HIGHER TRAM FARES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 107, 2 November 1939, Page 5

HIGHER TRAM FARES

UNION'S FURTHER STATEMENT

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —Tramway employees, generally speaking, were intrigued indeed to learn that during the Exhibition year they are going tp receive ,an extra £36,000, but unfortunately upon reacting Mr. Hislop's statement more fully it appears that this sum is to. be paid in "extra overtime and in other ways." Experience.has taught us that there will be a much greater sum paid "in. other ways" than in "extra overtime," but even if this is not the case, one does not need to be very conversant with the position to realise that, to obtain possession of the suni mentioned, tramwaymen* will need to work extremely long. hours under particularly onerous conditions. As pointed out in our previous letter,, the uniqji has placed ;96 men at the disposal of the management each* day. If these men are used with sound judgment any. payment made by. way of extra overtime will bring in a comparative increase in revenue.

The basis of our protest was that during the negotiations for a new award Mr. M. Cable, General Manager of the Tramway Department, and his co-assessors, drove a hard bargain on the grounds that any increase in wages in excess of one penny an hour would necessitate an increase in fares. Immediately that bargain was concluded he used its terms as a basis for an argument that fares should be increased. Mr. Hislop set up a smoke screen with 'a lot of figures, brought forward dn grounds that he does not attempt, to substantiate, which do not in the slightest refute our protest, but, on the contrary, tend to .support it by way of showing that there are factors other than wages behind the increase of fares; for instance, he mentions the loan renewal fund appropriation.

Despite Mr. Hislop's assertions, we continue to believe that if the increase in wages is the only.factor to be considered there is no justification for an increase in tram fares, and in conclusion we would .reiriind Mr. Hislop that the agreerhent reached in conciliation council was one that evidently gave him a great deal of satisfaction, for in a report in "The Post" on October 27 he is reported to have stated that it reflected, credit on both sides. The increase in wages is one that was accepted by tramwaymen with the greatest of reluctance, for they feel they were entitled to a higher figure, but they realised there was,some logic in Mr. Cable's statement that this was no time to be increasing fares, and acted accordingly. Having done so, they now resent being riiade the, butt of an attempt to increase fares.—l am, etc.,

P. A. HANSEN, Secretary, New Zealand Tram^yays Authorities Employees' Union cf Workers.. ' ' '.

Several more letters have been received protesting, against the imposition of higher fares on .the city tramways.

"Regular Rider suggests a new ticket— 7 10 rides for 3s—for use by longdistance workers on the five \vorking week-days, with Saturday and holiday travelling on the new dearer ticket— eight rides for 2s 6d.

"Lynbrook" pleads the case of Mornington residents on the ground that under the new scale they will be paying IOJd a day for transport" to 'arid from the city (Post Office): To the" Railway Station the' cheapest fare,, he says, would be 6|d, made up of: bus 2_d, tram ..(blue ticket) 2Jd, and tram (white ticket) lsd. More .equitable treatment of. Mornington is urged.

* "Pro Bono Publico" considers the new :,fares a gross; iriipbsition, especially on poor folk with families. He suggests: 10 clips for; 3s 6d, instead of eight for 3s.

"One With Poor Sight" appeals to the;tramway, authorities to have tram destination signs placed clearly on the sides as well as the ends of the cars, so that people with poor sight may see them without having to step out on to tlie street at personal risk from traffic.

"Karori" states that the long-distance concession fare has been increased from 3d to 4_d, or 50 per cent, in a few months. "Have the overhead charges been increased by 50 per cent, in this period?" The correspondent -contends that the penny-an-hour increase in wages for two men (double shift) for, say, 16 hours a day, would mean 2s 8d a day, and for this hundreds, having standing rides, are to be charged gd a ride on* recent scales, or l£da ride on the old scales. Five people making a return ride from Karori to Lyall Bay, Island Bay, or any of the other suburbs would themselves pay for this increase for the. tram crews—yet hundreds of passengers are required to pay the same increase. This seems to be an attempt to make extra profits from the Exhibition, though ratepayers will in j any event have increased expenditure on tram fares in entertaining visitors during the Exhibition period.