RAILWAY CHARGES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5123, 9 May 1927, Page 2

RAILWAY CHARGES.

MANY POINTS EXPLAINED.

CONFERENCE WITH BUSINESS MEN

At the request of the Railway Department Messrs A. W. Wellstead, business agent, and A. G. Si.mmonds, local stationmaster, were met by the executive of the Paeroa Chamber of Commerce in a round-table talk on Thursday morning, the president of tiie chamber (Mr P. Williams) presiding.

In welcoming the officials of the department the president said that there were- many' anomali.es existing which tiie public did not understand, and the opportunity was welcomed to discuss such matters. NIGHT MAIL SERVICE. In his opening remarks Mr Wellstead thanked the members for meeting him. Referring to the provision of a night mail service- by the steam rail car, he said that the department was pleased to be able to give effect to the requirements of the people of. the district. Suitable mail receptacles were in course of preparation, and it was hoped that these would be finished and the service commenced very shortly. In return for the service thedepartment looked for greater support. It was the duty of the public to regard the railways as a national concern, and as such to support them. The department had to pay interest at the rate of 4% per cent., and any profit made was handed back to the people in the form of reduced fares and rates. The department was really a co-operative concern, and if the shareholders did not support their own show they could not expect concessions. People were urging the' early construction of the Paeroa-Pokeno railway, yet they were not supporting the existing lines, and the department could not be reasonably expected to provide new routes unless it could be shown that they would be supported adequately. • THE RIVER SERVICE.

In referring to the last general meting of the chamber, when the steamer service had been discussed, Mr Wellstead said that he took exception to the remarks of one of the members, and he thought it was only fair that a representative of the department should have been present at the meeting when the- matter was debated. Although the department had put in competitive rates to retain ano win trade, for the railways, it was hot the policy of the department to increase the rates should the river trade lessen or go out of business. It should be remembered that the greater the volume of traffic and goods carried the less were the- running costs. The department desired only to secure, traffic at .a reasonable charge. The only factor Suit would induce the department to lift the preferential rate was failure of the people to support the railways, and the rate would not be increased so long as sufficient business was forthcoming. What was expected was that a lot of business at present going overland and by water should rightly he carried by the railway. With over £50,000,000 at stake the department had’ to secure, all traffic possible to earn interest, lx was reasonable to expect that local bodies and the people should treat the- railways as a national transport concern. If the railways did not pay, then it was the taxpayers who would be called upon to make good the deficiency.

THE COMMERCIAL BRANCH. The commercial branch of the department had been instituted about three, years ago, continued Mr Wellstead, with the idea of> endeavouring to stop the drift of traffic by land and water, and in that respect it had met with a fair measure of success, was the earnest desire of the department to give the best possible service, and it must be admitted that during the last few years there had been an all-round improvement. Paeroa possessed a really good service, and it was worthy of the people’s support. Goods which were, received at Auckland station up to four o’clock e.ach afternoon were now forwarded to Paeroa, and were available for delivery at 10.30 o’clock the next morning. That in itself was a great convenience, and a big change from the old order of things. As a private concern the department would have no axe to grind, but as a broad national undertaking he would say quite frankly that Paeroa and district was not supporting the department as it ought. For that reason the department had been seriously considering cutting out the special 255. rate from Auckland and saying to the people, “You have had your chance and failed to take it.” However, it was hoped that it would not be necessary to make such a change.

In reply to Mr H. J. Hare Mr Wellstead said that the charge on farm manures frpm Auckland to Paeroa was 8s 2d a ton, and that if it was loaded at Auckland before 4 p.m. it would be at Paeroa by next morning. Mr W. Marshall said he was sure, the people of Paeroa and district had no conception of the conveniences offered by the department and which were obtaining. Mr Wellstead said that if goods loaded at Auckland for delivery at Paeroa next morning did not fill a truck it did not matter, as the goods were then carried in what was known as a box waggon. RAILWAY PARCELS SERVICE. Claiming that the department could give a quick despatch parcels service, Mr Wellstead said that parcels were given express transit. The cost of sending a package weighing 31b was only 6d, and a 71b parcel cost Is prepaid, with a sliding scale upwards.

Mr P. E. Brenan said the difficulty was that it took a Philadelphia lawyer to understand the department’s schedule of rates. He instanced how a motor tyre from Auckland had cost 3s 9d by rail, yet the freight by steamer was only Is 9d.

Mr Hare admitted that the department’s parcel rates were very reasonable, but he pointed out that in addition to paying the charge for carriage there was alio cartage charges to pay from the station, and the difficulty of getting a carrier to pick >'t up. He

wondered if the department would institute a parcel delivery system from the station round the town oil similar lines to those obtaining in other places. Mr Marshall said he was doubtful if a carrier would find the work worth while, unless it could be undertaken by the mail contractor. Mr Wellstead said that before the department'would make such a service it would require to call tenders, and he did not think the volihne of business at Paeroa warranted it. However, a town with a population of just over 4000 was the smallest town in which the service was operating. Parcels delivered by such a service would be assessed 6d each in addition to the cost of railage. After a long discussion Mr Marshall suggested that the local carriers should be interviewed, with a view to acertalnnlg if the serivce could be run on a flat rate basis. ANOMALIES IN CHARGES. A discussion followed on the variation in charges. Mr E. W. Porritt pointed out that a typewriter, weighing* about 281 b, could be sent to Auckland by steamer for Is, plus Is cartage to the steamer, wheieas by rail the charge was Js 6d, plus the Is cartage. That the untutored person making inquiries of the department should receive every assistance and advice from the officials, especially with regard to the- difference between parcels and goods rates, was the contention of Mr Marshall. He instanced how a fatmer had purchased a second cart at Auckland, and on making inquiries from the. department learned that the raffage charge would be- £2 15s, as against the steamer freight of £1 6s. Accordingly the vehicle was shipped by the steamer, thus it would be a hard matter to convince that farmer that the railway was the cheaper, and he- should support it. Paeroa was certainly in a happy position of having a good river service, and the sooner the department faced the ruling economical law the better support there would be forthcoming. There were bound to be some anomalies, Mr Wellstead replied, but the railway officials were instructed to give the public all possible information and assistance.

Mr Simmonds agreed, and said that he had a good staff at Paeroa. who were out to do all they possibly could for the public. Mr Porritt remarked that that it was good to have that assurance, and pointed out that the post office officials always helped and guided the public. SCHEDULE OF RATES. The soooner the. present complicated schedule of rates was scrapped the. better, was Mr Brenan’s contention. He said that after many years’ experience i,n business he could not follow it, and he did not se.e how the staff could make head or tail of it. As an instance Mr Brenan said that he had recently consigned a pair of wheels from Paeroa to Thames, and the railage was 2s. lid. The wheels we.re returned from Thames to Paeroa, and the railage charge was 8s sd. On inquiring why the- additional charge was made the local office could not explain the difference, and suggested that as. the charge had gone through he had better pay the a'< " count. Mr Simmonds said that it would greatly facilitate matters if any discrepancies were reported at the time. He could not understand why such an answer had been given. The staff had definite instructions, when dealing with the public, and they undoubtedly had, and were encouraged to have, the interests of the public as well as the department at heart. He would look into the matter at once, and if a mistake had occurred it would be. rectified. OPENING LEDGER ACCOUNTS. To Mr Williams Mr Wellstead said that existing regulations were being altered and brought up-to-date throughout the service. It was now permissable for a business firm to open a ledger account with the department so long as the railages amounted to £1 or over a month. The old system of requiring a £5 deposit had been done away with.

A HELPFUL MEETING. After various minor matters had > been discussed the president .moved a ' hearty vote of thanks to the officials i for attending, and also for the lucid explanations given. * In seconding, Mr W. Marshall said . that the meeting had been very helpful, and the members had gained use- 3 ful information as a result. He wM glad to have the opportunity of meeting Mr Simmonds, whom he knew to-yx be an obliging and conscientious sta- — tionmaster.