Buses and Theatre

Grey River Argus, 7 October 1949, Page 2

Buses and Theatre

(To The Editor) Sir—As “A Bus. Driver s Wife’’ has accepted my challenge, I would like an opportunity to reply. I am not asking the drivers to work half an hour extra; I am asking for only five minutes’ grace to allow people to reach the bus stop. After all, as I stated previously, the other buses leave right outside the theatre, whereas the country buses leave from Tainui Street. Yet country people are expected to reach" their buses in the same time as those who simply have to step out of the theatre into a bus. Concerning the late departure of buses prior to the present arrangement, “Bus Driver’s Wife” is in error in blam’ng the theatre management in every instance. Many times I and many others have waited at the Post Office in all weathers for ten minutes or more and watched all the other buses depart while Dobson, Wallsend and Blackball people stood on the pavement waiting for their buses to come down from the garage. I can assure “Bus Driver’s Wife” that my watch was not behind time on Saturday, September 24, nor were the watches of the other twenty-five people who missed the bus that night. I suggest that the drivers check their watches. The theatre managements have on several occasions commenced screening at 7.45 p.m. and usually time their programmes to finish at about 10.25 p.m. If the buses leave at 10.30 p.m. this allows patrons five minutes to fight their way out of the crowd and walk along to their buses. An additional five minutes, while not being sufficient to spoil the drivers’ suppers, would ensure that no one was left behind. Finally, as it is the bus service I am discussing, I fail to understand “Bus Driver’s Wife’s” reference to coal mines. I can assure her I am not a coal miner, nor am I connected in any way with the coal mines. I am etc., “FIVE MINUTES MORE” Dobson.