THE TRAMWAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 May 1916, Page 7

THE TRAMWAYS.

ESTIMATED RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE. AN ILLUMINATING STATEMENT. In his annual report to the Borough Council, the Town Clerk states, inter alia:—The daily takings on the partial service have exceeded the most sanguine anticipations. Whilst it is true that the revenue for the partial service has been much better than was expected, one would need to be extremely optimistic indeed to venture to assert that tlie installation would prove to bo a payable proposition on the first year's running. In the revised report of the consulting engineer, submitted in January, 1913, the estimated, revenue was shown as £B6OO, estimated working expenses £6420, and interest and sinking fund £3025. Exclusive of any provision for depreciation, these figures show a loss, of £845 on a full year's working of a complete service. During the past month the tramways engineer (Mr. R. H. Bartley) submitted the following estimates as for the first year's running of the complete service:—Traffic receipts, etc., £7646 10s, Estimated expenditure, working expenses £7727 lis 3d; interest and sinking fund, £3025; total, £10,752 lis sd. These figures show an estimated loss of £3106 Is 5d for the year, exclusive of any provision for depreciation. Provision was made in the tramways loan for the payment frem that loan of the first year's interest and sinking fund. Of this amount £IBB7 4s 6d remains unexpended, and the actual estimated deficiency to be made up by the ratepayers for the first year is therefore £l2lß 16s lid, equal to a rate of approximately 3d in the £ on the annual value of the .Thole borough. Were it not for the provision for the payment of £IBB7 4s Od out of the loan the rate necessary would have been approximately 7>/.d in the £. It must therefore be borne in mind that whilst a rate of 3d in the £ may possibly be sufficient, in the second year, when a full year's interest will have to be paid | from revenue, there must be a material increase in the rat* to be levied.

Taking a reasonably optimistic view o.t these figures, in my opinion it would not be safe to anticipate that the revenue will be sufficient to meet all outgoings until at least the fourth year's running. After the fourth year the revenue should be sufficient to allow some provision to be made for depreciation and to relieve the ratepayers of the payment of anything in the way of special rates in support >i the undertaking. The experience, however, of other townr, lias always been that the installation of tramways lias conferred many other benefits upon the town, and notwithstanding that the ratepayers will have to meet a direct monetary los 3 on the venture for the first few'years, it 'is almost beyond question that the indirect gain to the town as a whole will btvmore than sufficient to compensate for any such loss, and I am optimistic enough to believe that eventually the profits from the undertaking will be sufficient to fully reimburse the losses of the first few years.