THE TRAMWAY QUESTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 227, 13 February 1913, Page 6

THE TRAMWAY QUESTION.

l\ 111-:i*l,V TO Ml!. I)K\Y LEY'S C'UITICISM. i.ktti:': nio.\i mi;. black. Air. Friil. iilack. consulting engineer, write- to tin- Ma vor of New LMvinoiilh as follows: A considerable part of Mr." Bewlcy's letter in tbc Daily News of January :i(l is in advocacy of motor 'buses. The remainder is in large ]iart a wrong understanding of Inures and statements in my reports to tlie rouncil. Mr. Bewley npiieavs to believe tbat T have sought to induce tin* ratepayers of Xew Plymouth to accept electric traction, tbat T have wilfully belittled the all-conquer-ing march of the 'bus by referring only to its London exploits, and that anyhow I am such a prejudiced person that what T may say in regard to motor "buses need not seriously be considered. A controversy with Mr. Bewley or anyone else on the subject of motor 'buses is. not my desire. The comparative value of this means of city transport is entirely a matter of conditions, and U well enough known to those who study such matters and. as in the case of many systems which have strongly appealed to the public—including two or three monorails and half-a-dozen storage batteries —is quite small except in special circumstances. My disagreement with Mr. Bewley (as with some other ardent motor 'bus advocates in Xew Zealand) springs from the fact that be preferi, soaring into the clouds of enthusiasm rather than descending into a study as to whether suitable conditions exist in New Plymouth for the system in which he has such unbounded confidence. With regard to his insinuation that nothing but a recommendation in favor of electric traction could be expected from an electrical engineer, may I suggest that he dissociate me for the moment, from the statements on motor 'buses in my report and endeavor then to show that these are exaggerated or unfounded. If they are accurate statements of fact it matters not who makes them. The ratepayers are concerned only to know what experience elsewhere lias taught, while my part lias been to carry out their instructions and place information before them, leaving them to decide what system and what degree of efficiency they will pay for. On the personal side, however. I .should like to say this: For several years I served on the staff of an English company which investigated and experimented with various traction systems, always with a keen eye for obtaining one that would render possible rapid transit facilities in small towns at a lower cost than the (•'•' rliead trolley. To-day lam as desirous of being aide to honestly recommend an alternative, but although the traek--1 less trolley is fit for infrequent services and smalll carrying rapacity, the petrol rail car for flat grades, long runs between stops and extra-urban rather than urban work, the motor 'bus for flat grades, congested traffic, tortuous roads and first-grade road surfaces only, the overhead trolley tramway remains still the most eflicient by far for all other conditions than (hose mentioned. Admittedly it is expensive in first cost, but so are most things ofigood quality in this world, just as thev are the cheapest in the long run. It may interest Mr. Bewley to know that before entering upon electrical engineering T spent several years at mechanical engineering, and. of this reason at least. [ cherish the hebelief that all engineering questions do not present themselves to me as fit only for electric treatment. The importance of ratepayers understanding the issues involved in the adoption of motor 'buses would justify reference to many points, but I will refer to only one at present. From quite unbiassed authorities there is ample evidence proving that successful 'bus operation in municipal service depends on the provision and the most vigilant upkeep of first-grade road surfaces. The concentration of great weight—seldom less than l'/o tons —on each wheel of high-powered, fast, self-propelled vehicles, results in the rapid destruction of all but the hardest pavings. Tarred macadam has not proved appreciably more lasting than the wafer-bound variety under the action of these heavilyweighted wheels, which not-only impose their load on one or"two square inches of road surface, but necessarily use this small area to get the purchase needed for speeds which generally range up to l."> or more miles per hour. English experience is that unless surface maintenance is constant, the road foundation-, even when of concrete, quickly become broken. Pneumatic lyres cannot be used owing to the great wearing stress at the point of road contact. 1 do not sek to imply that road deterioration under New Plymouth's tralllc conditions would be as rapid as in much larger English towns. Tbat is a matter of volume of iraffle and hardness of roads. The carrying capacity of motor 'buses being only half that of tramcars. the mileage run for any given loading is from ."JO to 100 per cent, greater than a tramway mileage, so that even in Xew Plymouth the wear on its macadam roads would not be long in making itself felt. To sum up the road question, a hard-running surface must be provided and maintained, no matter what form of vehicle is used; for motor 'buses the whole road is the rail, for tramcars steel is the rail. AVbilc roads wear lapidly. steel will last for many years and give throughout its life low power consumption and smooth, comfortable riding.

Referring now to Mr. llewdey's comments on 7iiy reports, lie holds Hint my iigure= disclose a loss of £1545 per annum. To arrive at this he sets down Hi- In" estimated in my IfllO report, viz.. £305. and to this adds the increase r.f working expenses of my revised estimate of last month, £4OO. finally he puts on £750. being 5 per cent, of the difference between the cost of construction in 1010 and the full .-He.nut ~r I he loan that Hie ratepayers are asked to sanction in 11)1:1. 'Mr. llewley proceeds on the assumption that the prospects and earning power of the undertaking will not be one penny better in l!)i:i or'lOH than in 1010. as he declines to credit it with any increase of revenue fur the later period over the earlier one. If the ratepayers share this belief in the district's stagnancy they will be quite consistent in rejecting the loan proposal. T have distinctly said that the amount of the increase in revenue cannot be estimated in the ordinary way. because Hie conditions affecting traffic are undergoing considerable change. Personally, 1 think this change- establishment of oil-refining, development of oil-winning and the new facilities for shipping—should easily bring in much more than £IOOO of additional tramway revenue. Tt is for the ratepayers to say whether they think .\fr. TSewlcy's view or mine is reasonable, but meantime T enter an objection 1o a method of criticism which consists in debiting the cost of a wider gauge, greater currying capacity of ears, an additional car. additional route (at the llre'akwater and along Devon street West), poll and loan expenses and first year's interest in a scheme, while re-tji.-iiiL'' to credit it with any more revenue mi account of greater population, increased business activity and larger plan!. ' / Mr. Rowley charges me with estimat-

iug tin' population at a greater figure i in it actually is. and, further, with '■iin,mating its increase at 10 per eent. per annum. He then ingenuously reinarl s thiil growth of population in han'lv a feature in the controversy, as the notor 'hits would hcnelit by it as ■i :i' '. as the tramway would. The pnpuleii i in (he di-l.riet that, would be aff<i; il by a tramway undertaking was s!.:ied in my lir-a report as 75011. This not mi estimate, but information supplied. The Council's handbook for 1011-1-2 gives the population of what is now Creaier Xew Plymouth as 7r>;Sß. I think, therefore, it will be clear .that my statement was siillicieiitly a reunite for all practical purposes. YVith regard to the increase. I certainly never estimated 10 per cent, per annum. If .Mr. llewley will again read my report he will see that 1 simply adopted the method often used in collection with municipal enterprises whose financial position must tend to improve year to year as the town progresses. 1 based my estimates of revenue and expenditure upon that year! when (he population will have increased 10 per cert, on the amount of 1010-11. This leaves (he actual year in which the increase is attained an open matter, and is a fair way to judge the prospects of an undertaking depending so much on extent, of population. As to increase of population benefiting a motor 'bus system, I will only say that it would also increase the cost of maintaining roads and would inevitably spur on many business interests to avoid the inefficiency of the transit service by removing from the town to the neighborhood of the oilfield and port. If the physical conditions of the district are disadvantageous to 'buses (and they are) mere increase of population cannot improve the situation.