50% rise shocks Belfast
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• A torrent of protest has broken out over the proposal to hoist bus fares in Belfast by 50 per cent. Amid the criticism there were suggestions about steps which should be taken to remedy the situation.
Senator Paddy Wilson called for the resignation of the city's transport manager, Mr Robert Adams.
Mr Tom Bell, president of Belfast Chamber of Trade, asked for an immediate top level conference between the Government and the Corporation.
Mr Jack Quigley, of the Shankill Redevelopment Committee, called on car drivers to give lifts to passengers at bus stops, which he said would mean Government intervention within two weeks. And Mrs Hilda Hawnt, president of the Housewives' League, suggested a special rate for women shoppers which would encourage them to travel to the centre of town instead of shopping in the suburbs.
Calling for the resignation of Mr Adams, Senator Wilson said Belfast needed a man who could "sell" public transport.
The increases which he said, had come as a terrible shock to all those who use the system, appeared to be completely unwarranted, and a full investigation would have to be carried out.
Mrs Hawnt said the increases meant that more housewives would not go into the city centre and traders would suffer as a result. There should be a special rate for them in the off-peak hours.
Mrs Hawnt added that in one Corporation bus she had seen an advertisement: "Why use public transport when you can learn to drive your own car?"