“ROOM FOR BOTH BUSES AND TRAMS.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17877, 19 June 1926, Page 2

“ROOM FOR BOTH BUSES AND TRAMS.”

GENERAL MANAGER SPEAKS ON TRAFFIC CONGESTION. * “ Authorities on traffic transport agree that buses cannot hope to cope with congestion successfully on their own. Trams are the better for this. While I would not say that the future is bound up in either buses or trams, I believe there is room for both,” said the General Manager of the Christchurch Tramways (Mr Frank Thompson) in an interview this morning The Transport Board in London, continued Mr Thompson, reported recently

that there was no other way of handling transport in the busy streets than by trams. This decision was come to in order to minimise the congestion, and the British Government transport authorities had cut out from 700 to 800 buses in the last year or two. In other words, they found that the amount of street occupied by passenger buses was greater than that taken by trams. Another interesting view of the situation, contimied Mr Thompson, was that shares in tramway companies in America—most of the tramways there were privately controlled—suffered a decline with the invasion of buses some years ago; but it was significant that these shares were now on the upgrade. which would scarcely have been the case had trams been regarded as obsolete.