NOT TOO BUSY

Evening Star, Issue 25675, 26 December 1945, Page 4

NOT TOO BUSY

TRAIN TRAFFIC FROM DUNEDIN MANY CANCELLATIONS THROUGH SICKNESS The traveller is notoriously'fickleHe provides either a feast or a famine for those whose exacting duty it is, especially during Christmastide, to arrange for transportation facilities away from Dunedin. Curiously enough, the. ominous news announced well before this time of vacation that trains would be more packed than any other Christmas fell rather flat. Even railway officials have been astounded that their meticulous arrangements for the travelling public’s conveyance to all points of the compass by trains operating to a necessarily restricted schedule owing to coal shortages have resulted, in an anti-climax. There have been two major reasons for the not abnormal railway traffic generally. Exceptions were on Friday and Saturday, but since then there have been even a few empty seats, vacated at the last moment. The reason foT merely comfortably-filled, trams was the abnormal amount of sickness at present. Children have been the patients mostly, and their maladies nave been mumps, measles, and other such complaints. Well-planned itineraries have been ruined,, and there must he many a family cooling its Reels at home. Thus the person who has purchased a travelling ticket but omitted to reserve has been for once in luck. That happened on quite a few occasions on Monday and Tuesday. Another reason for the fact that there, were empty seats was the change in the system compared with last Christmas, whereby persons could now reserve a month ahead up to January 12. They could make their reservations only a week in advance last year, at this time. In consequence, the bookings this year were better spaced. Also, factories closed earlier prior to this vacation, and many persons left Dunedin well before the few days immediately preceding Christmas. THE TRAMS. As far as travel within Dunedin was concerned, the city transport department has had a rather thin time. M6nday night, when most persons were in the city to make their purchases for . the holidays, could be likened to a Friday night, hut yesterday provided a very quiet morning, the buses taking oyer from the trams and running ,a restricted service. Towards noon, however, more persons were conveyed about the city, while in the afternoon there was heavy patronage of the trips around Dunedin that have been reinstated by the department after two years. Trips to Whare Flat and on the route that embraced the centennial memorial and Mount Cargill were very popular. These are. being run daily over the holiday period.