SUBURBAN TRAIN FARES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 106, 17 February 1950, Page 4

SUBURBAN TRAIN FARES

INCREASE OPPOSED BY LABOUR PARTY “UNFAIR TO BURDEN” WORKERS (P.A.) * WELLINGTON, Feb. 16. “The announcement of the Minister of Railways (Mr W. S. Goosman) about railway finances is another indication that the National Government, instead of making pounds go further as promised during the is preparing to leave still less money in the pockets of workers,” said the national secretary of the Labour Party (Mr A. J. McDonald) in a statement to-day. The Minister’s statement gave as clear an indication as could be wished that the Government proposed to in crease fares, particularly on suburban services which workers in the metropolitan areas were compelled to use every day. There was more than a broad hint, too, that the 40-hour fiveday week tvas already under attack by the Government.

“The operating loss on the railways has been known for years and a long, wordy statement from the Minister was quite unnecessary,” said Mr McDonald. “Because so many thousands of workers living in or near cities have to travel by train or railway road services to and from work, there will be much concern at the proposal put forward by Mr Goosman to increase fares to meet the estimated loss on the suburban transport services run by the department. i “This will mean a very steep rise in fares for the workers concerned, because they have no alternative to the government-owned, and operated buses or suburban trains. The Labour Government felt it unfair to burden; workers with ’increased fares when these were suggested, because it believed that the whole country, which benefited from the efforts of workers, should share the burden rather than that is should be put down as an added penalty on one section only.”