THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIERS PIRATE BUS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 248, 19 October 1922, Page 4

THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIERS PIRATE BUS.

GUERILLA WjARFARE. (By Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON , , August 14. We are having our little war in the streets of London and the heroes in it are soldiers three—ex-service men. They are doing a pirate stunt and their fight is against thn monster red buses that now rule the roost in' our tramless streets. Everybody here, and lots of New Zealanders for that matter, know the haughty mien of the motor busmen They have long lorded it, but a tinje will come But to our story. There swam into the ken of the travelling public a new bus, a modest chocolate in colour, but as big as any of the all red buses which' now swarm in our streets, the property of the London General Omnibus Com- ' pany, which with the tubes have till now had a monopoly of our urban traffic. The' London General Omnibus Company doesn't like rivals even a. single one, owned by three ex-service men, who "carry on" the bus work themselves. When it appeared on the street two L.G.O.C's. stuck to fore and aft of the pirate all the way with tender solicitude, ibut not many passengers. The privateer, however, was undaunted. "Now don't you go and get in that old cruieer," the conductor called out to a passenger in ecorn. "We've brought this one out specially for you."

"We're sticking it out to the bitter end," the conductor told a passenger. "Tliis shadowing is the best turn Lord Aehfield (chairman of" the L.G.0.C.) could have done us—and I've told the Commissioner at Scotland Yard all about it. How long ago was it that noble lord was crying out because there were no £10,000 a year men? Well, here we are, three of us—although I say it myself—and you see, he doesn't like us. But wait. This ie only a. beginning. We've got something tetter up our eleevee.

"If they had not followed us we might senrcely have been heard of.

"Instead, we got a fine lot of free advertisement and consequently sympathy from the public.

"Their two 'chasers were empty half the time, while we were full up.

"Their following tactics cost Uβ a good deal in fares for the first two or three days certainly, but later people boycotted our pursuers."

I So now the two "nurses" of the 1 L.'G.O.C. have been called off and London's new game—rides on the private joy rjus is in full swing. At all points between Live/pool Street and Victoria little knots of people waited to board the chocolate buccaneer. Especially was it the messenger boys' darling. I Xo wonder! The conductor, who is also a proprietor, is a paragon in civility. I "You know what Lady Mary Montague I said,"' he announced "to a cheery bus ■ load. "I turned it up in my tiook of quotations. 'Civility costs nothing, and ! gains much."'' And it was as the paying guests of a quizzical host that" we travelled to Victoria.

I The appearance of the pirate may . bring to a head again the long drawri- , out issue between municipally owned ■ trams and a transport combine running ; buses. The former carries a heavy weight ; of sinking fund cost of road upkeep from : all of which the private motorbus company is exempt. Our chocolate bus soldiers will wake the' public up.