STRAPHANGING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 246, 17 October 1929, Page 11

STRAPHANGING.

BAN IN ABEYANCE,

WESTEBN SUBUBBS BUSES.

AN INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT.

Urgent representations were made by the Auckland Bus Company yesterday to the Minister of Transport, the Hon. W. A. Yeitch, as a result of a demand by the Public Works Departm-ent that the company should immediately surrender the licenses of eight buses, for endorsement with an order prohibiting the carrying of any standing passengers. The company's fleet serves the western suburbs, New Lynn, Glen Eden and Henderson, and has been under private control since Good Friday last.

Early in the year the Auckland Transport Board entered into negotiations for the sale of a number of its buses, and since the transfer there have been several alterations to the time-table to meet with the requirements of the residents in the districts which the Auckland Bus Company serves. A representative of the company stated to-day that > uses had been obtained for one or two subsidiary routes and considerable expense had been incurred in improving the buses generally. The "demand from the Public Works Department was received on Tuesday and the manager, Mr. W. Iddeson, and the solicitor for the company, Mr. Bryce Hart, discussed the position yesterday with the local Public Works engineer, Mr. F. S. Dyson. On behalf of the company it was submitted that the ban on standing passengers would impose much hardship upon the travelling public and would mean that a large number of the people using the buses at rush hours would be unable to get accommodation. Further, it was stated that the company had a number of buse« under construction and would be able to cope with additional passengers in the near future, but to do this at the moment was impossible.

In a telegram sent to the Minister of Transport the company pointed out the consequences of the Department's demand and asked that the restriction be postponed until the expiration of the annual license. A reply received by the company this morning stated that th> restriction would be postponed in the meantime, but the duration of the postponement had not been definitely decided.

A representative of the company wiil wait upon the Minister of Public Work, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, on Saturday when he is on a visit to Auckland to discuss the position further.