STUART STREET BUSES

Evening Star, Issue 24933, 3 August 1943, Page 2

STUART STREET BUSES

MINISTER MODIFIES TIME-TABLE LOADING TIME INCLUDED Further reference to ' the Stuart street bus service was made at the City Council last night by Cr M. V. Henderson when submitting /the Transport Committee's report. A letter, he said, had been receh ed from the Minister, of Transport (the Hon. J. O'JJrion) in which the Minister stated that the 15-nuuute minimum allotted for the run included the time taken for loading and unloading passengers. The modification, said Cr Henderson, meant that there was now no limit'to speed. If loading and unloading took a long time, that came out of the running time. For example, if it took six minutes for loading and unloading, the running time was cut down to nine minutes, and on the return journey the driver must stick to the 15 _ minutes, and so could not make up lost time, in which case being late on one trip meant being late all day. The more passengers the higher the speed; the fewer passengers the lower the speed. "If that is public safety, 1 have other ideas." remarked Cr Henderson. The position was simply ridiculous, and the whole trouble had arisen because the Minister had taken action without hearing the council's side of the question. Cr J. W. Munro said that after the last council meeting he had talked with the Minister regarding the matter, and Mr O'Brien had told him that when the union had made representations to him regarding the danger attaching to a 10-minute service on the route he had issued the 15-minute regulation, as a sort of " stay " until he decided what to do. At the time the City Council proposed sending a deputation to Wellington the Minister was away from that city, and the City Council never made any other effort to establish contact -with the Minister in that way. Cr E. J. Smith :• That is not the case.

Cr Munro: That is what the Minister States. The letter which was said to have been forwarded later, Cr Munro added, had never reached the Minister. The latter had called for reports by two of his inspectors in Dunedin regarding the union's complaint, and these reports had supported the complaint. The Minister had been quite ready to meet the council at any time.

Cr D. C. Cameron 6aid he did not blame" the union for making the complaint, hut ho did blame the Minister for making the decision without hearing the council. The speaker was quite sure the council would have been loyal to whatever decision the Minister had made had. he consented to hear both sides.

Cr R. Walls remarked that it had been nothing but stubbornness on the part of the Transport Committee that had created the trouble. The speaker read a report made by the chief traffic inspector (Mr E. H. Barrett) in which he stated, inter alia, that the route was not a good one and that it was impossible to negotiate some of the corners without taking lip the whole width of the. road. The route could be quite safe, the chief inspector had said, provided that certain street widening was done, that selected drivers wero used, and that conductors were employed, so that the driver could retain control while the bus was stationary, on a grade. The Mayor described the Minister's reply as extremely weak. _ Mr O'Brien had" not dealt with the point raised regarding the failure to hear both sides of the question. It was strange, too, that tho letter mailed by the town clerk had gone missing. : : - - : - : Cr Henderson, in reply, said the whole matter could have been disposed of if a low speed limit had been imposed on the dangerous parts of the route. , -