SUBURBAN TRANSPORT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19469, 27 October 1926, Page 14

SUBURBAN TRANSPORT.

TRAM AND BUS SERVICES. ROYAL COMPANY'S PLANT. CITY TAKES OVER TO-DAY. DETAILS OF NEW TIME-TABLES. Beginning to-day the City Tramways Department, will run services to cater lor the residents in districts formerly served by the Royal, Motor Bus Company, which ceased operations at midnight last night. For the past week the staff of the tramway department has been preparing new timetables, the aim being to servo all districts as far as possible by providing moro frequent tram services. In some cases there is a large traffic beyond the present tram termini and this will be catered for by bus-feeder services of sufficient frequency to carry all passengers offering. Taking advantage of the provisions oi the Motor Omnibus Traffic Act, the Royal Motor Bus Company notified the council that it would be required to take over the fleet of 28 motor-buses and the depots used in connection with the service, the price named being £29,675. The plant has been inspected and valued by the tramway officers and although no agreement has yet been reached as to the price to be paid, the council will take over the buses from to-day and use them in the various services. Early yesterday morning a fire occurred at the company's depot in St. Mark's Road, one bus being badly burned and two others slightly damaged. This depot will be used by the council as a running depot, while the company's other depot at Onehunga will in the meantime be used as a garage. It is also understood that a number of the drivers employed by the company will be retained by the council, married men and those with dependants being given preference. A Five-Minutes Service. The revised service between the city and Onehunga provides for a five-minutes tram service throughout the greater part of the day, with short periods during which the service will be a ten-minute one. This service will be augmented during the morning and evening rush-periods with through express bus services to the Onehunga Post Office, with additional buses between Newmarket and Church Street and To I'apapa woollen mills. Thei'e will also bo an extra tram service between the city and Greenwood's Corner during the busy periods. An adequate bus-feeder service will also be run between the Onehunga Post Office and several points in Mangere.

So far, there is no indication that the council proposes to continue the all-night bus service between the city and Onehunga which has proved a great convenience to many city r and suburban workers.

The through bus service between the city and Seaview Road. Remuera, via Parnell, will bo half-hourly during the busy periods and hourly for the remainder of the day. The last trip citywards at 10.35 p.m. will be to St. Stephen's Avenue, at which point passengers can transfer to the trams, the bus going to the depot at St. Mark's Road. Panmure and Ellerslie. There will be a bus sefvice from Panmure and Ellerslie to the Great South Road tram terminus, on which combined tram and bus concession-tickets will be available. This will be mainly an hourly service. However, there will bo through trips to the city in the morning and from the city in the evening. The bus service from Lake Road, two sections beyond the Great South Road terminus, will be almost a ten-minute service, with occasional gaps between buses of 20 minutes. Morning and evening through trips will also be run. The service from the intersection of Ladies' Mile and Abbott's Way, connecting with the Great South Road trams, will also serve Ellerslie. This will in the main be an hourly service, with shorter periods between buses, at busy periods. The Campbell Road feeder-service will be half-hourly for the most part, with an hourly service during the slack hours. The buses will run between the corner of Rawhiti Road and Tawa Road and Royal Oak by way of Campbell Road. The fare will be 2d cash, but combined tram and bus concession-tickets will be available at 5s per 12 trips to the city. DISCUSSIOH AT ONEHUNGA. QUESTION OF LATE CARS. A communication from the City Council regarding the transport service to come into force this morning was received by the Onehunga Borough Council at its meeting last evening. Mr. T. R. Gilbert suggested the council should he reminded of the necessity for making better provision for through passengers to Onehunga than they used to secure in the old days of monopoly. This particularly applied to the rush hours and the last cars at night, Onehunga passengers being left in the city while short-distance passengers were taken, a disability which had been overcome only since the buses started on the route. Mr. R. G. Speight protested against the elimination of the Te Papapa bus service through Onehunga, and the substitution of a route through Green Lane to the Campbell Statue. Mr. 11. A. Stoupw supported this complaint, and said that To Papapa residents were greatly concerned about the new service announced.,