Private games more consistent than public games?

[5uper_Mania 6]

I've begun to play a public game for the first time today after a series of privately created ones, and I've noticed a number of boots which required resuming again, only to find the state of my city reverted by at least 15 minutes each time (possibly five reboots since having tried a public game [Test server]).

 

This 'rollback' or boot then resume process has occurred only during my public gameplay. Is it coincidence that the servers are having unusually high traffic tonight, or is this simply the case for public play? If it's the latter, I think I will stick to privately created regions which is too bad since I prefer the instant cheap access to excess utilities from cities created by others in a public region...