HOLIDAY FARES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15510, 10 January 1911, Page 2

HOLIDAY FARES.

AN- OBJECTIONABLE CHARGE REMOVED. CONCESSIONS DISCUSSED. Questions relating to the cost of carrying passengers on the Christchurch trams were- -discussed at the meeting of the Christ-church Tramway Board yesterday afternoon. A report on special fares on holidays was made by the Works and. Traffic Committee. It stated that it had been the custom in the' past to charge twopence on special trams from Cathedral Square to the railway station on Aew Year's Day. In order to accommodate the railway passengers, the special trams ' were, withheld from i the heavy holiday traffic to the seaside, and in view also of the fact that the men received .overtime rat-es, the extra charge had been made. The committee, however, had adopted the general manager's recommendation that, owing to the comparatively small sum involved, the'practice should be discontinued. The report also stated that the special fares'charged on special trams to Lancaster Park, to the show grounds and the racecourses must be continued. Special expenditure had been incurred to provide for that traffic, which occurred upon few days during the year, and it was reasonable that special fares should be charged. It was mentioned that concession tickets to regular passengers were sold in Christchurch ;:t a lower rate than in any other centre. That ' was possible owing to the large returns from holiday traffic, which demanded the use of every tram the Board possessed. If anything was done which would interfere with.those returns to any extent, the amount lost would have to be recovered in some other way from the regular passengers. That the committee was anxious to avoid. , . , ,jThe report was adopted without dis-

cussion. . On the recommendation ot the same committee, it was decided that.the.6d bi-monthlv card issued on Beach line should be available for use on the New Brighton line also. Speaking of the concession made to purchasers of bi-monthly cards, Mr S. | A. Staples said that the holder ot .a | concession card should be able to use it in pavment of the fares of his wife or anyone else who might be travelling on a tram with him. Under the existing . conditions, it frequently happened that; the purchaser of a card had not taken all the trips covered by the card, but the unounctured portion of the ticket was worthless. Another source of complaint on the part of holders of con- j cession cards was the running of alter- , nate trams on the Riccarton line round | the loop at Sockburn. When the trams | went the longer route, holders of cards had to pay an additional charge, but the Board, having undertaken to carry them a certain distance for a prepaid fare, could not fairly demand a further payment when that distance was increased to suit the Board's own convenience. He moved that the Fares Committee should review the conditions under which bi-mosthly tickets were issued. Mr J. A. Flesher said there was no occasion for an alteration in the conditions. As chairman of the committee which framed them, it seemed to him that a verv happy solution had been found for the difficulties which might have been expected to arise. It was impossible to remedy every individual case of apnarent hardship. The concession was virtually a discount of oO per cent, which was greater than that granted on any other service south ot the line, and the Board could not yet entertain the proposal that the tickets should be available for use by every member of a family, which was virtually what Mr Staples had suggested. The 'condition of the Board's finances prohibited any further concessions to the public. Mr C. M. Gray expressed an opinion that the question should not have been raised by a member of the Board. Dur-

ing the past few years a restful feeling had spread over the Riccarton district, and such a discussion tended to introduce dissatisfaction. The average amount received by the Board for each ride on a concession ticket was .292 d. In the case of a 2d card, it would be less, while in that of a 6d ticket it would be rather more than a halfpenny. The Board-could not afford any further reduction.. ■ r - ' In ror-ly to Mr Staples, Mr Flesher said that the concession to holders of tickets for the North Beach line was In favour of the Board. ■ The beach .lino was a sixpenny section, but New Brighton was onlv a fivepenny ride. Mr Staples added that the Board should consider the question of catering, as had been done on the Papanui line, for passengers -who left trains at Sockburn to proceed to the city, by train. '■,,.' _x '* The motion to obtain a report, trom the Fares Committee was carried."