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Tram travellers mutiny about stops
MELBOURNE: Tram con
ductors and drivers have been
warned not to cut their journey
short for the sake of smokos
and sandwiches.
A short, sharp edict by the
Public Transport Corporation's
chief executive, Ian Stoney, on
Friday told workers to stop bun
dling commuters off trams just
because they decided it was time
to knock off for lunch.
One irate group of commuters
mutinied on a Glenhuntly tram
last week and forced it to travel
to its Carnegie destination when
the driver wanted to cat the trip
short and head back to the de
pot.
Transport officials are aware
that interstate and overseas vis
itors are not impressed at being
pushed off Melbourne's unique
trams that they have been told
so much about.
Nor are regular commuters
impressed, when they also have
to accept another rise in trans
port fares from next month.
Tram operators often "short
shunt" or cut short their trip,
sometimes because the tram is
needed elsewhere, but some
times because their stomachs
are rumbling. A source said Mr
Stoney called a meeting of exec
utives on Friday.
A PTC spokesman, Pat Wil
son, said the corporation had
received complaints from com
muters angry at being shoved
olT trams half-way through a
journey.
Workers had been told to
avoid "short-shunting" where
possible, particularly between
the hours of noon and 3pm.
"That's the time tTammies are
likely to go for lunch," he said.
"People don't like being put off
trams and we see that, as a cor
poration, we shouldn't, be put
ting people off our vehicles
where we can .. .avoid it."
A Public Transport Users'
Association spokesman, Patrick
O'Connor, welcomed the crack
down on short-shunting, saying
passengers were fed up with be
ing forced off trams.
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