TEAM MANAGEMENT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10282, 17 May 1919, Page 10

TEAM MANAGEMENT

(To the Editor “N.Z. Times.

Sir, —Referring to the local in yesterday’s "Times” re above, the traffic manager is extremely indiscreet in his remarks and surely does not know what is going on in other cities. Take Auckland, tor instance. Its population is about 134,000 —some 38,500 more than Wellington, or not far off half the population here. This largo number is carried without trouble in the trams as the result of efficient management (and unlike Wellington cars are run to a timetable). In Auckland, os well as in Wellington, and in fact all other places, people ore compelled to travel at the same hours. Wellington is not unique in this respect. Tram management all the world over has to meet this and rolling stock has to ho provided accordingly. It has, of course, to lie practically idle some parte of the day, but at other parts it makes up for this by the number carried. A milkman is in much the same position. Everybody wants to be served before breakfast, yet he manages to do it and does not complain that his cart is idle for part of the day. urther, in other towns, especially Christchurch and Dunedin, roomy, open, seasonable cars are pro.vided on fine days, called holiday cars, of the dnv. Further, in other towns, have double sets of cars, for in the towns mentioned no one would dream of going ln' ; do stuffy cars such as are run in Wellington. The traffic tnanager is further unfortunate in quoting fares in Wellington, for, ns instanced by its 2d fare on Sundays for only a few yards or. one section at most, it stamps itself as having. the dearest tram fares in the world. He Quotes the Dominion in this respect, yet he does not seem to know it. In Dunedin there are, 1 think, 1G penny rides for Is, certainly there have never been less than fourteen. In addition soldiers are carried free, and in the summer whole families are carried at certain hours free of charge, and this in open, roomy oars; thus In Dunedin, at all events, Increased comfort does not necessarily mean increased fares, but in the cases mentioned none at all. Before conelud-' ing I dram the traffic mansffer’s attention to the extremely rough state of the Island Bav line, and consider it a matter for surprise that the cars keep the rails go well. I hope he will take the matter seriously.

OOMMONSENSE,