The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1928. THE TRANSPORT COMPROMISE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 236, 5 October 1928, Page 6

The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1928. THE TRANSPORT COMPROMISE.

For the cause that lack* assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance, For the future «» the distance. And the good that toe can do.

The three-cornered argument in Wellington over the Transport Bill has resulted in a compromise accepted unanimously by all parties, so that practically only one more stage has to be passed before a Transport Board is set lip. The City Council and the ratepayers of the city and suburbs must approve of the measure, which it is assumed will be accepted by Parliament. The Bill agreed to here has been so much altered that it has become almost a new document. The objections to a long-term Board elected by local bodies in the closing months of their term has been met by reducing the Board's length of life and giving newlyelected bodies a right to appoint new members. The proposed referendum is extended from the city to the suburbs, and the Board is to be elected in the future on a wider franchise than that proposed in the original Bill. The City Council has surrendered its position on the costs question, which it should never have taken up.

There will be difference of opinion as to some of the details of the measure. Supporters of the ratepayer and the municipal franchise will find here another opportunity for stating their respective cases. £}ach has an existing precedent. The Auckland Power Board is elected on the limited franchise; the Christchurch Tramway Board on the wider. The argument for limitation is that under the municipal franchise voters may be disposed to encourage extravagance. On the other hand, transport closely affects the daily lives of everybody, and is the cause of much more criticism and resentment than management of an electrical utility. We say this with no intention to question the ability with which these electrical utilities are managed in Auckland. Relatively electricity is easily provided, and inconvenience rarely occurs. Transport, on the other hand, has become one of the most difficult of problems in public affairs. Every country is troubled by the competition of the motor, and the people of Auckland will speedily discover—if they do not realise it already—that the new Board will be no magician's wand, capable of stilling a storm in a moment. The problem will simply be transferred 'from one authority to another, and the ground for hope is that the authority now to be established, based more broadly on the people's will and liability, will be better able to meet the needs of this new age. The parties are to be congratulated on having come to an agreement, and it is the duty of all to make the best of the result. In their own interests ratepayers in the city and beyond should accept the Bill, and everybody concerned should work towards obtaining the services of the best men for the new Board. No local body will have so difficult a task as this new authority.