Mo the Bilitor of the "Norta-Cuina Datty News" ing Worm of Shanghai Having, Sm,—The long suffering commute
Jong last, turned and given vent, to some extent, to its feelings anent the scandalous Qvererowding of the buses, through the medium of your correspondence columns, the Municipal Council, very characteristically, 1 think, proceed: to draw a red-herring avess the trail of dissatisfaction by its "crusade" Against "pirate" rickshaws, "The puller of a private-rickshaw gars, of course, uch a huge income that anything extra that he can make by taking on fares, in idle hours, would provide him' with a surfeit of luxuries. That must be Brovented: at al costs" even itt means burdening our Police-Budget with the additional cost of so-and-So-many policemen. And, of course, our public rickshaws ave such ideal vehicles, 0. well constructed, clean and comfortable that anyone ferring the use of a private n shaw, When out on it3 cruise, is just such another indivi dual Who does not know when he is well off and, of course, such irrational, offensive hankering after loxurfous transportation must and shall bbe suppressed, In the meantime, what the publ would like to. know is, whether the Public Utilities Committee of the Shanghai Muncipal Council intends to take up this matter with the Bus Gompans. The rests mh be com municated to the public by means Qf that most instructive" w "believe it or not" effusion ent led cipal Gazette, of communication in Shanghai are altogether impossible ave been so for many years, without the Municipal Council taking such steps that would insure radical remedies, When, at any time, protests became audible above whisper the ram Company, for instance, repainted one of its anti-nated, "obsolete germ " conveyer, ud sent this car parading down the main streets of the settlement to show all who have eyes to see, how they were improving the service. 'The Bus Company, in similar cir cumstances, changed from solid tyres, which should never have been allowed on our streets at all, to pneumatic' dittos, gave enamelled badges instead of' brass ones to the conductors and drivers, " added umber of buses type, than. those duced, to its fleet and rested on its wworla'over/n condition of the fran:
racticaly all large cities the
Ehive: granted to undertakings Sram "or Bus Companies. Igy that Gutiving" districts be "served" with Fensonable. frequency, in Shang only routes are served which The result is, that districts further away from the centre of the town are very" slow in developing. Butid"ronds fe not enoughs. Keason
ie conveyances are necessary fast, cheap and Sabra Enable a residential district to dave. Top and thus relieve the overcrowd-and congested residential centres, To serve roads which are entirely ne pected at present, more buses ate Feeded. 1 tap, use, been use trams are entirely antiquated and, in progressive towns being replaced by tinean, more capital out Iis"etingsett™ or smaller: dive dens of course, not what thespublie is interested in. Bitt'and fetemosts to. serve the yublie utility undertaking is there
public and this has to be done rea Tonabis"effelently., Conditions such tevexict in Shanghai are uneatisfactory in the extreme and remedies canand ust be found.
the Municipal Council 1 would tumn {ts enemies to, finding! away of introducing radical improvements, including the very considerably augmented fleet of Buses and greatly extended routes which these vould serve, the public would be far better served than by the announced Funing' down of picate™ rickshaw not be Youthod for the test of its, he present tram aystem shou! it is hoped, limited existence in Shanghai hey tst appear streets, T'believe, irl the franehtte: was, og far og T remember, for 30 years. After the expiration of this. term, these t Which have been cutiely unsatis: Factory and inadequate right rom the start, should disappear from our streets "und, with, that, the. chronic Erafie congestion in our main down: foun thoeughfares wold be Instantly relieved.
Tar of course, not expecting that tls etter will have any' beneficent five towards provement Ringulatly fate fo write about these lie conveyances. at val.
Uitngs: to the Press, which treats Ghe'Sntive problem with indifference.
campaign serves. to achieve "any In" Shanha only on intensive pres given object and, especially, any object in which the public at large letters 10 the Editor" no. concen tated effort has been" made in Shanghai to bring pressure to bear on our rulers to "do something" in the matter of trams or buses, The isolated protests which appear in your columns. produce, I feel sure, nothing but sardonic smiles "higher up." These protests, it is thought with every justification, are soon forgotten and everything can and does go on as before.
Why then, one may ask, did 1 write this letter at all? That, Sir, a/question to which I would my: self Hike to have the answer.
P.K. Shanghai, Dee. 4.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.