THE TRAMWAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 May 1918, Page 7

THE TRAMWAYS.

TEE ANNUAL REPORT. Reporting to the. Borough Council on Monday evening, the town clerk stated: The figures which concern us most are those which show that the nctt loss for the year amounted to £4295 .la 7d, compared with £3704 3s, for the previous year, or an increase of £5Ol 0s 7d. It lias been said that for the early days of the undertaking too great an allowance Ims been made for the depreciation and renewals fund, but this has little bearing upon the question of the actual increase in the loss for the year. Omitting these two funds altogether, it will be observed that th« nett loss increased by £SOO 15s Od. Explain the result as we may, one cannot help confessing to a feeling of disappointment after perusing the .above figures. The council's anticipations for an increased revenue were substantially realised, £757 Is 7d more than that of tho previous year being received, or an increase of approximately 8 per cent. Car mileage, however, increased from 180,040 to 107,153, showing that the cars had to run 10,218 more miles to earn the increased revenue.

Working expenses increased by no less than £1249, or approximately IS per cent. General repairs and maintenance, which increased from £512 to £L'il:', accounted for the greater proportion of tho total increase. The reasons for this increase are dealt with at a later stage of this report.

Tho position to-day is that the tramways department has a leeway to make up of £7OOO <is 7d, less £2lt>4 143 (id proportion of the first year's interest which was paid from loan account during the year ending March 31, 1017. This leaves n nett amount of £5834 12s Id to he tnade up. The ratepayers in the same year also advanced the department (he sum of £1270 15s (id by way of special rates. This, however, has been treated as a liability, and will require to be repaid in relief of rates when the department is in a sound financial position, together with any special rates which may be collected in the future.

The annual loss is too great for any hope to be entertained that it may be turned into a profit during the present abnormal conditions. The problem which confronts us, therefore, is whether it is possible to substantially reduce the annual loss, end so minimise as far as possible the amount of leeway to be made up when normal times come again, hi considering this problem the first ■question which presents itself is naturally whet.hcr the revenue can be increased to any substantial degree, bearing in mind the fact that it is practically impossible at the present time to obtain increased rolling stock. The figures for last year tend io prove that this is possible, and at a superficial glance the solution upI pears to be quicker service to whatever 'extent this may be possible with, the 'present rolling stor 1

ljiitejige v.'Tt.T increased by jtr.-*tt mite, am! (in; revenue ii.cren:,ni by ,i.:7:!7. and (here iiiii.,l. be uome com ion between I lies.: I.uo fact;. A quicker ever, means iM< .■.-;-:,..<] working expenses, and it must In; left lo Litei tramways engineer to say whether the .increased working expenses would not bo more than balanced by the increased revenue. A further source of revenue is also to be looked for by encouraging tho already profitable traffic to the jfganiotu beach. Personally I do not think Hie department made quite as much use of (his last year ;i,s was possible. A few band recitals wore held there, but, as recommended in my last report, an endeavor should be made to arrange for si large number of these recilnls during (he summer months. The next question which presents itself is whether the time has not arrived when the heavv annual loss occasioned l)v the Morley .Street section should not be "eliminated, or. at any rate, substantially reduced. .1 loss is. to be eliminated, immediate steps should be taken to obtain the sanction of the Public Works Department for the closing down of this section for the duration of the war. Tf, however, the council considers this too drastic, then the loss should be. reduced by reducing the service on this section and running the car right through to Fitzroy, or to the Breakwater, whichever may be the most profitable. The third question to be considered is whether the working expenses cannot be reduced, but there appears to be very little hope in this direction. In submitting estimates of the working expenses for the year ending March 31, 1919, the electrical and tramways engineer dealt with the question as follows: "The statement shows a debit balance of £BO3 Ss (id, and I cannot, with any degree of safety reduce balance. Each item has been t.Tbprt imiivMu«.tty f twid obiwidered carefully, and in almost every instance we are paying 80 to 100 per cent, more for material when compared with the respective values only two years ago. We have been forced to make many parts required in the repairs to car motors and electrical equipment, etc,, and this has all been carried out by our own staff, but consequently at HE greater cost for the finished article. This state of .affairs is likely to continue, and even get worse, during 10.18, and allowances must be mado'for it. The value of tabor has likewise increased, and is increasing, and, as it forms a large proportion of our expenditure, it is exceedingly difficult to make any reduction without sacrifice of efficiency. The expenditure allows for keeping the whole of the, plant and equipment in good order, which is very necessary with our system, on account of limited rolling stock and the long hours in traffic that each car is called upon to do. The estimate docs not provide in any way for depreciation."

Having'considered the tlu'ed questions mentioned above, there remains only the question of a special rate. This was fully dealt with in a letter which I forwarded to the council when submitting the estimates for the ensuing year. The council eventually decided to levy a rate of twortence in the X, for the ensuing year. The amount of the rate is hardly sufficient, but in the event of the manager's estimates proving substantially correct, it will be sullicient to prevent the absorption of the flmttcr part of the available cash, and will leave something in hand to meet contingencies unforeseen.

It must also be borne in mind that special rates ari! Dot ill ally sense revenue, and can only be considered as advances' to assist the department in its early stages, the total forming a liability to be repaid at a future date.. Reviewing these remarks, it will be seen that the council lias already dealt with the question of working expenses and the question of special rates. This leaves only two other matters to be dealt with, viz., the befit means to increase the revenue, and what to ilo in to the Morloy Street section. require serious consideration, ;iiid J wow I recommend that the electrical ami tram iways engincOT be, iisked to submit a report setting but his views in regard thereto.

The earlier these two matters receive consideration, the better will be the chance of reducing the,losses for the ensuing year.

Tho heavy loss on the Morley Street section previously referred to necessitates that the extension to Westown should not be dolayed to any extent beyond the time when the materials can'be purchased, at "a reasonable figure. I therefore recommend that plans and specifications be preparod for the work, and that these plans, together with the application for the necessary Order-in-Comicil, be submitted to the Public Works Department. These preliminaries will take a considerable time to complete, and should be taken in hand as soon as possible, so that there may be no delay when an opportune time for commencing the work arrives. Altogether the sum of £00,500 ] ms ! been raised by loan for the installation of tlie tramways. ENGINEER'S REPORT. Mr. I!. IT. Bartlo.y, in bis report, states: Up to March 31, 1918, the tramways have been in operation for nearly two .years, under full service condition's, and each month has shown progress. I have no doubt that those conditions will continue, although it will be well to bear in mind the present, state of a Hairs, created by the. war, and it must be expected under the circumstances, that results compatible with normal times cannot be expected. The revenue has been called upon to meet am expenditure of approximately £520 in connection with the repairing of tin; road adjacent to the tram rails. This is rather a serious matter for our revenue this year, and is due to a variety of circumstances which, I trust, will not be met with in the following year to the same extent. The c|Uestion of road maintenance adjacent to the train rails has received much consideration during the year, and the decision arrived at, I think, is liberal on the part of the tramways department', but one which should work with equity. Contained in hist year's annual report are several recommendations for the ensuing year, viz: Workmen's concession tickets, wet Sunday time-table, screens for protecting motormen, and waiting sheds. The iirs't two named are in operation, the third is under construction, and the fourth has received consideration, and is held in abeyance, pending more favorable opportunities to build. To the above [ would like to add the necessity of laying down a triangle by which cars can'be turned round, as by so doing a great deal of maintenance will be saved. To do this, however, requires rails, and as these are not. to be had at present the matter must wait.

From a genera] veviow of the luidcv--1 taking, 1 see no-alterations requiring immediate attention, but I submit for the (ounejl's consideration the desirability of movinjf the section now at Whit'oley l Street in South Road to the South Koa'd | ioop. )!y go doing one stopping place would be done away with, and as the distance is quite short, the changing should cause no inconvenience to the public. _ During the year plana and speciflea-: iiona were prepared for the purchase of'

•an additional car, and authority granted jby the council to buy it. Prices were received, subject to confirmation by the | makers, and when these teamc to hand, I. the increase was so greafc that I was forced to reconoaand that) tho~_purciiaße

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