CAUTION FIRST.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 227, 25 September 1929, Page 11

CAUTION FIRST.

TRANSPORT BOARD'S STAND.

SAFEGUARDING THE PUBLIC

NEW LICENSING AUTHORITY.

GOVERNMENT'S HIGH HAND

A cautious attitude has been adopted' by the Auckland Transport Board towards the proposals contained in the Transport Bill. The board frets under a sense that it has been ignored by the Government in the preparing of the bill, and is ready to stand "on guard." Private enterprise is inclined to give gratitude to the Government for the changes proposed, and representatives of suburban bus services welcome the proposal of an independent licensing authority with the greatest of pleasure. It is only fair and just, they consider, that the duty of issuing licenses should be taken out of the hands of a body itself engaged in transport. Against "this the Transport Board submits it has acted with discretion since it was made responsible for the licensing of bus services, and its action has been fair and reasonable towards private interests. It views with concern the possibility of all control over competitors being taken out of its hands, and is prepared, if necessary, to make urgent representations in the interest of the- public, who a-re the owners of the transport undertaking. Statement by Chairman. "The statement which has been telegraphed from Wellington to the newspapers is the only information we have received in regard to the proposed transport legislation," was the reply given to an intervieAvcr by the chairman of the Auckland Transport Board, Mr. J. A. C. Alluin, in the presence of the general manager, Mr. A. E. Ford, and other leading officials of the board. "A request was made by the board, that it should be granted representation on the Transport Advisory Council," Mr. Alluin continued, "but the application was declined, and the board was thus deprived of the opportunity of having its views heard. All we can say at the present stage is that the Transport Board is in the unique position of having been brought into being by the will of the people directly expressed by a poll less than a year ago, and that there has been no evidence of any change of the public mind. Watching Developments. "The duty of the board is to control the transport in the best interests of the people and to preserve the rights of the publicly-owned undertaking, and any proposed action which will in any way interfere with the present rights of the public must be regarded with apprehension." Asked what would be the effect of the proposed legislation in so far as it related to competition by private enterprise, Mr. Allum said that in Auckland private enterprise had not complained of treatment at the hands of the board. On the contrary, they had received very definite expressions of satisfaction concerning , the way in which owners of private services had been treated. "The fact is," the chairman added, "that the board has been absolutely disregarded in connection with the preparations of proposals to be contained in the bill. Its views have not been sought, and no copy of the proposals has reached us. The only information we have received has been from outside sources." A Bureaucracy of Transport. "It is rather difficult to get the proper perspective on the proposed new Transport Law Amendment Bill," said Mr. E. Aldridge, chairman of the No. 2 Licensing Authority, which controls all omnibus traffic plying on the North Shore. "Apparently it proposes to combine the functions of the Main Highways Board with all the activities of the several licensing authorities as at present constituted. Considering that there are about 15 of tliese in New Zealand—eight in the North Island and seven in the South —it appears to me that the suggested bill really establishes a Department of Transport like the other Government Departments of Health and' Public Works, and in effect the new Transport Board will be a road-making, a road-using and a roadcontrolling organisation. It is obvious that with* this proposed centralisation of authority on all matters of highway and transport that the regulation of business will be bureaucratic rather than democratic, but, in the absence of more intimate knowledge concerning the intention of the bill, I should hesitate to support it in its present form. I willingly admit that the great growth of mbtor transport of all kinds demands the supervision of a specialised department, but I cannot help but object to the removal of control from those who have local and exact knowledge to a distant body guided only by general principles. If this is done it seems to r me that to be logical all applications for drivers' licenses should be handled by the \ board, that traffic inspectors should become the employees of the proposed new Transport Board, and that every offence against the amenities of traffic should be taken in hand by it. These observations are inspired by the fact that the bill gives the new board power to disallow any local by-law relating to motor traffic, and consequently nullifies any action in that direction by municipalities. Probably it will also act positively in the direction of standardising all regulations throughout the country, but it seems to me that such general regulations should be a prior condition to the establishment of the proposed board, and some arrangement should certainly be made for more co-operation of local bodies who represent the people most deeply concerned with transport than is at present outlined in the bill. Boiled down, the new legislation represents more Government control of what I believe to be strictly municipal business, and until more information is available with regard to its machinery activities I am rather dubious as to its efficacy. Probably, however, the Parliamentary discussion will aid materially in clarifying the points at present in doubt." Private Owners Satisfied. "All that I can say at present is that wo welcome the proposed independent licensing authority with much pleasure," said Mr. G. Grey Campbell, secretary of the Motor Omnibus Proprietors' Association. "We feel that this is a just and fair method of dealing with licenses. "We also approve of the . proposed appeal board and the proposed compensation clause. Of course, we are able only to speak in a general way at this stage, not having yet examined the proposals in detail. The fact is that we have never considered that any public body which is virtually a competitor in the motor service business should be the licensing authority. It is the old argument that a man may not be the judge in hjs own court,"-

As an instance of how they view the present licensing method, Mr. Campbell cited the case of private bus owners wlio for years had been carrying passengers to the racecourses. A certain judgment had been given whidi the Transport Board had evidently interpreted as giving it the right to deal with these regular bus companies. "For this and other reasons," he added, "we welcome the setting up of an independent authority as in vital matters of the kind both parties are entitled to impartial hearings. We expect soon to receive a copy of the proposals. In the meantime the Press reports cause us to feel that the suggested legislation is on fair and reasonable lines." The legislation proposed would consolidate into one act the operations of many, said Mr. E. H. Potter, Mayor of Mount , Eden. By-laws for the regulation of traffic, which would be Dominionwide in operation, would make it necessary for local bodies to draw up their by-laws accordingly. Issuing of Licenses. No improvement could be made upon the present arrangements for issuing drivers' licenses, Mr. Potter continued. It was convenient for residents in the outside districts to make application to their controlling local authorities, and in view of the satisfactory working of the existing machinery there should be no interference with it. Complete satisfaction with the Auckland City Council's services in issuing drivers' licenses was expressed by Mi , . W. Brinsden, of Johnston's Taxis, who said the tests were of a high standard. He also considered it necessary to require drivers to produce their licenses on demand, instead of being given a short time in which to obtain them. The new proposal opened the way to fraud and deception. Mr. Brinsden also thought a doctor's certificate should be produced by private applicants for licenses as well as by taxi drivers. An eyesight test should be imposed, he added, on all motorists.