EASIER NOW

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 156, 30 December 1940, Page 8

EASIER NOW

RUSH ON TAXIS OVER

EXCEPTIONAL LAST WEEK

Though a good deal of difficulty was experienced by the taxi companies and operators during the Christmas rush, the period is easier now. There may be another rush tomorrow and on New Year's Day, but it will not be as awkward as last Tuesday and Wednesday.

The demand for taxis on Christmas Eve was exceptional, the wet weather having a lot to do with it, said the manager of one of the largest companies today. One company had announced that it would not take any "booked orders," but his organisation had not had to go that far, though admittedly there were delays in answering some calls, as urgent runs had to be given preference.

It was not a matter of patrol supplier but was simply the Christmas rush, added to by shoppers being caught by the weather and also by the number of men on leave from, the camps wanting to get about with the least expenditure of time.

As had been arranged for private car owners, taxi owners also had been permitted more elasticity in the use of petrol supplies for December and January, their allocations being available in either month: they have also been granted some increase in the usual monthly allowance for December and January. The exceptional demand for taxis about Christmas had probably eaten fairly heavily into the two months' allowance, and there might jbe some difficulty towards the end of January for owners who used up their allowance early in the month. However, the present indications were that the next week or fortnight would be fairly quiet, for a great many people were away on holiday. There would be another brisk period when holiday makers began to return by train and boat and when the men returned to camps, but the congestion was not likely to be as awkward as it was last week.