TRAMWAY BOARD.
CANDIDATES' ADDRESSES. THE RICCARTON DISTRICT. In preparation for the Christchureh Tramway Board election to-morrow, Messrs A. A. McLachlan and John Wood placed their views before a meeting of the Biccarton Citizens' Association last night. Mr Wood is the sitting member for the Eiccarton district, and Mr HeLachlan is contesting the seat. Mr E. W. Brighting presided over.an attendance of about 25. Mr McLachlan said that he "did not know the first thing about tramways," but, on looking into the question, he could not help being struck by the fact that the marvellous tramway system of Christchureh did not deserve the criticism levelled at it by its owners. Very few people realised the mileage of tracks, the progress of the suburbs owing to transportation, the service of the trams, and their comfort. They cost £IOO a day and yet the Board had built up fine reserves. In the main the service had been very well conducted, but, like other matters, conditions were changing, and, in his opinion, it was in a matter of detail that the service could be improved. On the Eiccarton line, for instance, the running of trams round the Church corner loop, with two men and a couple of passengers, was hardly economical. Penny Fares Advocated. One-man trams could be run in several districts with benefit. There was a good deal to be said ia favour of penny fares. The picking up of odd business was always valuable. A complete reversion to penny fares on short distances might be tried out to advantage. There had been a marked' tendency to raise the fares indiscriminately without
due consideration. Everything possible should be done to popularise the service. As to trolley-buses it seemed a pity that they were to be tested on a route that had never The road was not good enough to give them a fair trial. The trolley-buses were used in England as feeders and were prefered to the petrol buses. On the Shirley-North Beach run it would be advisable, in his opinion, to allow private enterprise to take up the running. "Criticism Not Justified." "There are so many experts in tramway affairs in Christchurch that it is hardly necessary to discuss the matter," said Mr Wood. In 1934 a loan of £700,000 odd would fall due. The Board had been able to set aside £.500,000, and had by no means done badly, and therefore some of the criticism was hardly justified. The trams and the lines were depreciating and the present Board was making every effort to meet its liabilities. The Board raised the cash fares some time ago but the concession cards made a big difference to the tram-users. He did not see how the fares could be reduced. When the twopenny fares were introduced the Board lost £IBOO in six months. As to one-man trams a considerable amount of time would be lost on popular lines in collecting the fares. Only last week the Board received a letter from the Beckenham Burgesses' Association asking that the time-table should be altered so that the ordinary trams could get ahead of the one-man trams. Opposed to Trolley-Buses. He was opposed to the trolley-buses. They would cost from £ 20,000 to £27,000, and would lose from £SOOO to £.6000 a year. The trams met great competition in the shape of motor-cars and bicycles. The .tram mileage in Christchurch was 53 compared with Dunedin's 18 miles. The upkeep of the tramlines cost £19,000 a year, and all other vehicles used the tramlines in preference/to the \sides of ' the roads. The Board had assisted, greatly in the, improvement of the roads and now former -tram-users were ..using bicycles. There was no wonder' that, the revenue -was
decreasing, but tliey would make ends meet. Last yetir there was a-surplus of £3SOO, and a stern eye would still be kept on expenditure. Asked if they were in favour of building new tram shelters in the Square both candidates replied in the negative.
Answering a question as to whether the use of Cathedral square as a "shunting ground" could be avoided Mr Wood said that it was all a question of expense. The Board saved £ISOO a year by shunting in the Square. Votes of thanks were passed to the speakers. MR HAYWARD EXPLAINS. ADDRESS AT ST. ALBANS. Contending that a paper known : as "The Elector" was full of inaccuracies and mis-statements, Mr W. Hayward made a few criticisms of those he described as his opponents, when addressing a meeting of ratepayers in the St. Matthew's Schoolroom last evening.
He took as an example this paragraph, "The financial year of the Tramway Board ended on March 31st. It is now nearly seven and a half months since it closed, and the public has not had an opportunity of inspecting the balance-sheet." There was half truth in that, said Mr Havward, for it was only recently that the public had been able to obtain copies of the printed balance-sheet. However, at the first meeting of the Board held after the close of the year, each member had received a proof of the balance-sheet. At the next meeting the balance-sheet was »handed to the reporters present for publication, and it duly appeared in all the Christchurch newspapers. The balance-sheet had to be audited by the Government Audit Department. The--man who had done it for. many years had ,left, and the . new man had- taken * longer than : usual.-'''as' -he wished • to make himself, thoroughly ' conversant with the work-
ings of the Board. That was why there had, been a delay, in publishing the balance-sheet.
Mr Hayward also explained that _ a calculation by tho Government Statistician, showing that operating costs of trains in Christchurch were lower than in other centres, while fares were higher, and that because of the sparsity of the population and the . length, of the Christchurch system there were fewe*" passengers per car-mile in Christchurch than in other centres, had been made to appear that because the operating costs were lower, while the fares were higher, there were fewer passengers per car-mile in Christchurch than in other places. He had also been severely criticised because he would not give a definite promise that there would be no increase in fares during the next three *' l Trs. After all he was only one 'of" nine members, and he did not know what electricity or other necessaries were going to cost the Board' for three vears to come. To give such a promise would be to class himself as a fool politician. Mr Hay ward concluded his address hv tellh:g the audience something of the operating costs of the system, and the number of people carried annuallv hv the trams. THE LABOVR CANDIDATES. Messrs J. McCombs, M.P., G. Manning, R. M. Macfarlane, P. C. Webb, and A. H. Scales, candidates for the Central Sub-District for the forthcoming Tramway Board election, addressed meetings at' Tennyson street, Beckenham, and Caledonian road, St. Albans, last evening. Messrs G. T. Thurston and J. McCombs, M.P., addressed electors of Spreydon in Selwyn, street. Motions of thanks and confidence were carried iu each instance,.
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Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20095, 26 November 1930, Page 13
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1,184TRAMWAY BOARD. Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20095, 26 November 1930, Page 13
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