FREE TRAMWAY RIDES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 144, 19 June 1926, Page 15

FREE TRAMWAY RIDES.

j (To the Editor.) | Sif^—Ytirif correspondent "Passenger" ! makes an insinuation that the tramway authorities and employee's are not dwake to possible leakages' as far as the collection df fares is concerned. It is I apparent your correspondent must have' limited Knowledge 6f the difficulties our i conductofs have td contend with, and< alscf, the' U«§fJ6ffs_ia«lik€ attitude! 6f large numbers' of ihe travelling public; He does not seem td be aware of the-fact that "extra" conductofs are employed at rush periods to facilitate the speedy collection of fares 6_ dtfefCfowded cars; neither does he aripferiate the 1 fact that every overcrowded car caniiot he supplied With an assistant cdriductbf for a vefy Obvious reason, namely* rimcri as we, as an industrial unit, would iifce" td see more traffic men employed* the advent df the private buses entering into direct competition with our trams liks Blade it ! riecessafy that experises be cut down to a minimUm. "•Passenger" and all who are genuinely interested iti the preservation of the service should give the conductof . a reasonable Chance to collect bis fares—firttry,- by having their fares ready; secondly, by "moving along" the.cetttrewdy cheerfully When requested to do so by. tlie conductor; thirdly, not even the sriiaftest conductor has much of a chance of collecting a fare from a person who ately plans to evade the payment df a fare. Many years of this kind of W6fk, coupled with a close study of rilefi aftd Women of all classes of sdeiety, has taught mc that if a passenger reallyWants to pay.he will make every endeavour to do so, and rib per sort Will lfeave a car without paying if of honest intent. In conclusion, may I ffepiy to What is, perhaps, yotir 'correspondent's Weakest argument. He says, "If ail fares were t__§ete_ the present loss might be tufned into a profit." Now this is a fery Mean and unjustifiable attack to make updtt a large bag? of men who, for the past tW6 yeafsyhaye ioyally assisted both the piiblie arid the iriafiageflieiit by putting up With & great amount df personal discomfort—and often abuse—by carrying greater numbers at rush times, than is required under our by-laws.— I am, m., j. HOOLE, President, Auckland Tramwaymen's Union.