TRAMWAY SERVICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18356, 23 March 1923, Page 8

TRAMWAY SERVICES.

The reduction of Sunday fares on the city tramways, forecasted two months ago by the Tramways Committee, has now been sanctioned, and from April 1, week-day cash fares will rule also on Sundays. The difference in the respective fares has hitherto been too wide to be justified upon any other ground than expediency, and even that argument overlooks the restraining effect upon traffic of high fares. Otherwise it may be presumed that the council's decision still to exclude concession tickets on Sundays indicates that the rebate now proposed represents the limit permitted by the financial results of the past year's operations. That will be demonstrated when the accounts are published, and in this connection it may be suggested that much of the criticism of the council's management would be at least better-informed, if not satisfied, if the council adopted a policy of telling the public and the ratepayers more about the financial side of the business. While the public will welcome the new Sunday order, it must be remembered that the scale of fares does not measure the efficiency of the service. There is still much reason for complaint re garding overcrowding and confusion generally. The new destination signs are a long-overdue improvement, and it may be asked whether a simpler and less expensive device would not have been equally effective and more quickly installed. Apparently the plan of loading the cars at defined points during rush hours has been abandoned, without reversion to the former careless method, so that a premium has been placed on the activity of passengers and their ability to identify cars by motorman or conductor. No competent observer would describe the present arrangements as efficient, either in the employment of cars or in serving public convenience. Indeed, it is probably conservative to say that conditions now are as bad as ever they have i been Whether the solution is to be found in the addition of more cars to the services or in a reorganisation of run r 'ng on the circular route system, is a question for the management. Certainly there is room for great improvement.