The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, JULY 15th. 1929. THE TRANSPORT PROBLEM.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 July 1929, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, JULY 15th. 1929. THE TRANSPORT PROBLEM.

The joint organisation established in Christchurch for the study of economic problems—the Econbmics Department of Canterbury College and the Christchurch Chamber of Commerco—has turned aside from the investigation of questions of imports, exports and prices to prepare a report on what is known as the transport problem. When wo commend this bulletin to the attention of our readers, w© do not - suggest that it is the last word on the subject. It is possible that tradition and prejudice in favour of private enterprise have to some extent coloured the findings. It is, however, like all the work of this joint body, a valuable document, and the problem of transport is so pressing that we need make no apology for again drawing attention in these columns to its main facts says the Auckland “Star.” The fear is expressed that road transport may he unduly restricted by a legislature that controls railways, and that the new transport may also be hampered by bureaucratic action. The extent to which the private car lias cut into railway business is emphasised, a point often overlooked in contemplation of the inroads made by

the purely commercial vehicle. An English estimate is that 70 per cent of the passengers lost to the railways travel in private cars. A Now Zealand Parliament might be tempted to limit the competition of commercial vehicles, but it would hardly think of preventing private cars from taking their owners and their friends from place to place served by the railways. The report draws attention to the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods of transport, and says that “under fair competition” the traffic would be divided in the most economical fashion. This appears to he the important question—what is fair competition? But the report supports its criticism of New Zealand railway policy and management with some impressive figures. In the United States, where motor traffic is most dense, the railways as a whole “show striking progress” since State control was abandoned eight years ago. Operating revenue has risen, but operating expenditure has fallen. In England where the competition of the motor is causing the railway companies the deepest anxiety, expenditure has been greatly reduced. New Zealand figures are declared to compare very unfavourably with these, and “there appears to be ample evidence both of uneconomic internal organisation and of uneconomic capital expenditure.” The conclusion of the whole matter, in the qpinion of these investigators, is that the railways of New Zealand should be removed from political control. They declare there is ample evidence that, when separated from politics, State-owned enterprises can be efficiently administered. The report recommends handing over control of railways to a directorate of business men, one of whose duties would be to investigate capital costs, and if necessary write down capital liability to a reasonable figure. Construction should he determined and controlled by this body rather than by Parliament, but if Parliament should keep this authority in its own hands, it should b© prepared to .pay subsidies on non-paying lines and justify such votes to the country.