TRAMWAY NOVELTIES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 137, 11 June 1909, Page 8

TRAMWAY NOVELTIES.

"STOPS" AND -5 O'CLOCKERS." SOME EXPLANATIONS. "All cars," runs a longstanding notice in tho time-table, "stop when the .sign on the pole a has a red band across the white." The plain white 'is an indication that the car will fly past unless requested to stop by somebody inside or out. Red has now cannoned with the white at all the "request" places on the main city route between the Royal Oak corner and Lambton Station, via Manners-street, Willisstreet, and Lambton-quay. The sign of "compulsory stop" is set upou live extra places, and the vehicles pauso whether there is anybody or nobody to enter or depart. This procedure, which tho City Council recently approved, has been attacked ou the score that the extra stopping, when there is no call, merely wastes time, and involves greater wear and tear on tramway material, rolling stock, track, and everything else. The reply of the Tram-way Department is that the new system will help to prevent cars from "closing up" or piling up on one another, and enable them to run more closely to time-table. It is also contended that the regular gradual stops will entail less depreciation of material than the sudden braking frequently done by motormen under the old system, when passengers or intending passengers were not prompt in giving evidence of their intentions to leave or board a car. It is also argued that the new order will help to promote 6hort-distance traffic in the inner area, on the expectation that busy people, knowing that the care regularly, stop at fixed points, will be .more disposed to take a car for a short ride. It is assumed that' the numbers of persons^ who "pop in and out," will appreciably increase. Except for the pointe indicated, the old "request" rule remains unaltered, but it is possible that the junctions Tory -street and Taranakistreet with Courtenay-placa will be added to the list of "compulsories," in deference to an argument that the straight run through is not always without an clement of danger. A recommendation of tho Tramway Committoo, adopted by tho council last night, has beeu rather misunderstood by ono of the morning papers. "Apparontly," it stated, "tho counoil has decided to abolish all intermediate penny sections on the tramway routes." Tho councillors, howover, ha-vo no such ambition to court trouble with thoir constituents. The idea, which was approved last night, is moroly to try an experiment to simplify tho problem of tho 5 o'clock rush. An officer of tho Tramway Depal tment explained this morning to n. representative of Tho Poßt that for some time residonts of distant suburbs, suoh as Island Bay and Karori, who worked in the oity area, found thomsolves crowded out of care by "ponny-sootionists" for tho hotnoward run. Thus, an Island Bay man ninning for a oar near the Lambton Station at 5 o'olook, might be shut out at 5 o'olook by a person who did not wish to travel further than to Courto-nay-place. Honco it was believed advisable to impose a minimum charge of 3d on passongoru who tako tho 5 o\;lock Island Bay car at any point botweon Lambton Station and Courtonay-place, and the minimum oharge will be 2d if tho oar is boarded between Courtcnayplaoe and Rintoul-street. It is likely that tho experiment will be extended to other routes, but it is Understood that the Inland Bay line will figure first in the trial. The confidential section of the tramway repoifc lost night was solely conoorned with tho staffing re-arrangc-niontr..