TRAFFIC TO TEST IN DUNEDIN

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28019, 13 July 1956, Page 12

TRAFFIC TO TEST IN DUNEDIN

Heavy Bookings For Public Transport

MANY TRAVELLING IN PRIVATE CARS

.?. ra ® c b y road, rail, and the air !™ ! . .be mostly southward from Christchurch today. The exodus ol tootball enthusiasts to watch the firs! Kugby test between New Zealand and the Springboks at Dunedin will begin this morning and reach its peak in the evening, with the departure of two special trains.

. O n ly a few seats remained unbooked yesterday morning on the special trains, which will arrive in Dunedin in time for the travellers to ,“ ave breakfast. The cheapness of the travel by rail for the occasion has reduced the demand for bus travel. The Railways Road Services nave ,not had one booking of seats in a special bus, and reports that the buses to travel south number upwards of 40 have been without foundation. r he total number is fewer than 20 Many hundreds of private parties are travelling to the test in cars. The first parties will go south leisurely this morning, and the traffic will increase in the late afternoon and early evening. Because hotel accommodation in Dunedin has been booked out for months, manv are timing their arrival in Dunedin fot early tomorrow morning, up to the time of the opening of the Carisbrook gates.

"We expect a busy time between here and Dunedin.” said Mr D. L. Hogan, district officer for the Transport Department, yesterday. “Patrols will mix with the traffic throughout the night, and inspectors will be in touch with each other.”

Eight Midland buses, with an average of 30 passengers each, have been reserved by parties from clubs and firms. The buses will leave at various times this evening. Some will return on Saturday night, and the rest on Sunday. The buses have been booked for some time. For football enthusiasts from country districts as well as from Christchurch, Days Motors, Ltd., will run nine buses.

A special bus from Nelson and Blenheim will run through to Dunedin for Newman Brothers. Ltd. The company has not had much demand from the north of the South Island for services to Dunedin, but special buses from there and the West Coast have been booked for the third test match at Christchurch on August 18 No inquiries for charters of Christchurch Transport Board buses were received. N.A.C. Flights All scheduled flights to Dunedin tomorrow by National Airways Corporation aircraft are fully booked, and one special flight has been ordered. Three special flights will be made on Sunday from the Taieri airport to take football enthusiasts to Christchurch and Wellington. Although the new highway bridge over the Waitaki river is open for traffic, the new entrance to Dunedin from Waitati by way of the Leith Valley is not completed, and motorists will have to travel by the highway over Mount Cargill, where fog is often experienced.

Organisation for the trip has given the private parties something to talk about in the last week besides the football prospects. For those whe will be motoring the 228 miles throughout the night, a diversion, if their car has a radio installed or a passenger portable set, might be to listen-in to the rebroadcast fro n Station 2YA of commentaries on the cricket test betw.een England and Australia.

Many copies of parking plans of the localities near the Carisbrook eround have been circulating in Christchurch. Generally, the streets are not as wide in South Dunedin as within a half-mile radius of Lancaster Park, and many motorists from Christchurch will, doubtless, leave their cars in the central area of Dunedin and make their way—a short one—as best they can by public bus, taxi, or foot to Carisbrook.