BY RAIL OR ROAD?

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4498, 1 December 1922, Page 4

BY RAIL OR ROAD?

PAEROA-WAIHI GOODS TRAFFIC. EACH VEHICLE TO PAY FEE. Th question of the car/lage oil goods ifrom Paeroa to Waihi by rail or by road was again before the Waihi Borough Council at its meeting on Thursday last (reports the Waihi Daily Telegraph). A letter from the town clerk (Mr J. J. Ritchie) to the district traffic manager of railways at Auckland (Mr A. K. Harris) stated that a special committee had gone into the whole matter .and had found that the business people of Waihi gained very little, if any, advantage from the motor transport of goods in tihe way of charges, but had discovered that there was some advantage as to time of delivery. He (the town clerk) was therefore directed to ask if the department could arrange to have Waihi goods forwarded by tihe express goods train which left Auckland shortly after the departure of the Main Trunk express. If this were done goods sent to the Auckland goods, shed one afterlnoon could reach Waihi at hoop on the day following, and this, it was thought, should effectively do away with any complaints as to delay, in transit. ,The whiter went on to say that as far as th® Waihi Borough Council was concerned it would do everything in its power to maintain the present railway service, and that the Council had informed the motor carriers that they would be required to pay a heavy traffic license fee of £■2o for each vehicle engaged in transit. It was thought that this expenditure would cause the firm epncernecl (Messrs firepan. and Co.) to seriously consider whether it was worth while keeping up competition with the Railway Department.

Replying to this the Traffic Manager at Auckland stated that the train referred to by the Town Clerk had usually a full load to Frankton for southern districts, and could not convey short distance traffic. However, any goods for Waihi could go forward by a night train ajid reach Paeroa the following evening, and Waihi at 9 a.m. the next morning. This would give a reasonably fast service, and the, writpr trusted that it would be found satisfactory to the business people of tihe town. A further letter from the town clera to Messi's Brenan and Co. stated that the Council’s by-laws relating to heavy niotpr traffic required the firm's' vehicles to be licensed. A cojiy of the by-laws was enclosed with a request for payment of thie license fee, and intimating that in default, of payment steps would be taken to prevent infringement of the by-laws, an instance of which was given. A reply from Messrs Brenan and Co. stated that in no instance had more than two bf their motor lorries run v on the Waihi borough roads' at any 'one time, and that the firm did not average five trips a week f/j Waihi. Under the circumstances it was asked that the Council sb’ould permit the firm to run their n’.otors to Waihi under one license fr>e, the writers to undertake not to rr m more than one machine at any irne time. The firm added that other lo'jal bodies had extended this consid .eratipn to them, and that they wool fl await the consideration of the ap’plication before coming to a decishrn to carry on or cease running to Waihi. The Mayor s'tafedi tblat in conversation with Mr he pointed put that the Council, could not make any exception to th# practice adopted in the borough of. requiring a license fee to be paid’ /fc®- each vehicle engaged. It ’arlded the Mayor, that thingh were done differently in Paeroa, but in Waihi they collected a fee for every Vehicle, and they could not now- run counter to such/ arrangement. He would move: “That the Council regrets it is unable to depart from the custom in the borough to charge ■for every vehicle.” The motion was carried;