PAYING COST OF ROADS.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 286, 2 May 1929, Page 1

PAYING COST OF ROADS.

PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE.

EQUITY, AND ELIMINATION OF WASTE. Goading costs and the methods of collecting and expending the variolas taxes in connection therewith are exercising the minds of farmers and others directly interested throughout New Zealand. Sir Hroseph Ward has hinted that same relief may he given to owners of heavy motor lorries, but it is confidently expected that this proposal, if gone on with, will be fought to the utmost limit by the representatives of local bodies, and Sir Joseph Ward’s connection with the motor trade pertinently discussed. Whatever the outcome of this suggestion, the following article clearly indicates that there is room for a general overhaul of the existing regulations in regard to. the. collection and expenditure of the various taxes made for the upkeep of the roads.

In discussing the question of roadcosts it is well to remember that the whole position must be viewed from a totally different angle to that of but a few years ago. In the past the amount of through traffic was almost negligible, and xoading costs were rightly loaded oil to the land adjacent to the roads. Advent of Motor. The advent of the motor, however, has changed all this, and the confined boundaries within which xoading costs were collected and expended in the past are now found to be somewhat of a handicap in that motor transport has practically placed no limit to the length of journeys. Thus the increased costs, caused by motors, for this and other are now no longer a fair charge on rates derived from land, and greater relief still must he given.

►-•'■l'his latter faetor has been realised, and an attempt has been made to adjust the balance by taxing motor vehicles and relieving rates. The sudden imposition of road taxes on motor vehicles, raised, as ■was natural, an outcry. On the whole motorists realise, however, that if they are to have good roads they must pay for them, and the petrol tax at least has been almost universally received as a fair impoi sition. The fees charged on heavy >jehicles, however, have been the Subject cf much complaint, and as is indicated above, strenuous efforts are jto be made to secure a reduction. No W , in all pnen-made innovations, there are bound anomalies and weaknesses, especially '&£. fef outset, so a few of these will be dsa!l Wife j in detail, and a. reftieay suggested in the following paragraphs. : Payment and Collection. In the first place there is room ! Jb* econoim- and improysi td&lnljfc.! tratioH In fee method of §allSetion of mater taxation, At t'ie moment «oolor owrief has Hi pay a petrol tax, tyra taS) Vegistration, license, I* ea .<Y and insurance fees, 's>3jlt>etiy through different channels. Jfa five of these there is little objection, hut to the heavy traffic fee there is much opposition. If it can he proved that this tax is an unjust one, then relief should be given, but so far the opposition has not given any concrete reasons why there should be a reduction. On the other hand there are these solid facts: (1) Heavy motor lorries compete with the railways; (2) many owners have not the faintest conception of how to work out running costs, and are in a sense a handicap to legitimate business.

Railway Competition. Healing with the first objection, it must be admitted that such competition is to he encouraged so long as it is on a proper footing. Railwa y administration is had enough as it is, and it would become much worse under a monopoly. It must _ remembered, however, that tile jl Railway Department has to include in its freight a charge for the cap?~'tal cost of the construction of the railroad, and to this extent therefore, the heavy lorry should be i Charged with its share of the capital <bf the road. Unless this is done

the ordinary taxpayer will have to make up a bigger loss than ever on the railway system. Curb Proposed. : In regard to the second fact, it is : notorious that many owners” whose ; capacity for hard work is greater that their knowledge of business | have, owing to the ease with which j heavy lorries can be purchased, en- . tered into business to the detriment j of the seller and the general economic good of the community at large. It would seem, therefore, that some curb on the enthusiasm of such would be in the general interests. A land agent, for instance, has now to show, before he can get a license, that he is of financial standing, and can keep a proper set of books. So it does not seem too much to require before an owner of heavy vehicles is licensed to take the roads that he has sufficient capital to reasonably meet his commitments, and that he can work out running costs, including depreciation, insurance. wear and tear, etc., on his vehicles.

User Should Pay. It is folly to allow roads to be knocked about, and railways to suf- ' fer unfair competition, simply to secure a slight deduction in freights, while if a few road pirates were thus kept off the roads, there might l>e less agitation against the heavy tiaffic fees, and more opportunities for the motor owner who knows his business. Unfortunately, some motor selling organisations have entered the lists in a fight which in the end must work to their disadvantage. In summing up, theiefore, it would seem that this conclusion is j aiiiiyedL fit.:. 11}. All fees wherever j possible should be collected by i post office, and the number plates is- I sued should he a guarantee that the | -pwner concerned has paid all cnSation imposed Oil motor Vehicles; (2) that in the interests of the country at large some additional fee, representative of the constitutional costs of roads, should be paid by heavy motor traffic. Expenditure. The administration of motor taxation also reveals several defects as does the direct expenditure. In its proper sense the main highway system meant a system of main arterial roads which bore no relationship to the county traversed. It has been found utterly impossible to stick to this ideal in practice, as some fortunate counties had most of their arterial roads coincident with the highway system, and thus gained immense advantages over other counties off the beaten track. This was distinctly unfair, as the ratepayer of a poorer county not blessed with main highways, might have contributed just as largely to the highway fund, as those in the lucky area. Two Principles.

Two big principles thus come into conflict: (1) A desire to construct 2000 odd miles of national roads from end to end of the county; (2) the overwhelming recognition that the highways fund must be regarded as a general fund for the relief of

ratepayers. The latter consideration led to the

highways being parcelled out to IS different districts which resulted in mam highways to the extent of 6000 miles being shared. • A man o; these 6000 miles shows at a glance that no main national system is involved, but that it is P’J rt.y an index of how the spoils v. re shared.

Subsequent additions have all tended in the hheeticn of giving each county an equal interest in the S'-l.orc, and by this cumbersome method the Highways Board is drifting closer and closer to the idea of subsidising expenditure on county roads. The Ideal (7). This latter procedure would seem to be tending towards the ideal, for it abolishes the great weakness of centralisation, and providing sufficient funds i are forthcoming to relieve ratepayers, should result in big strides ir road making. The solution of administration and expenditure would therefore appear to be that the fund created by receipts from all taxes paid into the post office, and finally remitted to the Treasury, should be allocated as follows:—Estimated Teceipts from benzine tax, tyre taxes, etc., £2,000,000; allocation, £1,000,000 to Highways Board for connecting links through poor and sparsely settled districts, bridges, etc., and £1,000,000 to be used in relieving ratepayers by subsidy on net road expenditure by local bodies.

This subsidy would be paid to local bodies on their annual audited j figures which would be a great improvement on the present scramble for heavy traffic fees on unchecked figures submitted by local body clerks. Equitable Expenditure. Further because expenditure could be heaviest where motor traffic was greatest, the subsidy would go back in greatest proportion to its source and in the most equitable method. The foregoing is, of course, but dealing with the problems in a general way, and minor adjustments would have to he made, but in general principle it would be a great advance on present conditions. In discussing this subject two further factors, both unknown, should be borne in mind by those interested. The first is that the new Transport Board is, if the wire sent to the Matamata County Council holding up the gazetting of the Mamaku road can be taken as a criterion, likely to be something of a surprise packet with powers apparently over and above the Main Highways Board, while the second faetor is the daily increasing demand by motorists for more and better roads. The first will require the keen attention of all local bodies, while the second in all probability presages an increase in the benzine tax to "Gd.