TAMAKI TRANSPORT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 883, 29 January 1930, Page 10

TAMAKI TRANSPORT

BAY RESIDENTS GROW HEATED MEETING BREAKS UP Remarks, to say the least of it. impolite remarks, were made to the chairman, and one member of the association was accused of being a • twister.” when a heated discussion on transport questions arose at a meeting of the Tamaki Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association held at St. Heliers last evening. The meeting broke up in some disorder. There was an attendance of nearly 100 residents at the meeting, which was presided over by the president of the association, Mr. F. C. Jordan, and lasted more than two hours. Chief among the questions for discussion was the necessity lor a rapid completion of the Waterfront Road past Orakei. That business went through smoothly and the meeting was unanimous on the proposal that the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the Public Works Department should be approached with a view to speeding up the work. Then came the question of whether the Transport Board should be asxed to operate a bus service to St. Heliers and Kohimarama, or whether the hoard should be asked to call private tenders for the service. Several arguments were advanced against. tut Transport Board running a service. It wa.s considered that, with the old buses, the board could not run such a satisfactory service as the present private firm, which had been running last year at a cost as low as X3.06d a mile. The Transport Board, it was urged, would probably run at a cost of about 16d a mile. Another argument was that, with a private firm, dissatisfied residents could appeal first to the proprietor of the firm, and. as a last resort, to the Licensing Committee. If the Transport Board was running a. service, there was no redress’, as the board, in its judicial capacity, was tlio licensing authority. T.rackless trams were also discussed, but the objection brought against them was that such a service would require feeder buses, always an unsatisfactory system. A motion was put that the Transport Board be asked to run a service on the new waterfront road. This was followed by an amendment that, if the board did not put on a service, it should call private tenders. The amendment was carried, and Mr. R. E. Fawcett, holding that the amendment had then become the motion, endeavoured to put a further amendment, which was never disclosed owing to the somewhat vigorous opposition it evoked. A supporter of the first amendment suggested that the rules of the association be suspended to allow Mr. Fawcett to put his motion. Then followed complaints that the meeting was not being properly conducted, and the chairman’s ruling was questioned. There was a further suggestion that another meeting be held, with a different chairman. About 20 dissatisfied residents left the meeting, which broke up almost immediately.