TRAMS AND RELIEF WORKS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1001, 18 June 1930, Page 10

TRAMS AND RELIEF WORKS

IN taking immediate steps to institute necessary works the Transport Board is showing practical appreciation of the need for unemployment relief, besides providing a useful objectlesson for other Auckland local bodies. It is clear from the latest announcements made by the board that both extensions and renewals will be put in hand at the earliest possible moment. These undertakings promise to serve a double purpose: First, the qxxick and substantial production of work for idle and penniless men, and, secondly, the placing of the tramways in a position of improved service and increased profit.

Though no official confirmation is available at the time of writing, it is to be inferred that Mr. J. A. C. Allum’s departure for Wellington last evening was for the purpose of discussing with the Government the possibility of raising a special loan for track renewals —a loan which would reap the advantage of the State’s two-to-one subsidy offer for wages paid on relief works. If the Government is wholehearted in its recognition of the need for speedy, economical relief, Mr. Allum should have no difficulty in securing the necessary power. Quite apart from the unemployment position, there is no question whatever about the urgency of the need for track renewals. Even the most phlegmatic of the board’s customers lias not failed to notice the deplorable and even dangerous condition of the rails in various busy localities. Some sections have been neglected for years, and only the exceptionally stable construction of the trams themselves has prevented passengei’s from suffering the common experience of travellers in an Irish jaunting- car.

In the meantime the work of constructing the tramway loop at the new Auckland railway station lias been begun. The attention of the whole community should and will be directed to this 52-chain stretch of new track from Beach Road to the station entrance, for instead of affecting any one locality it concerns the entire population, not to mention the unending stream of visitors to Auckland who will have neither the means nor t*he inclination to pay taxi fares. At present the Transport Board is undecided on the question of its charges for the short section to and from the City. A fare of twopence is contemplated, but it goes without saying that this would be far from satisfactory to the majority of travellers. The board must make up its mind quickly on this point and, in doing so, should realise that the popularity gained by improvements which have followed the removal of tramway control from the fumbling hands of the City Council will be lost if the public is to be penalised in the manner suggested.