UNIVERSAL FARES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1766, 3 June 1913, Page 5

UNIVERSAL FARES.

ON THE CITY TRAMCARS.

QUESTION DEBATED. BY ELECTORS' ASSOCIATION. "That a universal tramway fare is payable and desirable" was the subject of a debate conducted by the Greater Wellington Municipal Electors' Association last night. Mri .T. G. W. Ait ken presided, and there were about 50 members present. Iho arrangement made for the conduct of AV ■ oebate was that the two speakers alarming the proposal should speak first, ollowed by the two opposing it, and that VUG debate be continued for half an hour at next meeting, when the vote of members will be taken. The Affirmative. Mr. H. G. Hill opened for tho affirmative. He claimed that there was need for economy in tho control of tho tramways. It was true that tho figures for the last ) ear showed what seemed to bo a reasonable margin of profit, but that profit had been obtained by imposing an extra burden on a section of the community. Also sufficient allowance was not made for depreciation. His idea of tho remedy for the unbusinesslike methods of finance and administration was the appointment of a general manager, who could be left to systematise tho service thoroughly. In order to avoid the waste caused by cars running empty during the slack hours of the day he would like to sco a feeder system established, l'or example, it was useless for an Island Day car to run all the way from Newtown to the city in the stack hours of the day, when empty Newtown and Constable Street cars followed it along tho road. The establishment of tills feeder system would mean the withdrawal of ten cars from the track for four hours per day, and this would bring about a saving of .£4308 in one year. He thought there was room for very considerable reforms in tho running of tho tram repair sheds at Newtown. Ho believed that a saving of at least .£2OOO could be jnado 011 the tickets by the adoption of a universal fare. Acoopting tho tramway department's figures as correct he estimated that by charging a universal fare of l{d. a net increase of profit of ,£16,000 could ba secured. Mr. 11. N. M'Leod seconded the proposition, pointing out that in various parts of America tho universal fare had been in force for many years, and that in: other cities in the United States, Canada, and England the universal faro had been adopted -without pressure from outside. In, Wellington it would enable town-planning to bo carried out by spreading tho people out over a large area, njiking a healthy population, and freeiiig tho city from slums. It would simplify tramways accounts enormously, and it would 6prcad the traffic evenly ov« the whole system. It would also distribute business more evenly along the route, in steads of congesting it at the section ends. The Negative. Mr. J. S. Barton, opening fori tho negative, complained first of all that Mr. Hill had in owning put nothing forward to which he could reply. Ho took as; the broad basis of tramway policy tho making of tho tramways self-supporting out of tares, l't would be possible to follow anotiher policy —to make the tramways merely an instrument to aid in the development of tho city. But the formteir policy was tho declared policy of the city of Wellington, and ho thought it was the only policy that could bo discussed. Mr. M'Leod luid adopted policy No. 2, and he was therefore out of court. He did not think- that in Wellington tho universal fare could bo adopted without loading the corporation into a tangle of absurdities. The Tramways Hoard could 110' more charge a universal fare than could a manufacturer of many different articles fix a universal soiling price. Adopting Mr. M'Lood's basis,. tho city would by making the fares uniform increase tho values of suburban land, but tin? city could also claim that the value so created belonged to the city. Otherwise tho policy would l>e incomplete and illogical. On the other hand, tho oar milo basis was the only reasonable one 011 wQiic'h to arrive at the running expenses, and any increase in the car mileage run would increase expenses in approximately the same ratio. Ordinarily, it cost Is. 2d. per car mile to run our system, and we , could not adopt any exporinieut which would not produce that return. Tho adoption of the uniform fare would certainly increase car mileage, and it would lose for tho trams the shortdistance traffic. But the departmental figures showed, that it was the quickchange, short-journey city passenger who paid his penny, who made it possible to carry another passenger to Island Bay for id. The universal fare would discourage the short journeys which wore profitable, and encourage tile long journeys which were not. It must not bo assumed tlmt the adoption of a faro of a penny, halfpenny would bring in 50 per cent, more from the short-distant passengers. Most of these fares wore paid in cash, and the. journeys travelled wero much short of n full section. Men would pay a penny for ft short ride, but 110 more, and the result would bo a total loss of this revenue. It did not follow that if the fares were reduced men would rush out into tho airy suburbs to make homes. Men were gregarious, and tho same causes which produced slums now would still operate even if universal fares were charged. Mr. W. Appleton, seconding the opposir tion, quoted cases, all from English and European cities, of the abandonment of uniform fares and the substitution for them of section fares. He declared that it was not a fact ' that in tlioso cities where uniform fares wore charged there ■ were 110 slums, and it was absurd to suppose that the introduction of the system would prevent the formation of slums here. Men would not pay a penny half-' penny fare, nor any fare more than one penny. And Wellington had not .1 population which could provide a sufficient revenue on a universal fare of 0110 penny. I

Several other members spoke for the five minutes allowed, .mil tile bulk o£ them were opposed to the introduction of the new system of charging faros.