Penny Sections Welcomed

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 116, 6 August 1927, Page 8

Penny Sections Welcomed

Views of Suburban Mayors LONG distance travellers, whose concession cards will cost them more, are the only ones who view the City Council’s altered tram fares with real disfavour. Others, including the heads of the suburban local bodies whose territories are tapped, concede that the tramway committee has made a serious effort to solve a difficult problem, and that the result at least possesses the virtue of being business-like.

A NOTE of warning: is sounded by Mr. E. H. Potter, Mayor of Mount Eden, who considers that the council is embarking on a risky undertaking when it attempts to maintain bus feeder services in thinly populated districts. He believs that the area outside the range of the existing tramway system should be left to the railways and to private enterprise. “In certain districts,” he said, “the city tramways will be up against serious competition from the railways. “Still, I think the chairman of the Tramways Committee has made a bold attempt to solve a difficult problem. The council seems to be endeavouring to encourage the cash fare. That is the conclusion I would form from the

fact that concession cards over long distances are to be dearer. Handled in such a business-like way, said Mr. Potter, the tramways system should be a sound proposition, but he did not believe trams were suitable for outlying thinly-populated areas.

The Right Step The view that the Tramways Committee has taken a step in the right direction is held by Mr. O. H. Donaldson, Mayor of the Borough of New-

market, who said this morning that he favoured the adoption of penny sections. Short-distance travellers would thus not be made to pay disproportionately. “The alterations,” he said, “make no difference to Newmarket. Under the former arrangement we had to pay threepence for a ride over two sections from the city. Now the distance is divided into three sections, but we will pay only a penny, instead of twopence, for the first section, and the amount for the full ride will be the same.” Discussing the alterations in the prices for concession tickets, Mr. Donaldson said many people would now prefer not to bother with the concession cards. He considered the scheme, as a whole, was a good attempt to solve the tramway problems, and to popularise the trams. * * * No Benefits for Onehunga Mr. A. Coldicutt, Mayor of Onehunga, said he had not had a chance to investigate the report thoroughly. As far as he could see, Onehunga was only concerned through the altered concession prices, and the result would be more cash travellers. The borough did not benefit in any way, but he commended the care and thought that the Tramways Committee had devoted to the task. Mr. E. F. Jones, chairman of the Mount Roskill Road Board, said this morning that he had not had an opportunity, to examine the report in detail, and it was so important a matter that he could not make a pronouncement until he had done so. General Approval As far as can be learned, the majority of the citizens share the view that the Tramways Committee has made a courageous effort to get the Tramways system back on to a paying basis. The introduction of penny sections is generally welcomed, though many realise that the reduced length of the sections counteracts any advantages that would otherwise accompany the innovation. People who have long had the benefit of concession cards, for long journeys in and out of the city, express dissatisfaction at the imposition of heavier charges, but they are in the minority. Among those who live close to the city it is recognised that travelling will be cheaper after the alterations come into force, and all classes welcome the penny section, which will encourage suburban residents to use the trams for short journeys, apart altogether from the occasions when they desire to reach the city.