Bus service may be cut

Press, 29 January 1986, Page 1

Bus service may be cut

Christchurch bus services may have to be cut to cope with a 15 per cent drop in revenue since fares were increased onethird on January 6. Strike action before Christmas and the fare increase had combined to make the drop twice as severe as an increase on its own, said the Christchurch Transport Board’s general manager, Mr Max Taylor, at a board meeting yesterday. Staff would study all aspects of the board’s business to see where savings could be made, especially bus services during peak hours and on Sundays and public holi-

days. “Obviously with this -drop (in fares sold) we don’t need as many buses on the road,” Mr Taylor said. “We will: have to look at how we can adjust our services down to the level people want.” f

It would take about three months to gauge the full effect of the Tramway Workers’ Union strike, so any action needing the board’s approval would probably' come up in April.

Revenue from fares sold between November 11 and December 8 was 42.5 per cent below estimate, at $283,870. The. number of people using buses during that period

dropped 40.7 per cent below estimate, with 716,568 passengers carried. Over all, total revenue was down 28.7 per cent. Almost all the fall in patronage and revenue could be blamed on" the nine days of strikes during that time, Mr Taylor said. A board member, Mr Geoff Stone, said: “No business can survive reducing services to the public. We have to be very cautious about doing anything which will reduce services.”

Mr Taylor said board staff would study all options to cut costs, not just service reduction.

' One aspect needing promotion was charter work, he said. Between November and December the board lost $29,657 of charter work. “Many of our contracts went elsewhere during the strike. We would be living in a dream to think the charters will come back just because we have,” Mr Taylor said. "We have to re-establish our reliability and credibility.”