HUNTSBURY BUS SERVICE

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29250, 7 July 1960, Page 15

HUNTSBURY BUS SERVICE

Link With St. Martins • Sought Protests over the “unsatisfactory skeleton bus service” at present operating on Huntsbury Hill were made at the annual meeting of the Huntsbury Ratepayers' and Residents' Association. A resolution. carried unanimously, urged that the present service be incorporated with the service to St. Martins. Proposing the motion. "That the strongest representation be made by a denutation to the Christchurch Transport Board urging the integration of the Huntsbury Hill service with the existing St. Martins service, and that the ter- t minus be extended to the gates .of the Huntsbury Children's Home," Mr K E. Twomey said the whole problem was a “hardy annual.” Since the time when there were only 20 houses on the hill to the latest approach, in which a petition signed by 152 residents had been forwarded, nothing but excuses had been made by the board, said Mr Twomey. “It all adds up to the fact that over the years most of the residents on the hill have had to rely on their own transport. Two vears ago the Transport Board decided to run the hill service in conjunction with the St. Martins service. The system was tried and it worked very well, but later it was taken away without consultation.” Mrs S. Hanover, seconding the proposal, said that housewives who wanted to shop locally had no service. Although the bus ran into town. not,, every woman wanted to go there to do her shopping. “It seems that the board only wishes to provide us with transport to and from work. It would seem that they couldn't care less for our leisure time activities such as visits to cinemas, meetings and to concerts. If they ran a more efficient service they would get far better support,” she said. The chairman of the association (Mr T. E. Miles) said he fully realised the Transport Board had difficulty in providing bus services to large subdivisions where the rate of build-up was only gradual. “Until we are integrated with the St. Martins service we cannot hope for a better service on the hill." be said. Mr Miles said that support for the proposed scheme had been given by local Huntsbury shopkeepers and also those at St Martins. One resident suggested that motorists on the hill should patronise the bus service when travelling to and from the city, in order to keep the service on the run and in deference to those residents on the hill who did not own motor-cars. Board's Attitude Of all the routes operating in Christchurch, more consideration had been given by the Transport Board to the Huntsbury run than all others in the city, said the local representative on the board (Mr A. Woodward). A popular belief that more persons used their own cars because of the poor bus service was not an accurate assessment of existing conditions, he said. *‘lf people have cars they will use them regardless of the regularity of the service provided,” said Mr Woodward.

Explaining that the board had given a considerable amount of attention to the residents' wishes, Mr Woodward said that since the Huntsbury service was put into Operation in 1946 the route had been altered on four occasions because of petitions by the Residents' Association. Mr Woodward said that he thought the present feeling of the board was that a service to the top of the hill would be an uneconomic venture and would not be well patronised. It was decided that a deputation from the association’s committee would attend a meeting of the Transport Board to explain its case. The meeting was attended by about 45 persons.