The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, May 30, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 998, 30 May 1911, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, May 30, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Mr Kerries was asked at one of his meetihgs as to how railway fares in Australia compared with those of New Zealand, but was unable to give an answer off-hand. He said he thought New South Wales had an advantage over us in this respect. A correspondent writing from Greymouth has called the attention of the Eyttelton Times to his statement, and has asked for information on the subject. The latest figures bearing on the rates charged in New Zealand, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia appear In the return laid on the table of the House of Representatives last session on the motion of Mr George Witty, and provide the material for the following comparison of second class single fares tor different distances :

The first class fares show the New Zealand rates in a still more favourable light, the charge for 25 miles in the Dominion being 3s 3d, in New South Wales 3s nd, in Victoria 3s rod, and in South Australia 3s 6d, and for other distances in proportion. It is in the return fares that the Australian States have the advantage. In New Zealand a second class return ticket for 25 miles costs 4s id, in New South Wales 4s, in Victoria 4s 2d, and in South Australia 3s. The Times points out that the second class single ticket is usually accepted as the standard of comparison, and on this basis travelling is substantially cheaper in New Zealand than it is in any of the States of the Commonwealth, but the New South Wales railways charge less for long-distance passengers and for return tickets than the Dominion railways do, and probaby it was this fact Mr Henries had in mind when he implied that their general rates were lower.

Miles. 25 50 100 200 300 s d s d s d s d s d New Zealand 2 2 4 3 8 5 16 9 25 I N.S. Wales 2 4 4 8 9 5 17 9 26 I Victoria 2 6 5 0 10 0 20 0 29 8 SAustralia2 o 4 10 9 10 20 2 30 6