THE BUS SERVICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20384, 12 October 1929, Page 14

THE BUS SERVICES.

Sir, —Being; a resident on the Edendale bus route I have studied the working conditions and have come to the conclusion that the cauises for the losses can be sum-, marised as follows : —(1) The loss" caused by the bus .'having to travel 10 miles per day to and :from the depot. Taken at Is per mile, this means some £2OO j)er annum. (2) The loss incurred by haying to pay drivers full wages while the bus is running Lsss than one-half of its time. This means a loss of at least £2OO per annum. (3) The loss caused by running a heavy bus during the slack periods of the day when a light one would meet all requirements. A saving jn this direction, of at least £IOO per annum could be made. (4) The lack of the human element in the service. While the monetary loss of this cannot be assessed, it must bo considerable, as numbers walk to -the terminus in preference to submitting to the hard-and-fast rules which must necessarily be enforced under the present.system. Ono example will make clear my meaning. On a recent wet day I was in the bus with only one other passenger—an old gentleman of 80. His house was halfway between two stopping places (no intending passengers were waiting at either place) and he asked .the driver to pull up to save him getting a drenching. The reply was, "Cannot be done, sir r it is against the rules." The driver was quite right, but the answer would, have been very different had the bus been run otherwise than by a public body. This is only one of many instances which could bo enumerated to show that to be iirsuccess a suburban service must be ran to suit the requirements of a suburban population. This is quite impossible under such a body as the Transport Board,' under whoso employ large numbers of men have to be governed by strict rules and regulations. While my remarks are only dealing with one line of buses, they apply in a more or less degree to all the feeder lines in Auckland and I commend to the. "powers that bo" the following suggestions for turning the losses into profits and for tho better services for the suburban population:—Let the Transport Board secure a section of land at each feeder bus and tram terminus and erect thereon a motor service station with the tramline running into the garage, enabling passengers to transfer under cover. Then oall tenders for the lease for 3, 5 or 7 years of the station with the right to ruu the feeder service from it, under conditions controlling route, fares, maintenance, etc. The proposed extension of the Edendalo tram offers a unique opportunity for testing this scheme. It would end tho losses enumerated and tho. rental would prove a source of revenue. The lessee would in his own interest require both heavy and light buses, which would all be available at rush periods. Ho would frame his timetable so that the drivers could be employed in the garage between runs. Another great advantage lo the scheme would bo the provision of a garage where country people would leave their cars in safety in preference to driving them into the city traffic. Again, to my mind, th& human element would bo introduced with great advantage to all suburbanites. Common Sense.