THE RAILWAYS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 December 1931, Page 8

THE RAILWAYS

PRO ML KM. OF MOTOR COMPETITION.

COST TO THE TAXPAYER

AUCKLAND, November 27

“The financial results of a railway are determined by the amount of patronage afforded it by the people of the district served, and if any line is not patronised sufficiently to justify its continued operation, then they cannot complain if the line is closed,” said Mr 1). •die, commercial manager of the New iZealand 'Railways who is at present in ■Auckland.

;i "The value of a railway line to a district and the justification of its working,” he said, “lie in the use the community makes of it, and 'it can only be concluded that if the line is not used by the people of the district they do not want it. In dealing with’ the question of rail versus road, reference is often made to the old saying that competition is the soul of trade, but this is true only when profit-making and individual gain are the governing factors. In the case of public utilities and community services the position is quite the reverse. Railway lilies and equipment are oosltly, but the cost can be easily spread if there are many customers. “Allow competition to enter, and the receipts immediately fall, and the average overhead costs per unit are approximately doubled. The services, therefore, cannot any longer be as cheaply supplied per unit as before. The railway management considers that in conducting the railways it is doing something more than merely carrying passengers and goods. It is helping to develop the State, and endeavouring to assist the farmer and producer to improve his output and increase his markets. It is not the policy of the Government or the Railways Board to have the railways run solely for profit in a commercial

sense. NO VINDICTIVENESS. '‘ln case it may be thought that the railway management acts vindictively towards motor transport. 1 desire ,to say that nothing is further from the thoughts of .those controlling the national system. The motor-car and lorry are among the wonders of the age. They have penetrated to many parts of the Dominion not reached by ;air. and have thereby afforded assistance, comfort, and liapp ness to many people v\ho would otherwise, be cut off from civilisation and be without means of transport to the railhead for themselves and their produce ; but the operation with State railways is quite another matter.

“The railways provide and maintain their own track, rolling jtuck, and plant, and have a scale of charges which would, were all the transport business given them, render the undertaking sol 1 - supporting.

U X FAIR .CO M PETITION”. -Oil the other hand, the man owning and operating a motor vehicle in opposition to the railways is given a road to run upon ; he pays for about a quarter of the 'damage he does to tile roads, and has no conditions of working hours or wages to observe, because this class of business is largely carried on by family groups and owner-drivers, who are a law unto themselves. They do not attempt to carry the low freighted goods or cater for all traffic, including ■that at peak and rush periods, but they take what they consider pays them, and the remainder is left for the railways. This is not competition in any sense oi the word, and if the motor vehicle proprietors had to pay their proper share of the money spent on the construction and maintenance of roads and observe the laws of (the land iri respect to wages and working conditions there would not be anything to say about them, for under such conditions they would not be in a position to compete with the railways.

MOTOR ACCIDENTS. “From 1922 to 1930 there has been an ever-increasing death toll of the motor. In nine years there . have been 1723 fatalities. While .there are many skilful and caret' ui drivers it cannot be denied that much preventible danger arises out of chaotic conditions unduly high speeds and excessive journeys by over-tired drivers. I here is an endeavour go cut costs, and louei freights by road are being obtained at great risk to public safety. Is it sound economy to render the railways inoperative and pay 30 per cent, on the road costs of the lorry? The people must he made to realise what is going on, and if they prefer road transport to rail conveyance they can have it, but they will have to pay for it, and the bill will be heavy.”