TRAMWAY BOARD.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18403, 9 June 1925, Page 11

TRAMWAY BOARD.

%]' 10 THT EDITOE OF "?3Z PBISB."

•- *'"sir,—-The interest being displayed at {lie present time in our tramway sys-{eitt-is good and useful if it results in / .y,' e shareholders in the undertaking—tiio ratepayers—becoming better act (Sainted with the details of their own I Easiness. It is a pity this interest was not more acute last November, when the Tramway Board was elected, for a Mid deal of useful information was (fh'cn at sparsely-attended election meeting 9' a ncl thore were opportunities jor 'then asking the questions which ta day scem to ar ' so rom u scns c of ,J}tatiou at the increases in fares, l . Mlier than from a genuine and proper jiterest in what concerns us all; and > more seriously concern us in the future if the movement to subsidise the 'v,trafflways put of the rates gains Wength. '(iast September and October I spent iofte .time itt carefully. examining the amounts of the Christchureh tramways aid .those of Wellington, Auckland, pjjnedin, and several Australian cities, and with your permission will briefly mention some of the facts which then itood out. j -HFirst, it was proved that Christchureh gjjvo on the averago' a cheaper mile! than Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin, or Melbourne. On concession {ties Christchureh led New Zealand and Australia with an average of .66d per . mile, agaitfst: Per Mile. t Wellington, all classes .. .1)5 d workers only ~/ .88d . -Auckland, all classes .. .SBd Melbourne, all classes .. .99d -Diinedin .. .77d On children's fares the average per jatlo in Christchureh was .54d, ' or 22.8 per cent, cheaper than Melbourne, - and •''fci'pfi' cent, cheaper than Auckland, jjunedin, and Brisbane. We were ccr-"tauily-beaten by Sydney with an avcr"iie children's fare per mile of .31d. ■'lp'. administration, cheapness is not everything, but it was then proved that the cost of administration in Christchtireh was 3.9 per cent, of revenue, against 5.0 per cent, in Wellington, and 4t> per cent, in Auckland; or on each • car mile run the figures were: Christcharoli .765 d, Wellington 1.104 d, Auckland 1'.313d. In your leader of June 3rd you very 'properly make a . point that a good deal 'depends upon how much of the difference between receipts and running expenses is absorbed by overhead charges, and jou go on to say that while the 'iier mile margin in Auckland, W.elling3pn,'and Dunedin is 6d, in Christchureh ?jK5s only sid. This halfpenny per ca;r 'piilo on between thrco and four million ;'mites,is, of course, a handsome profit, j make .this profit ' and. more besides; if lier citizens patrontrams as people doXin other ' It ,Is* a fact they do not, for the spent per head in tram' ridiioß'laet year wore:— Mpi• Per Head ; r:-' '' of Population.

Sp|rjt ; , wo' .'-can'. discover, -•why this is so, >M rcmcdy rit, wo f aro on 'velvet. Is :|st>ccaus6 our trams are less comfort|Mq;:than those of othor "With ttWetfcy big experience, I do not think rather the reverse. Is' it be-. vjsMO wo hnvo 40,000 cycles in' Christ- ' It may be. Christchurch A to, ;fycjinjfo.:-ought, asV/ii''any fault with the "jjtrams is the can so of some at least of .'ilho cycles being used.. :Is ; it because :|flio trams stop too oft on? I am ■ not |cbmpe,tcnt to argue with a clever bairis-, Iter; arid I do not live several miles from Hhc oity, so will dodged this 1 question, or Itonsider I walk' into the' city.

feThe investigation - 'convinced mo of mpweaknesses. First,'that our tramways cover a large amount of unprofiir. s|fcl£ground, v and, second, that tjbo trams f§w|kptsufficiently;, frequent over somo |M(|itisns..: We have to*, keep trams runiw!s oyer-'63 'miles of' I 'lines, against MCkiand's 30, and WcUington 28. 4^&] f pf .these line* do not pay, and M , |h'pt! pay for years to come. The tfiMkarp; reasonable J to North BeachiPpjtb Sumner, ■ and. yet last year'the Sfe|i'|p; : ;numbers of passengors per car absurdly small. I onco |}|^|^ that cheapening 'farejf-at certhese twp>'liiies;/would traffic arid . receipts, ;biit have i ; '"lfp<|unoto the conclusion that thers only-a certain amount of |#i|:|abt be stimulated to an increase. ||opp|franl?, I think faros should bo fip^|^n : linos, like'these in order to pay their adequate share. »|pt|tram rider I should like to see on all the 3d sections, present trailer trams run|W^bjb'ly; £.100,000 moro YP ital exnecessary cars to rcfippheV; trailers, but this could beas it was seen how worked. the v Board should not lay •^lffipfurther'foot of rail in extentrouble is that we tWMfc:..*i. 0 far a i ro ady. The Board icnccd too much in the past era from outside districts, ible lines. " Service before inc slogan so long as other i got to pay for it. . is evident that we: must" o trams, or else eventually . by rates instead of fares, rates, then traders in the J to pay the bulk, and they pass it on, so none will >bably it ia inadvisable to rate bus service by a trainservice, for the lata the Board in a rhead charge, and comits own trams. It seems and unsocial to patronise ting buses, for the trams be paid for by somebody, tepaycr who pays sixpence >ns competing with his own imself and his neighbours. b buses, or cripple them by anient, seems, a poor game, however, be made to pay >f the upkeep of tho roads Why not beat them off the by cutting fares - : during hey aro competing, or by bold policy, which will adTarns and "arouse the sporttho riders. 0' complain about the small fares deserve little syrupy Bhould congratulate thomthb Board that they have 'cheaply up to the present, i slogan of "Let usjsupport Mrist"—with a little less and patronage of yk show; and a little more [(Criticism over our own L ' Wif. MACHIN.

or "thx pbibs."

d ßJfflßj||i|?fo ng further and coin-! ' Hllßllii™nfo''* m ' ts * or y ears . I would also be iliumv\ MBimMEß'ould tend to show the

sins of our Tramway Fathers into the third or iourth. decimal point.—Yours, etc., J.A.P. June Bth. TO THE EDITOa Or "IKB PBJSss." Sir, —I have read with the utmost interest your exposition of the facts as shown by tho figures quoted by the Board's chairman. Surely it is time some definite move were made to have a thorough and authoritative investigation made of all the matters in dispute, and I would suggest that our Mayor might very well give the lead in either calling a mass meeting to consider what steps to take Or in opening a petition list for a Commission of Enquiry. It is evident that the present Board has not yet learned its lesson, as witness the resumption of the offensive against the private bus enterprise to New Brighton. On the chairman's own showing the Board lost heavily quite recently in attempting to fight down tho opposition, so why resume an attitude which is productive of nothing but expense and ridicule. Rather let j the Board set itself to find out why the opposition Was enabled to get a footing in the first instance, and, by catering for tho demand reasonably,' gradually win back the confidence of the travelling public. _ A study of all the correspondence which has appeared in your columns and a perusal of the Board's official reply still, to my mind, leave 'tho questions raised unanswered. Is it because the Board is ignorant of the matters in question, or is it, as one correspondent suggests, that the management is really the ruling factor? Now, there is this id increase in fares. Will the Board supply an accurate statement of the situation created by this increase especially as regards: (1) Increased labour of staff in handling and counting; (2) cost of old denomination tickets and office statistical forms rendered obsolete by the change, as against tho anticipated increase in revenue? Day by day the evidence of public antagonism to the Board's policy of increasing fares becomes moro pronounced. Surely the individual members of that body havo oyos and ears, and can see the only too evident results of their move. There aro already dozens more cyclists and scores of pedostrians who, on principle, decline to patronise tho trams under presont conditions. Each passenger so lost moans a decrease of rovenue by at least 2Jd, so where is the benefit? It is generally conceded :that turnover is an essential factor in any business, but apparently tho Tramway Board can go ono better than ordinary people.— Yours, etc., ONLOOKER. Juno Bth, 1923.

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