WORK RATIONED

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 54, 27 November 1930, Page 10

WORK RATIONED

No Saturday Morning' TRAMWAY WORKSHOPS Due to Revenue Decline It U «. sign of the times that the tramways department ■ has since last Saturday dispensed with the workshops and garage staffs on Saturday mornings, in order to effect an economy in the cost of the four hours’ work curtailed. The decline in revenue is £lOO a day compared with 12 months ago. This action taken by the tramways manager, Mr. M. Cable, and approved by his committee, is the result of economic necessity. At present there is not so much work to do, as the equipment as far as rolling stock is concerned is up to all present requirements, and it. is not proposed to initiate another carbuilding programme until there is necessity for one. Mri Cable has been interviewed by the secretaries of unions concerned. but he told them, as he informed a “Dominion” representative, that the action was taken in order to ration the work and in the best interests of the men, for if the Saturday work were not cut out the dismissal of more men than had already been put off would be necessary, and the movement had been made in order to retain the existing staff. The men affected by the closing down on Saturday mornings are the workshops gangs, under Mr. H. Lean, numbering 125, who are employed either in building cars or repairing those in commission. This has been continuous work. In order to guarantee the safety of the public there has to be constant inspection of the mechanical parts of the tramears and repairs have to be made daily to the working parts of the undercarriage; wheels have to be . inspected, brakes attended to, and electrical equipment overhauled almost continuously in order that nothing shall go wrong when the car is out upon the road. In addition to the repair of the cars in commission, there is always a number being rejuvenated with paint and varnish. A Common Movement. There is a movement in the transport world not only in Wellington, but also in almost every large city in the world served by either trams or buses. The cash receipts of the Melbourne tramways had at the last report been less by £2OOO a week than at the corresponding time last year. A report made in October from Brisbane stated that the tramway receipts had gone down by £l3O a day, and in Wellington the sharp decline has taken place which represented a reduction in receipts of £lOO a day, compared with the return of this time last year. The London Omnibus Company has been feeling the pinch. Seemingly the decline in business was gradual until.the last summer holidays. A great number of people always left London in August on their annual holidays. That accounted for a big drop in business, but it was thought that it would recover as soon as the people returned to town. However, the expected recovery did not happen, and in one week in September the company had to dismiss 250 men. Changing Service. The trouble is thought to be that here, as elsewhere, this necessary curtailment of employment may not stop at present economies. As receipts go down in other avenues reductions of staffs may become necessary in .’order that local bodies and private firms will be able to balance their budgets. Nothing is contemplated this year in Wellington, but it would not be at all surprising to some to see the tramways time-table overhauled a little later on, with a view of making economies, dictated by the falling revenue. Those who observe have noted that many people who formerly rode on the tramways to their office or factory doors, now leave the cars at a section-end before their destination, and walk the rest of the way to their work. This has been noticed at several points in the service, but perhaps more noticeably at the Courtenay Place junction, where several sections end. It means that people individually are beginning to practise economy. In ordinary time the means to increase the revenue would be to raise the fares, but that could scarcely be done now.