Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1939. TRANSPORT AND ECONOMY.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 November 1939, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1939. TRANSPORT AND ECONOMY.

ADDRESSING the New Zealand Road Transport Alliance A last week, the Minister of Transport (Mr Semple) made some interesting observations on general policy. He said, amongst other things, that the Government had no intention of interfering with services not operating in direct competition with the railways. As to road services that do compete 'wth the railways he instituted a comparison between the policy ot the present Government and that adopted by several of our metropolitan municipalities in buying up bus systems in order to save their tramway undertakings. The Government, he said, had been compelled to do precisely the same thing as had been done in the ease of the tramways. Tn fact, however, the comparison between municipal tramways and State railways is far from exact. It seems likely that the day of tramways is passing and that sooner or later the service they render will be rendered better and more economically by buses. The railways service, on the other hand, is in no'visible danger of becoming obsolete. Taking account of total transport demands in this country, the time is not in sight when it would be possible to dispense with the railways. There has been a considerable amount of unwise expenditure on non-paying lines, but where the transport ol large quantities of goods over given routes is concerned and also in some classes of passenger transport, the railways have and will continue to have considerable advantages over any alternative transport service. One of the greatest weaknesses of the present regulation of transport in this country is in the failure, as yet, to apply the principles of co-ordination. The policy of eliminating road services competing on parallel routes with the railways does not in itself ensure co-ordination and economy. Indeed, in some instances, strong objections are raised to this policy on apparently reasonable grounds. In moving heavy loads from point to point, particularly over fairly long distances, the railways probably are unsurpassed. They are outclassed by motor vehicles, however, in factors of door to door collection and delivery and at times in some other particulars as well. It appears to follow that transport co-ordination in the true sense of the term, and the establishment of conditions in which the railways will be able to render fully efficient and economical service, must, imply a combined organisation of road and railway transport, together with the use of modern facilities for transferring goods from road to railway vehicles and vice versa. Some important aspects of the questions here involved were raised by Mr E. M. Hodder, on behalf of the firm he represented (Messrs C. E. Daniell, Ltd) at the silting of the No. 2 Transport Licensing Authority in Masterton on Thursday last. The particular application with which Mr Hodder was concerned is a matter for the consideration and decision of the Transport Authority, but from a broader standpoint it may be hoped that the Railways Department will define its attitude with regard to a true co-ordination of road and railways service. To appearance there is much to be said for the provision, at selected railway depots, of facilities for the bulk handling, not only of timber but of goods of various kinds. Indeed, this appears to be an essential condition of efficient and economical railways service. It is surely an anomalous state of affairs, and one flatly incompatible with expeditious and economical service, that primitive, slow and costly methods of hand loading and unloading should be used on the railways in districts in which lorries are being loaded and unloaded in a fraction of the time by the use of a crane. Something certainly should be heard from the Railways Department, oh the subject of facilities for the handling of goods in the Wairarapa and elsewhere. The question is one in which the Minister of Transport, may also be expected to take a practical interest. Tn his capacity as Minister of Public Works, Mr Semple has insisted upon the acquisition and use of the most modern and efficient, equipment and machinery of all kinds. It is perhaps not. unreasonable to ask him whether he considers that the Railways Department is equipped as it should be, in the Wairarapa and in a good many other districts, where the loading and unloading of goods is concerned. lie may be asked also whether, in his opinion, the existing state of affairs in this respect lends itself to the effectual co-ordination of railway and road services which undoubtedly is the true key to transport economy. Whatever may be the position with regard to this or that detail of method or equipment, it is plain enough that broad community interests in this country demand the closest possible interlocking of road collection and delivery services with railway transport. At the same time, nothing is more obviously essential to the attainment of that pitch of organisation than the provision of adequately efficient equipment for expeditious and economical railway loading and unloading. To appearance much might be done in this way, not only to lower costs and speed ii]j railway transport service, but to increase the carrying capacity of available rolling stock and to attract an increased volume of traffic to the railways.