individuals
who may be drunk, or clad in a manner to disgust or annoy the other
passengers; neither must they admit dogs, or suffer persons who may
drink, sing, or smoke to remain in the carriages; neither must they
carry parcels which, from their size, or the nature of their contents,
may incommode the passengers. Conductors must not give the coachman
the word to go on until each passenger leaving the omnibus shall have
quitted the footstep, or until each passenger entering the omnibus
shall have been seated. Every person so entering is to be asked where
he wishes to be set down. All property left in the omnibus to be
conveyed to the prefecture of police. It is, moreover, the conductor’s
business to light the carriage lamps after night-fall.
The drivers, before they can be allowed to exercise their profession,
must produce testimonials as to their possessing the necessary skill.
They are not to gallop their horses under any circumstances whatever.
They are required, moreover, to drive slowly, or at a walk (_au pas_),
in the markets and in the narrow streets where only two carriages
can pass abreast, at the descent of the bridges, and in all parts
of the public ways where there may be a stoppage or a rapid slope.
Wherever the width of the streets permits it, the omnibus must be
driven at least three feet from the houses, where there is no footpath
(_trottoir_); and where there is a footpath, two feet from it. They
must, as much as possible, keep the wheels of their vehicle out of the
gutters.
No driver or conductor can exercise his profession under the age of
eighteen; and before being authorised to do so, he must show that his
morals and trustworthiness are such as to justify his appointment. (The
_ordonnance_ then provides for the licensing, at the cost of 70c., of
these officers, by the police, in the way I have already described.)
They are not permitted to smoke while at their work, nor to take off
their coats, even during the sultriest weather. The omnibuses are to
pull up on the right-hand side of the street; but if there be any
hindrance, then on the left.
The foregoing regulations (the infractions of which are punishable
through the ordinary tribunals) do not materially differ from those
of our own country, though they may be more stringently enforced.
The other provisions, however, are materially different. The French
Government fixes the amount of fare, prescribes the precise route to be
observed and the time to be kept, and limits the number of omnibuses.
On the 12th August, 1846, they were 387 in number, running along 36
lines, which are classed under the head of 12 routes (_entreprises_),
in the following order:--
+------------------------+-------------+-----------+----------------+
| | | No. of | Nos. according |
| Routes. |No. of Lines.|Carriages. |to the Licenses.|
+------------------------+-------------+-----------+----------------+
| 1 Omnibus Orléanaises |} | | |
| and Diligentes |} 13 | 151 | 1 to 151 |
| 2 Dames réunies | 3 | 29 | 152 to 180 |
| 3 Tricycles | 1 | 11 | 181 to 191 |
| 4 Favorites | 4 | 47 | 192 to 238 |
| 5 Béarnaises | 2 | 19 | 239 to 257 |
| 6 Citadines | 2 | 13 | 258 to 270 |
| 7 Batignolles--gazelles| 2 | 19 | 271 to 289 |
| 8 Hirondelles | 2 | 30 | 290 to 319 |
| 9 Parisiennes | 3 | 33 | 320 to 352 |
|10 Constantines | 1 | 12 | 353 to 364 |
|11 Excellentes | 2 | 15 | 365 to 379 |
|12 Gauloises | 1 | 8 | 380 to 387 |
+------------------------+-------------+-----------+----------------+
| | 36 | 387 | |
+------------------------+-------------+-----------+----------------+
In order to prevent the inconvenience of too rigidly defined routes,
a system of intercommunication has been established. At a given point
(_bureau des correspondances_), a passenger may always be transferred
to another omnibus, the conductor giving him a free ticket; and so may
reach his destination, or the nearest point to it, from any of the
starting-places. This system now exists, but very partially, on some of
the London lines.
The number conveyed by a Parisian omnibus is fixed at 16; each vehicle
is to be drawn by two horses, and is to unite “all the conditions
of solidity, commodiousness, and elegance that may be desirable.”
In order to ensure these conditions, the French Government directs
in what manner every omnibus shall be built. Those built prior to
the promulgation of the ordonnance (Aug. 12, 1846), regulating
the construction of these vehicles, are still allowed to be “in
circulation;” but after the 1st of January, 1852, no omnibus not
constructed in exact accordance with the details laid down will be
allowed “to circulate.” The height of the omnibus is fixed, as well
as the length and the width; the circumference of the wheels, the
adjustment of the springs, the hanging of the body, the formation
of the ventilators, the lining and cushioning of the interior, the
dimensions of the footsteps, and the disposition of the lamps, which
are three in number.
The arrangements, where a footpath is not known in the streets of
Paris, and a gutter is in existence, are tolerably significant of
distinctions between the streets of the French and English capitals.
I shall now pass to the consideration of the English vehicles as they
are at present conducted.