REDUCTION IN FARES

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21415, 6 March 1935, Page 9

REDUCTION IN FARES

PERMISSION GRANTED INTER-CITY BUS SERVICE Permission to make several alterations in fares was granted to the InterCity Bus Service by the Metropolitan Licensing Authority at its meeting yesterday. The charges authorised were as follows: Section Fares New Old Fare. Fare Allowed, d. d. 1 section . 4 3 2 sections 4£ 4 3 sections 4£ 4 Concession Cards New Old Fares. Fares Allowed. 1 section 12 rides, 3/3 10 rides 2/3 2 sections 12 rides, 3/6 10 rides 2/3 3 sections 12 rides, 3/6 10 rides 2/9 The return fares to North Beach, which were formerly Is, may now be reduced to £d on week-days, the Sunday fare remaining at Is. On race days a special service may be run at Is single and Is 6d return. The application made by the Intercity Bus Service was for a reduction to 3d, 3d, and 4d for one, two, and three sections respectively, and a reduction in the price of concession cards to 2s, 2s, and 2s 6d for 10 rides over a corresponding number of sections. Present Anomalies Mr C. S. Thomas, who represented the Inter-City Bus Service, said that it could claim to be the existing service, as having begun in 1926, whereas the trolley-bus service, which had been introduced later, was the opposition. Under the old act the fares of the service had been loaded with a charge of 2d over those which were charged by the Tramway Board. The various councils concerned supported a reduction because of the present economic position of the public, and, under the new act the penal fares did not apply where the service was in competition with the trolley-buses. But even with the reduction the fares would not be as low as those of the Tramway Board. In a judgment given by the Appeal Board in 1932, Mr Justice Frazer had said that where two different services were operating over the same route it was improper that different fares should be charged. Trolley-buses had no protection under the present act, and the penal fare was no longer applicable. Mr Thomas stated that in Wainoni road, where the Inter-City Service alone ran buses, the charge for a onesection ride was 4d. whereas a sixsection ride could be obtained on a concession card for 4£d. A reduction had been made in the trolley-bus fare for part of the journey, and no notification had been made. This was not proper; the Inter-City Service was making proper application. The requests then made for reductions in return fares and in those for special race day trips (which were formerly 2s return by special permit) accorded with the decision of the authority. Mr E. A. M. Leaver, Mayor of New Brighton, said that the Borough Council had been of the opinion that the service should not be obliged to charge a higher fare. It should not be allowed to undercut the Tramway Board, but the present fare, especially as from Wainoni road, was very unfair to visitors to the beach. Mr W. W. Scarff, of the Heathcote County Council, said that the council supported the request. The Wainoni ratepayers, who paid £47 15s 7d in special rates, and £l6l lis 5d in ordinary rates, were penalised by the fares more than any other ratepayers. Reduction in City Sections Opposed Mr .1. D. Hutchison, representing the Tramway Board, in opposing the application, said that the- first three city sections were the main concern of the board. He maintained that the fares charged for these three sections should be the same as at pre. sent, and that an arrangement could be made to adjust the fares for the intermediate sections. The Wainoni area was regarded as being the territory of the Inter-City Service, and there seemed to be no reason why, four years after the new act had been passed, the proprietor should wish to come into an area which he formeiiv said he had no interest in, but only needed to pass through. The objections applied to the second section with greater force; the concession fares were not now much greater than those charged by the board for the second and third sections.

No objection was being made to requests concerning return and special race-day fares. Mr Thomas replied that the adjustment of fares in the intermediate sections would be a matter of extreme difficulty. He quoted the decision of the Appeal Board, which suggested that the board was trying to oust the Inter-City Service. It was doubtful if there was any authority to run the trolley-buses any cheaper. There were two sections where the two services ran alongside, and the board's charge was 2d and that of the Inter-City buses 4d for one section. Mr Hutchison explained that the reduction from 3d to 2d on the first section of the trolley-bus route was to bring it into line with the board's fare charged on the other line covering that part of the route. The authority then discussed the application and made its decision. Other applications considered were: A request from the Tramway Board for extension of seasonal license till May 31, 1935, to run a bus from Victoria square to Prebbleton and Templeton for dances and sports. Confirmation of special permit issued to the Tramway Board (P. Cannon) for one trip to Prebbleton Hall on February 9. Both applications were granted. Cr. J. W. Beanland was in the chair.