PETROL BUT NO TYRES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 20 October 1942, Page 5

PETROL BUT NO TYRES

j VENEZUELA RATIONS RUBBER Caracas, Venezuela. Strict measures governing the use of automobile tyres have been put into effect throughout Venezuela by the Price Control Board in an effort to expose hoarders of tyres and break the “black market.” Within a very short time, according to a correspondent of “The Christian Science Monitor,” every motorist will have been given a card describing the make, number, and condition of each of the tyres on each car. No one will be permitted to own more than five tyres. Service stations and garages throughout the country will be required to inspect tyre registration cards every time fuel or repairs are needed. Fines ranging from six to 3000 dollars will be levied on dealers or automobile owners who fail to observe this rule. Changes of registration must be accompanied by a corresponding change in the tyre card. According to El Universal, only 850 tyres in the nation are registered with the Price Control Board. It is impossible to say just how many exist in the bootleg market. ' The General Tyre Factory in Caracas, unable to secure materials for manufacturing new tyres is recapping about 2000 a month. The scarcity of tyres and other automobile parts in noticeable throughout Venezuela. It is a familiarsight to see autos, trucks and buses stuck along the road with flats or blowouts. Although the Price Control Board has exempted buses from the regulations, bus companies have had to curtail operations, some of them drastically. Passengers boarding suburban buses have about an 85 per cent, chance of reaching home without transferring to another vehicle. Because Venezuela has several refineries it is unlikely gasoline will be rationed in the near future. A problem,

however, is the transportation of gasoline from the refineries to other parts of the country since the scarcity of tyres has crippled many tank trucks.