One of the greatest evils in Shanghai—an evil that is a definite menace to the safety of the general public and one which would not be tolerated in any progressive city—is the patent overcrowding of the city's public transport vehicles. In this connection police action is needed, both in the Settlement and French Concession, to ensure that this danger to public safety is immediately stamped out. The number of passengers allowed on each vehicle, when ther it be bus or tram, is governed by a set of regulations, under which the various transportation companies are allowed to operate, and in each vehicle there is printed for everyone to see the total number of passengers allowed, seated and standing. Unfortunately, those regulations are never observed and the growing evil of crowding passengers into buses and trams like sardines in a tin is allowed to proceed unchecked. It is not an uncommon sight in Shanghai to ste a double decker bus carrying such a crowd of humanity that both falsies, top deck and below, are completely blocked by standing passengers while. the same conditions may be seen on the steps leading to the top deck and on the platform below, making it an almost impossible task to leave the bus. In the event of a serious accident such a bus would prove to be a death trap. Standing upstairs, on the steps, in the aisles and on the platform should be forbidden and strict police supervision should be exercised to ensure that each vehicle does not carry one passenger more than the number allowed by regulations. Only in this way can the safety of the general public be ensured. The stationing of inspectors by the transportation companies at various bus and tram stops, with instructions to see that each vehicle does not carry more than its normal load of humanity, might tend to lessen the evil and a campaign similar to the annual Safety First campaign, directed of bus and tram users, pointing out the dangers of overcrowding, would be useful.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.