DIMENSIONS OF PRAMS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25091, 24 January 1947, Page 9

DIMENSIONS OF PRAMS

TRAMWAY REGULATIONS GENERAL OBSERVANCE BY MANUFACTURERS The attention of perambulator manufacturers has been drawn to the regulations governing the carriage of prams on trams in a letter from the Public Transport Association, which sets out the position in the four main centres. The secretary of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr R. T. Alston) said yesterday that as far as was known, Christchurch manufacturers kept most of their pro? ducts within regulation dimensions. The Public Passenger Transport Association wrote that the tendency was for New Zealand manufacturers to elaborate on the construction, thus increasing the size and weight of prams, which might become too cumbersome for carriage on public vehicles. The association suggested that manufacturers might overlook this point in their desire to enhance appearance. The association said the regulations in the four main centres were as follows:

Christchurch.—Push - chairs and prams: maximum size and weight, length 39in, width overall 241 in, depth 17in, weight 331 b. Wellington.—Height 33in, depth 23in, width 20£in. Auckland.—The carriage of prams is not permitted on tram-cars or buses. Provision is made for the carriage of not more than two folding push-chairs. Dunedin.—There is no standard pram in Dunedin.

The association said it was not possible to arrive at a standard maximum size for all the undertaking because of the different sizes of cars and platforms.

The secretary of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation (Mr D I. Macdonald), replying to this letter, said he believed the custom of manufacturers in centres where tram and bu§ requirements were laid down was to make a considerable proportion of their output in the regulation sizes, but there were always some customers who required prams built to different specifications. In view of the different sizes, it was hardly possible for the federation to recommend any Dominion-wide action. If transport authorities wished to approach the manufacturers in their own cities they could do so through the manufacturers’ associations, which would arrange discussions.