THE TRAMWAY SERVICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17700, 8 February 1921, Page 5

THE TRAMWAY SERVICE.

» ANZAC ROUTE IN USE. WELLESLEY STREET TRAFFIC. MORE CARS REQUIRED. I The alterations in the Auckland tramway service came into operation yesterday, the Anzac Avenue rente being utilised for the first time. All Onohunga care, both inward" and outward, L now use this route, Royal Oak cars the » Town Hall route, and Epsom cars the Parnell route. The" Epsom and One- ; I hnnga services apparently proved satis- I d j factory to the residents of those dis- £ i tricts, for the cars were well patronised. | l I and there was little confusion. A popular change wa3 the despatch ' a I of the majority of the special cars on , J the Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Mount ' t i Albert, and Grey Lynn routes between : 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. from the Wellesley ' s 1 Street intersection. The only fault was . j that there were not enough. Large a ' numbers of intending passengers gathered t at this point between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.. ! and the servioes, with the exception of | thiit on the Grey Lynn route, were quite I unequal to the demand. There was conI siderable congestion, and the arrival of a j car was the signal for a wild scramble for a- .• eat. The fact that the s.. >pping place in Wellesley Street east and the one in Queen Street had been moved some distance away from the i intersection without notification to the i public added to the confusion. The t special Grey Lynn and Surrey Crescent c cars were poorly patronised, several being 11 practically empty in the busiest period, i This was also the case with Epsom \ specials which left the Wellesley Street j intersection, but no notice of the running ] of these cars had been given. At the foot of Queen Street* the con- \ ■ gestion was almost as great as before , j the alterations in the services during the j I " rush" hours. Many cars had the chains ] up before reaching the Post Office, i, numerous passengers getting on at the j Swanson Street and Wyndham Street . stops. This was particularly noticeable , in the case of Dominion Road, Mount j Eden, and Mount Albert cars. , There was the usual rush for cars in ( Customs Street East, where the One- ; hunga, Epsom, and Remuera cars leave. < Yesterday's experience further emphasises the fact that the present service is in- , adequate to cope with the traffic, especially during the " rush" hours. MOUNT EDEN COMPLAINTS. STATE OF THE ROLLING STOCK. Criticisms' of the tramway service, and particularly of the condition of some of the rolling stock, were voiced by members 1 of the Mount Eden Borough Council last evening. Mr. W. J. Hammill said there ■ were many rumours about that cars were being pust on the road in an absolutely unfit stale. It was stated, in connection with the recent accident in Symonds ■ Street, that the wheels of the car in question were very much worn, and this was responsible for the collapse of the gear , box, which resulted in the car turning ! into the footpath. He suggested that a ! letter be sent to the tramway authorities 1 asking whether there was any truth in : the rumours concerning the condition of ' the rolling stock. Mr. J. Smith : We have nothing to do J with rumours. , The Mayor said they did not want to j pick at the City Council in regard to the * tramway service, but they all knew it j was not very convenient. It was scm»- ' times necessary to change cars owing to ." the one on which the journey was started not being up to the work of carrying its load. This was particularly awkward when it happened in the rush hours, as had been his experience twice recently. He would not like to talk of rumours to the City Council, but they might call attention to the frequent interferences in the services on the Mount, Eden and Dominion Road services and ask if anything more could be done in the matter. Mr. Hammill said he was not making any charge, but these things were being frequently said, and the ratepayers were beginning to fear the cars were not in good order. He would like to know from! the city what was the cause of that acci--1 dent in Symonds Street—whether the car 1 was faulty, or whether it was a pure accident. The Mayor said they might ask that. It was reported to have been a Mount Eden 1 car, and in that case they could take ' action. It was decided to write to the City ' Council drawing attention to the frequent interruptions to the Dominion Road and 'Mount Eden services, asking whether anything could be done in the matter, and . whether the car which met with the accident in Symonds Street was in bad condition.