PORTERS FOR RAILWAYS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19478, 23 December 1925, Page 7

PORTERS FOR RAILWAYS

“RED CAP” EXPERIMENT AUCKLAND AND WELLINGTON The new “red cap” railway porters will soon make their appearance. The usual platform porter is in receipt of a daily wage and is required to assist passengers with their luggage as much as possible. He is not, of course, permitted to accept any further payment for this service. Inquiries made from the Railway Department established the fact that the “red cap” porter is to be on a different footing. He is to be licensed to attend to passengers’ luggage and requirements on the platforms, aud may be hired for this work, the fee being limited to sipences for a single package or, of more than one package, to a shilling for any single journey required abotit the railway station premises. The Department is of opinion that with a steady-growing traffic in long distance passenger travel by rail, the need has been increasingly felt at rush times, particularly when expresses arc about, for an augmentation of platform staffs to assist in the prompt handling of passengers’ luggage. To permanently increase the staffs sufficiently to secure the best service possible would have resulted in considerable over-running at ordinary times, and the best way to meet the position appeared to be the adoption of the system employed in other countries of licensed porters, who work under hire to the public for stipulated fees at such times and for such trains as their services may be needed. It is made clear that there will be no obligation imposed on the public to utilise these men, who will look for whatevere work

is offering after somewhat the same manner as do licensed porters on the wharves. To those who might otherwise experience difficulty or delay in dealing with their luggage an opportunity for assistance will be provided by the presence of the “red caps.” The system is about to be tried out experimentally at Wellington and Auckland, where its effects will be carefully watched. Should the method prove suitable to the requirements of passengers and work well at these stations it may be expected that the “red caps” will make their appearance at other centres in the Dominion where a call for their services may appear to be warranted.