ROAD SERVICES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 9, 2 September 1931, Page 4

ROAD SERVICES

DECREASED LOSS SHOWN RAILWAY DEPARTMENT ACTIVITY. The 'operations of the New Zealend Railways Department road motor services for the year ended March 31, 1931, resulted in a loss of £5842, being a decrease of £5594 as compared with the previous year, according to the general manager, Mr H. H. Sterling, in his annual report to Parliament. "After making allowance for the Dunedin-Port Chalmers service, which was inaugurated during the flnancial year under raview," Mr Sterling continues, "revenue fell by £5293, due to the competition of taxi services, the economic depression, and the dislocation of the J^apier-Hastings service by the earthquake. "Another factor which has had material effect on the revenue side ia the operation of pirate taxi services on tliree of our licensed routes. I referred to this matter in my report lastyear, and although a conviction was secured against the taxi services operating Between Hastings and Napier an appeal has been. lodged, and pending a decision in this matter the services are still operating. - Purpose of a Taxi-cab. "It is manifestly unfair that an omnibus service licensed over a route and capable of dealing with the passenger requirements of that area should have its potential traflio interferecl with hy unlicensed services which are not capahfe of dealing with the total trafflo offering. The purpose of a taxi cab is to provide transport at a fixed mete: charge on a mileage basis, but the position has developed that these vehicles now carry passengers at a rate competing directly with licensed omnibus services which have to conform to the regulations regarding vehicles, routes and fares. Taxi services are not so regulated, and the position' is such that the financial condition of the licensed omnibus servces is being weakened by the pirate operators, who are under no obligation to maintain time-tables, and who continue in operation only when and so long as it suits them. We have pirate taxi services now operating !n opposition at Hastings-Napier, Huit Valley and Dunedin-Port Chalmers, anrl in •pfivip.wincr the nosition I can but

state tbat the unfairness of the position is such as to call for immediate actioi hy the Legislature. Unless some deflnite steps are taken at an early date it will he a difficult matte" for tnc licensees of bus services to continue to maintain satisfactory services on an economie basis. It is to be noted in viewing the figures regarding the bus services that the amount shown as profit or loss (as the case may be) is arrived at aftsr interest has been charged on the balance of capital remaining after depreciation has been alioWed for. Such interest would, of course be ineluded in the dividend or owner's . profit if these services wrere operated by private enterprise." Following are details of various services with part of Mr Sterling's comments on each: —

Loss Rsduced. Napier-Hastings — 1931 loss, £3753 (1930 loss, £7925). "For the first nine periods of the year the passenger journeys in this service had increased, but after the earthquake the passenger traffie . decreased for the remaining months. It will be seen that notwithstanding the continued opposition of the taxi services and the adverse effect of the earthquake the loss last year , of £7925 has been reduced to less than half. We were officially informed by the secretaries of the taxi services after the accounts for the previous year had been puhlished that the revenue of pirate ta,xi services for that year had been considerably greater than. the amount of our loss on the bus services — namely, £7925 — and from this it may be readily dedueed that had it not been for those services our returns for the past year would have shown a substantial profit." Hutt Valley — 1931, profit, £1149 (1930, loss, £815). "This service has now been brought up to quite a high standard by the provision of new and up-to-date buses and it is regrettable that the people of the district should afford their patronage to the pirate taxi services which can only have the effect of weakening the capacity of the department to give a still higher quality of service. So far as the past year's operations are concerned, it is very satisfactory to know that, in spite of the opposition of the taxi services and the general depression, which must have been a material factor contributing to the drop in the passenger traffie, it has been found possible to show a profit on the year's operations." Profit for Qamar u-Tokarah i. Chi'istehurch-Midland — 1 931, loss, £2151 (1930, loss, £2560). "This service was one which was originally taken over to protect the department's business in this area, and at the same time to enahle economies in train services to be made. "In order to obviate the loss on these services it was decided during the year to try the experiment of leasing them to a private firm at a nominal rental, and this was duly arranged. A measure of control hy the department to enable the services to be co-ordinated with the railway services was retained. The arrangement dated from February 3, 1931, so that the figures for 1930-31 did not inelude quite a whole year, and this requires to. be borne in mind in comparing them with the figures for the previous year." Oamaru-Tokarahi — 1931, profit, £32 (1930, loss, £114). Dunedin-Port Chalmers — 1931, loss £1117. "This service was brought into operation on June 2, 1930', in order to protect the department's interests, which were being threatened by private enterprise and to enable the department to effect economies in train services in this area. The revenue has been adversely affected by the newness of the service, the acute unemployment and geqeral depression, and by the operation of a pirate taxi service."