SIGHT-SEEING

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 124, 30 May 1927, Page 10

SIGHT-SEEING

BUS PURCHASE DROPPED

MORE COMMUNITY

MACHINES

KARORI'S THIRD LICENSE

REFUSED

Though the City Council at a special meeting last Monday decided upon the 1 purchase of two Bell observation buses at a price of £2500, that figure to cover machines and goodwill of a business now in its sixth year, it reversed that decision last Thursday evening, resolving not to .proceed -with the purchase. . In reply to inquiries as to the reversed decision, the Mayor, Mr. G. ,A. Troup, t aid that it was distinctly 'understood by himself and the council when the matter was first considered that Mr. Bell intended to go out of the gight-seeing business altogether, and it was on that understanding,that the resolution to purchase his observation buses was adopted. Later, when Mr. Bell's, solicitors advised the council that Mr. Bell reserved the right to continue in the sight-seeing business, the council decided to/drop negotiations. Mr. Bell's statement to a "Post" "reporter to-day is. that he wished to continue only -under certain exceptional conditions: That he should be permitted to enter the field again should the council later drop the observation bus business; that dance trips and the like should be continued by hfm, and that he should have the right to take buses over routes not covered by the City Council. In that latter regard, said Mr. Bell, he had particularly in mind a run already popular, from the Khandallah Domain, on Sunday afternoons. m6ee buses to hutt. Wellington's experiment -with the "community bus" i s apparently turning out profitably, for; though a modest start was made with only two machines, a third has now been put on the road, and, it is understood, three more are now oeing given the last coats of varnish for their Wellington-Petone-Hutt runs. ,The City Council, as the licensing authority for "the; Wellington district, seemingly regards these machines with a not unfriendly eye, for it granted a permit for six buses to the proprietor of this line of machines. The Appeal Board, however, threw the licenses out and it was that action which prompted the counter-move of the "community bus" ide». , The chief reason stated for the decision of the Appeal Board was that insufficient business was offering to warrant additional buses. With that attitude the City Council did not agree but could do nothing further in the matter. The reply to the contention that the business did not warrant buses other than those running at the time of the application has be;n answered, as stated above, by the decision of the community bus people to increase their fleet from two to six. TEST ACTION COMING. The idea behind the' community bus principle is, of course, to side-step the provisions of the Motor Omnibus Act, for as the passenger is not charged a definite fare, but simply places in the driver's box what he considers a fair thing, the bus does not, as the A<?t has so far been read, "ply for hire," and therefore may run without a license granted by the district licensing body or, the Appeal Board. How long this'system nihy continue remains to bo seeii, for the "Auck-' land Star," after referring to new community buses on Auckland runs states:— . ' "Tho immunity whici has, been enjoyed by the 'cbmmuiiity buses' in Auckland may not be fjontinucd. The matter cam* before the No. 1 licensing authority. Messrs. Alison and Alderton drew attention to the buses running at Birkenhead in direct opposition to tho licensed services, payment being by a system by which passengers placed what amount they considered fit in a box They suggested that in so doing, the buses were plying for hire, and quoted Mr. Justice Hosking as having supported this cdntcntion v The city solicitor will be asked to take action to test the matter." BUS RACING COMPLAINED OF. Several complaints have beon made to a "Post" representative who made inquiries into bus matters generally of bus racing between the city and the Hutt Valley. A Hutt resident who makes regular use of the bus service stated that fortunately bus rivalry and racing were not frequently manifested but occasionally racing to stoppingplaces to gather in business ahead of the competitor took place; to the considerable discomfort of women passengers, and also to men passengers who placed a sound skin before the saving of three seconds and tho thrill of smart driving. The overhauling and passing of buses on the straight-way Hutt road ramp were also mentioned as being both unpleasant to most passengers and unnecessary to everyone concerned. One outstanding instance of keen rivalry between drivers was mentioned: Two buses upon a special evening run left Wellington together and hold together till Petone was passed, but the back bus reached tho destination first, passing the other going up the incline of the Cuba street ramp. DOG IN THE MANGER. There is a good deal of dissatisfaction among Karori residents at the refusal of the City Council to grant a license for a third bus between Karori and the Kelburn tramway. . "Tho council has taken up a dog-in-the-manger attitude," said one resident In the first place/the tram service is miserable, both -as regards the time occupied, by the journey and the serious overcrowding; secondly, the council refused point-blank to work in with the Kelburn Tramway Company; now it declines to allow Karori people to help themselves out of. their transport difficulties." Another strong point made by the resident was that it was high time that some attention' was given the Kelburn Viaduct, which was built a good many years ago to carry light traffic, and today was continuously subjected to heavy traffic strains. The wooden palisading, moreover, was far too light and flimsy to stand up to a bus or lorry attack, whichy sooner or later, was almost bound to come. The amount of compensation to be paid to the Wellington Suburban Bus Company in respect of the fourteen machines taken over by the City Council has been fixed at £9000, to include interest and,. other charges.