The Beeching Pill
Page 17
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EVEN the attractions of extra pay and time-off in lieu form poor compensation for those transport workers who were called upon to work on Christmas Day. This is an occasion which any normal person wants to enjoy at home, and the necessity for public passenger facilities is at a minimum. The railways, now under Dr. Beechine's guidance, took a drastic slash at the empty trains that have been run on Christmas Days in the past. and it must be admitted that the announcement of this policy stirred, singularly, little protest.
In many places this year, however, busmen's families still found themselves questioning the need for Christmas Day services on the road. In a few areas the traditio% of a full day off is firmly established, but over much of the country unrernunerative operations were in progress. However, signs of weakening are apparent here and there. Some municipalities which had hitherto kept going until midnight, this year finished around tea-time. But the arrangements varied.
This is specially liable to be the case where, on joint routes, the operators concerned adopted different policies so that ordinarily through facilities terminated abruptly at a borough boundary that may well have little significance for the average passenger.
Be that as it may, a high proportion of Christmas Day buses did not earn their keep, and the staff operating near-empty vehicles in the sacred name of service may be forgiven if they harboured some feeling of irritation. This seems a case where, next year, a dose of the Beeching medicine might promote a more comfortable feeling all round.