ROAD TRANSPORT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 136, 9 May 1940, Page 11

ROAD TRANSPORT

GREATER CO-ORDINATION. WARTIME AIM. Per Press Association. - WELLINGTON, May 8. Shortly after the outbreak of war representatives of the various branches of the road transport industry assured him that they were ready and willing to offer the services of their organisations to the Government to do everything in their power to make the road transport industry fully efficient to meet the demands that might be required of it, 6aid the Minister of Transport (Hon. It. Semple), this evening.

“This public-spirited offer,” continued Mr Semple, “was accepted by the Government, and to assist in this direction 21 district and one national transport advisory ' committee were set up for the purpose of reporting on

the schemes put forward by the industry. The National Road Transport Advisory Committee recently reviewed the progress to date and, although some useful work has been done during the six months the committee has been in operation; it is clear that the present situation- calls for more definite action. ' 1

“The matter has been gone into with representatives of the industry, who have willingly co-operated and agreed that they will arrange for each of their branches to submit before May 31 to the appropriate district advisory committee a comprehensive report on the present position and the steps that can be put into operation to eliminate waste running, conserve petrol and attain maximum efficiency. “The matter was discussed last week with the four district transport licensing authorities, whom I called to Wellington for that purpose. Both the authorities and myself are agreed that the industry can do the job. However, the matter is of such vital importance that, in those areas where satisfactory | schemes and proposals are not forth-

coming by the end of the present month", 1 propose to instruct the licensing authorities to go ahead with the job themselves. I would like to appeal to farmers, business houses, storekeepers, etc., who run their own trucks, to give careful consideration to the question of having their w,ork carried out as far as possible by public carriers. Arrangements are "being made for public carriers to get in touch with private truck owners.”