SYDNEY'S TRAMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1937, Page 13

SYDNEY'S TRAMS.

EFFICIENT SERVICE.

ABILITY TO HANDLE CROWDS.

DEFENCE OF SYSTEM,

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

SYDXEY, January 29

Most politicians and most newspaper men and practically all the people who prefer to be thought progressive and "up to date" are now in the habit of pouring contempt on trams as a means of transit and transport and predicting their speedy extinction. But whatever may happen in the future there is no escape from the fact that at present the tramway service in a city of the size of Sydney is indispensable to the comfort and convenience and the social and commercial activity of the community. It is true that buses are now included in the city equipment as a necessary adjunct to the tram service on routes where the lines do not run, but the trams are still an immensely important factor in our public transport service. At ordinary hours there are 533 trams running on all lines, but at peak liours 1370 vehicles have to be used. Record Loading in 1924. The record loading for any one day on Sydney s trams —1,307,808 passengers—• dates back nearly 12 years —to April lij 1924, when the British Fleet arrived.) Contrary to the general impression, Sydney's trams are now running at a profit. For the year ending June 30, 1931—a year before Mr. Lang's dis- i misssl—there was a loss of £433,100 on running costs. But during the past four years the trams here have earned a! profit of £233,000—nearly £00.000 a year —in spite of the fact that reductions in fares totalling £500,000 were granted in 1932. It should be evident from these figures that trams are a very popular means of transport here, and though complaints are frequently made about their appearance or the discomfort that passengers endure, there is no doubt about the efficiency of the service. Tramway department officials claim that no city in the world handles large crowds more scientifically and effectively than they are handled here. At Randwick, for example, after the finish of the races, passengers reach their platforms by overhead bridges from the course. 1000 Passengers a Minute. The approaches and clearways have been designed so as to permit the exit of just as many persons as can be handled by the tramway service without causing congestion on the platforms. The result of this forethought and planning is that 1000 passengers a minute are transported without confusion or congestion. A further illustration of the extraordinary efficiency of the service was given recently after a Test match, when 357 car loads, carrying 28,500 passengers were shifted from the Sydney Cricket Ground in less than 25 minutes. The special services provided on holidays to handle the crowds that frequent our beaches or throng the Sydney Cricket Ground are similar models of efficiency. On Easter Monday last about 170,000 passengers were conveyed to and from the showgrounds in 2134 car loads. But all this was in addition to the seaside and race traffic, which on special holidays is heavy enough to create a special proElem in itself, without the assistance of the Royal A. and P. show. Evidently, even if the trams are destined soon to pass into oblivion, they are still doing important and useful work for th.; community, and in this city they are doing it well.