CITY TRAMWAYS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 129, 2 June 1937, Page 12

CITY TRAMWAYS

FROM 1911 TO 1937

CHANGED CONDITIONS

"Although a comparison of the nature indicated may not reveal any outstanding improvement in the standard of convenience placed at the disposal of the public or in the cost of the service rendered, it will at least indicate the changed outlook now facing the undertaking, says the general manager of the corporation tramways (Mr. M. Cable), in an article in the "Tramway Journal," dealing with the ' progress made between the 1911 Coronation and the present occasion.

"Glancing at the changes which have j taken place in the financial structure of the tramway undertaking, we find that on March 31, 1911, after nearly seven years had elapsed from the commencement of the electric service, the capital investment in' the system amounted to £580,000, of which approximately £500,000 represented loan money. The revenue for the year in question was £133,350 and after providing for working expenses and capital charges, including ample allowance for depreciation, there was a surplus of approximately £6000, representing about 1 per cent, on the capital investment.

At March 31 of this Coronation year, after a further twenty-six years of development and with the expansion of services to the majority of the suburban districts around the city, the capital investment in the undertaking was £1,416,166—an increase of over 240 per cent, as compared with the 1911 figure. Although the value of the assets has expanded to the' large figure just mentioned, the loan indebtedness of the department now stands at the comparatively low figure of £571,200, an increase of only 14 per cent.—evidence of the foresight displayed by past councils during the years of tramway expansion. THE PRESENT POSITION. "Turning from this sound financial structure to the results of trie year ended March 31 last, the position is far from gratifying, and warrants the utmost consideration, not only by the controlling authority, but by everyone interested in the welfare of the tramway undertaking, including officers and men in all branches of the service. Although the revenue for the financial year just completed amounted to £402,057, representing an increase of over 300 per cent, above the 1911 figure, a debit was registered on" the year's operations, notwithstanding the comparatively low interest bearing portion of the capital investment and the fact that no provision was made for renewals. The working expenses which in 1911 represented 72 per cent, of the total expenses rose to 82 per cent, for the t past year. "The working expenses per car mile, which in 1911 stood at 9.8 d, work out at 17.5 d for the year closed; platform expenses being the principal item responsible for this large increase. The motorman's rate, which in 1911 was Is l J 2 d per hour for ordinary time and Is 8d for overtime, including time worked on Sundays, is this year ,2s 4.8 d per hour for ordinary time and 4s 9.6 d per hour for a Sunday time, representing an increase respectively of 211 and 248 per cent. ' Whereas power in 1911 'represented 16 :per cent, 'of the j total cost of operation, it was hot more than 10 per cent, of the expenses for the past year."