TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT (ANNUAL REPORT OF).

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1934 Session I, H-40

H.—4o.

1934. NEW ZEALAND.

TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT (ANNUAL REPORT OF).

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave. The Right Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister of Transport, Wellington. Sir, — Transport Department, 6th August, 1934. Herewith Ī have the honour to submit the annual report of the Transport Department for the year ended 31st March, 1934. I have, &c., J. S. Hunteb, Commissioner of Transport.

INDEX TO CONTENTS.

Page 1. Introductory .. .. .. .. .. • • • • • • • • • • 3 2. Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Act, 1928 .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 (a) Statistics re Premiums and Claims .. .. .. .. .. .. • • 3 (b) Review of Premium Rates, &c. .. .. .. .. .. .. . • 4 (c) Actions when Negligent Driver subsequently dies .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 3. Motor-vehicles Act, 1924 .. .. .. • ■ ■. . • ■ • ■ • ■ ■ 4 (a) Registration of Motor-vehicles, by Types of Vehicle, 1926-34 .. .. .. .. .. 4 (b) Registration of Motor-vehicles, by Country of Manufacture, 1927-34 .. .. .. .. 5 (c) Motor-vehicle Registration-plates .. .. .. .. .. . • • • ■ . 6 (d) Motor-vehicles actually on the Road .. .. .. . . .. .. . • 6 (e) Petrol-consumption, by Motor-vehicles and otherwise .. .. .. . • •. 6 (/) Special Motor Transport Statistics, 1933 .. .. .. .. .. • • ■ ■ 7_ (i) Mileage of Motor-vehicles .. .. .. .. .. •. . • •. 7 (ii) Occupation of Owners of Motor-vehicles .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 (iii) Classification of Makes of Motor-vehicles .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 4. Motor-spirits Taxation Act, 1927 .. .. ■ ■ .. . • • • • • • • 7 (a) Petrol-tax Yield, 1928-34 ■ .. .. .. ■. .. .. • • •. 7 •(&) Distribution of Petrol-tax .. .. .. .. ■. .. .. • • 8 (c) Petrol-tax classified according to Types of Motor-vehicles .. .. .. .. .. 8 (d) Refunds of Petrol-tax .. .. .. .. •. ■. .. . ■ . • 8 (e) Special Mileage-taxation .. .. .. .. .. • • • • • • 9 5. Road Finance . • •. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ■ • 9 (a) Dominion's Road Bill, 1928-33 .. .. • ■ • • • • ■ • • • • - 9 (b) Sources of Money expended on Road Bill, 1928-33 .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 (c) Annual Charges per Mile on Roads, Streets, &.e., 1928-33 .. .. .. ■. .. 12 (d) Motor-taxation .. ■ ■ • • • • • • ■ • • • • • • ■ 13 (e) Motor-taxation and Consolidated l urid .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 6. Heavy Mo tor-vehicle Regulations, 1932 .. .. .. .. • • ■ • • - ■ • 13 (а) Allocation of Heavy Traffic Fees .. .. .. .. .. •. • • • • 13 (б) Limitation of Loads on Roads .. .. .. .. •. - • • • ■ • 13 7. Bridges on Rural Roads .. .. .. - • • • • • • • • • - • 14 8. Transport Licensing Act, 1931 .. .. .. .. .. • ■ - - ■ • ■ • 16 A. Passenger-services: — (a) Continuous Passenger-service Licenses, 1933-34 .. .. . . . .. 16 (b) Seasonal Passenger-service Licenses, 1933-34 .. .. . . . . - ■ 16 (c) Temporary Passenger-service Licenses, 1933-34 .. .. .. .. . . 16 (d) Traffic and Financial Statistics, 1933-34 .. .. .. .. .. ■ 16 (i) Traffic .. .. .. • • • - - • ■ • - • ■ - 16 (ii) Revenue .. .. - - .. • ■ • ■ - • - ■ • - 17 (iii) Expenditure .. .. • • • • ■ • • ■ - • • ■ 17 (iv) Financial Results of Year's Operations .. .. . . -. . - 18 (v) Financial Condition of the Industry .. .. .. .. .. . - 18 (vi) Mileage saved .. . . . • ■ - .. • • 19 (e) Inspection of Passenger-service Vehicles .. .. . - . . • • • 19

I—EL1 —EL 40,

H,— 4o,

Index to Contents—continued. Transport Licensing Act, 1931—continued. Page B. Goods-services— (1) Scope of Goods-service Regulations .. .. .. .. .. .. 20 (2) Number of Licenses granted .. .. .. .. , . ~ .. 20 (3) Traffic and Financial Statistics, 1933-34 .. .. .. .. .. .. 21 (i) Traffic .. .. .. . . .. .. . . .. .. 22 (ii) Liabilities and Assets .. .. .. .. .. .. ~ 22 (iii) Revenue .. .. .. . . . . .. .. .. .. 22 (iv) Expenditure .. .. .. ~ .. .. .. ~ 22 (v) Profit .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 (vi) General .. .. .. . . . . . . . . .. .. 22 (4) Fixation of Charges .. .. .. .. ~ .. ~ .. 23 C. Appeals from Decisions of Licensing Authorities .. .. .. .. .. .. 23 D. Conference of Chairmen of Licensing Authorities .. .. .. .. .. .. 23 9. Motor Accidents and their Prevention .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ~ 23 (a) Accident Statistics .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. ~ 23 (b) General .. .. . . .. .. .. ~ ~ .. ~ 24 10. Traffic Control .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ~ 25 (a) General .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . _ 25 (b) Transport Licensing Act, 1931 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 26 (c) Meeting of Traffic Officers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 26 11. Changes in Transport Law .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 26 (a) New Zealand . . .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. ~ 26 (b) Other Countries .. .. .. .. .. .. . . ~ , , 27 (i) Great Britain .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . . , . 27 (ii) Irish Free State .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 27 (iii) Victoria, Australia . . . . .. .. .. .. .. . . 27 12. Road Traffic Legislation . . .. .. .. . . .. . . 28 13. The Oversea Mechanical Transport Council . . .. .. . . . . .. .. 28 14. Tire Loadings .. .. .. .. .. . . . . . . .. ~ 29 15. The Compression-ignition Engine . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. 29 16. Appendix— Statistical Tables— 1. Vehicles registered under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924 .. .. .. .. .. 30 2. Motor-cars, Omnibuses, and Motor-trucks registered at 31st December, 1928 to 1933, inclusive (by Highways Districts) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 31 3. Motor-cycles registered at 31st December, 1928 to 1933, inclusive .. .. .. .. 32 4. Motor-vehicles licensed as at 31st March, 1934 . . .. . . . . . . .. 33 5. Mileage covered by the various Types of Motor-vehicles during the Year ended 31st May, 1933 .. 33 6. Occupations of the Owners of Motor Cars, Trucks, and Cycles licensed between Ist June, 1933, and 31st July, 1933 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 34 7. Makes of Motor-vehicles licensed between Ist June, 1933, and 31st July, 1933 (Motor-cars, Light Trucks, Heavy Trucks, Omnibuses, Taxis, and Service Cars) .. .. .. . . 35 8. Makes of Motor-vehicles licensed between Ist June, 1933, and 31st July, 1933 (Contract Cars, Rental and Private Hire Cars, Local Authority Road Vehicles, Government Vehicles, Motorcycles, and all Types of Vehicles) .. .. .. .. .. .. , . 36 9. Distribution of the Petrol-tax to the Boroughs, for Year ended 31st March, 1934 .. .. 37 10. Annual Yield from Taxation of Motor-vehicles . . .. .. .. .. .. 37 11. Lengths of the various Classes of Roads, Streets, and Bridges in the Dominion as at 31st March, 1922 to 1933, inclusive .. . . .. . . .. .. .. .. 38 12. Lengths of the various Types of Bridges in the Dominion at 31st March, 1923 to 1933, inclusive 38 13. Applications for Passenger-service Licenses for Year ended 31st March, 1934 .. . . 39 14-17. Traffic and Financial Statistics of Licensed Passenger-services— 14. Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for more than Nine Passengers .. . . 40 15. Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for not more than Nine Passengers .. .. 40 16. Other Fleets .. .. .. .. . . . . .. .. .. 41 17. Totals for all Vehicles .. .. .. .. .. .. , . 41 18-21. Average Operating-expenses and Revenue of Licensed Passenger-services— 18. Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for more than Nine Passengers .. .. 42 19. Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for not more than Nine Passengers .. .. 42 20. Other Fleets .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. 43 21. Totals for all Vehicles .. .. .. .. .. .. 43 22. Assets and Liabilities of Licensed Passenger-services as at 31st March, 1934 ... .. 44 23. Details of Depreciation on Licensed Passenger-service Vehicles as at 31st March, 1934 . . 44 24. Applications for Goods-service Licenses for the Year ended 31st March, 1934 . . .. 45 25. Vehicle Authorities issued, classified according to Maximum Weights authorized to be carried .. 45 26. Vehicle Authorities issued, classified according to Size of Area or Route . . .. .. 46 27. Temporary Goods-service Licenses granted up to 31st March, 1934 .. .. . . 46 28. Revenue and Expenditure of Licensed Goods-services during Year ended 31st March, 1934 .. 47 29. Assets and Liabilities of Licensed Goods-services as at 31st March, 1934 .. .. .. 48 30. Details of Depreciation on Licensed Goods-service Vehicles as at 31st March, 1934 .. . . 49 31. Statistical Details of Licensed Goods-services for Year ended 31st March, 1934 . . . . 49 32. Analysis of Data relating to Fatal Motor Accidents in the Dominion during the Year ended 31st March, 1930 to 1934, inclusive .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50

2

H.— 40

REPORT.

1. INTRODUCTORY. The year under review has been one of considerable activity in the Department. The main activity has been the carrying-out of the provisions of the Transport Licensing Act, the preparation of the legislative proposals contained in the Transport Law Amendment Act, 1933, the formulation of schemes of co-ordination, improvement of the control of motor traffic using the roads, and the usual routine matters of the Department. The machinery under the Transport Licensing Act is operating smoothly, but every effort is being made to effect improvement in the direction of greater simplicity and cheapness. The accounts and traffic records of operators licensed to carry both passengers and/or goods are being carefully watched in order to ensure that the benefits of the Act are passed on to the public in the form of lower charges or better service. Tangible evidence of the efficacy of the Act in regard to passengerservices is in the form of increased efficiency and a saving of approximately £300,000 for the year in operating-costs. The outstanding event of the year has been the setting-up of the Transport Co-ordination Board with wide powers to investigate and make recommendations regarding the improvement, co-ordination, development, better regulation and control of all means of and facilities for transport. The setting-up of this Board is an important step in the direction of solving the Dominion's transport problems. The State is no longer to leave the' organization of the national transport system to the haphazard decision of unregulated competition. While competition provides the greatest force by which progress is achieved (a fact which should never be overlooked, particularly in the field of transport, where science and invention have placed wonderful means of transport within reach of man) it is now recognized that unregulated competition results in high transport costs. Consequently, the general aim is to allow sufficient free play of competition to permit of the full advantage of progress being obtained, while, at the same time, by reasonable planning and co-ordination, preventing the evil effects of competition in the form of wasteful duplication of services. That proper regulation of the whole field of transport is of public benefit is indisputable, but there is not the same certainty as to the method and means of regulation. The regulatory system to be successful must be simple, effective, and inexpensive. There must be no suggestion of unnecessary " red-tape." A brief study of transport in other parts of the world to-day immediately directs attention to the fact that unregulated competition has been universally discarded as the basis of national transport policy. Regulation of competition is being secured in several countries through the control of transport charges and by other means such as a system of licensing, control of expenditure on the construction of new transport facilities, more particularly large expenditure on roads, railways, and harbours. Countries adopting transport regulatory legislation in some form or another during the year are Great Britain, Canada, Victoria, Irish Free State, and others. 2. MOTOR-VEHICLES INSURANCE (THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT, 1928. (a) Statistics. For the year ended 31st May, 1933, forty-three insurance concerns gave the prescribed notice to undertake business under the Act, and carried on business accordingly. The net income from premiums for that year, excluding, of course, any relating to the 1933-34- licensing year, amounted to £229,133, after taking into account adjustments on account of extra premiums due to changes in the classification of the vehicle and the cancellation of registrations, and allowance for the commission of the Post and Telegraph Department. Claims during the year, including costs, together with the liabilities in respect of outstanding claims at 31st May, 1933, amounted to £196,789, or 85-88 per cent, of the net total of premiums received. The following table shows the experience of the scheme during the four years ended 31st May, 1933. It should be noted that the figures for claims do not represent the amount paid during each year, but refer to accidents happening during each particular period.

Attention is specially directed to the fact that the statistics cover the period of four years only, and must be interpreted with the utmost caution. Experience over a longer period is the only way of ascertaining figures that will be typical of the third-party business in all its ramifications.

3

Claims paid and Esti- „ , , , , r ! Revenue from mated Liability for ■ t>„,. Year ended 31st May, Premiums. Claims outstanding Clam Ratio. at 31st May. £ ! £ Per Cent. 1930 .. .. .. .. 235,007 202,359 86-11 1931 .. .. .. .. 242,864 188,200 77-49 1932 .. .. .. .. 233,731 169,341 72-45 1933 . .. .. .. 229,133 196,789 85-88 Totals 940,735 756,689 80-44

H.— 40,

Comparisons between the claim ratios for the third-party-risks-insurance scheme and other branches of accident insurance show much higher figures for the former than the latter. This is largely due to the fact that the premiums are collected by the Post and Telegraph Department and handed over to the insurance companies, and also to the fact that much of the wasteful competitive struggle for business between the various companies has been eliminated, thus reducing overhead charges. The following table shows the claim ratios for various classes of accident insurance during the last available six years :—

(6) Annual Review op Premium Rates. Section 16 of the Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Act, 1928, provides that the amount of the premiums to be paid in respect of third-party insurance may be fixed from time to time by Order in Council. In accordance with the usual practice the latest figures relating to the operation of the Act were carefully examined in April last in order to ensure that the premiums for the 1934-35 licensing year might be again fixed in the light of experience, so as to give the motoring public the cover afforded at the lowest possible figure consistent with a reasonable margin to cover overhead and profit for the companies undertaking the third-party business. After a careful analysis had been made of the figures submitted by each company, and after consultation with the companies, it was decided to make alterations in the premiums payable in respect of almost all classes of vehicles, involving an estimated aggregate premium reduction of between £25,000 and £30,000 for the 1934-35 licensing year. The adjustment of premiums as provided in the Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Regulations, 1934, allows only a small margin, for claim fluctuation, working-expenses, and profit, but this small margin is made possible by reason of the fact that the pooling of the business (over 80 per cent, of which is carried on by companies forming the Third-party Pool) results in expenses being kept down to the barest minimum. (c) Actions when Negligent Driver subsequently dies. It is a rule of law that the remedy of personal action for damages against any person lapses with the death of that person (the Latin maxim being Actio 'personalis moritur cum persona). This maxim has the effect of preventing a claim, for damages caused by a motor-accident being pressed against the estate of the driver should the driver whose negligence caused the accident subsequently die, and this bar applies even when the latter's liability was covered by third-party insurance. The majority of the insurance companies accepting risks under the Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Act are favourable to waiving this bar to action on certain conditions, and negotiations are at present under way with this object in view. Whether the alteration will be effected by introducing legislation or by voluntary arrangement is not yet decided. 3. MOTOR-VEHICLES ACT, 1924. (a) Registration of Motor-vehicles, by Types op Vehicle. In last year's annual report it was pointed out that the registrations of motor-vehicles effected during the year were the lowest on record. The steady decline in registrations since the depression became apparent in the Dominion was arrested during the yeajc, and since May, 1933, the registrations have shown a very steady increase each month as compared with the figures for the corresponding months in the previous licensing year. The registrations effected during the month of December, 1933, were the highest for any one month since October, 1930. The particulars of the registrations effected during each of the last nine financial years are as follows :—

4

Percentage of Claims paid (including Costs) during the Year Class of Insurance. : : — • » 1927. | 1928. 1929. I 1930. ! 1931. 1932. Per Cent. Per Cent. ! Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Employers' liability.. .. 68-88 69-69 : 69-84 71-99 71-63 71-52 Personal accident .. .. 55-70 60-16 : 52-23 54-12 54-34 49-40 Motor-vehicle comprehensive . . | 52-01 55-11 52-44 64-04 67-61 56-16 Other forms .. .. I 23-06 27-73 27-50 23-60 32-05 33-83 1 I

Year ended 31st March, Cars. Commercial Vehicles. Cycles. i Total Registrations. I 1 i I j 1926 .. .. .. 18,811 4,409 5,130 28,350 1927 .. .. .. 16,439 4,692 5,464 26,595 1928 .. .. .. 12,531 3,399 4,560 20,490 1929 18,739 4,167 4,768 27,674 1930 .. .. .. 20,802 5,745 4,300 30,847 1931 .. .. .. 12,378 4,113 3,139 19,630 1932 6,151 2,656 j 2,058 10,865 1933 .. .. .. 4,716 2,640 1 2,072 9,428 1934 .. .. .. '5,551 3,339 1,956 10,846

H.—4o

(b) Registration of Motor-vehicles, by Country op Manufacture. The following table indicates the country of manufacture and the number of motor-vehicles registered during the financial years 1926-27 to 1933-34 inclusive :

Note.—The figures under the heading " Other Countries " include a large number of trailers, most of which are manufactured in the Dominion. The relatively high proportion (60 per cent.) of cars manufactured in Great Britain registered during the year 1932-33 as compared with those manufactured in other countries was not maintained during the past year, although 55-68 per cent, of the cars registered were manufactured in Great Britain. The position in connection with " commercial " vehicles shows an improvement in so far as those manufactured in Great Britain are concerned. The percentage of registrations of " commercial " vehicles manufactured in Great Britain was 28-18, as compared with 25-98 last year. It is interesting to note that the increase in the number of registrations of " commercial " vehicles compared with last year was 699. The registrations of motor-cycles have shown, with one exception, a decline each year since 1928-29. During the year 1933-34, 116 less-cycles were registered than during the previous year. The registrations of all motor-vehicles that have not been licensed during two successive licensing years are cancelled automatically. On the Ist Jane, 1933, the registrations of 14,162 vehicles that had not been licensed during the years 1931—32 and 1932—33 were cancelled. The following table shows the number of motor-vehicles, excluding those operated by motordealers, licensed as at 31st March, 1934: —

5

, ! Great United States of oth(jr j Total Year ended 31st March, Britain, j c^ada° r Countries. Registrations. Motor-cars. 1927 .. 2,185 13,623 631 16,439 1928 .. .. 2,172 10,078 281 12,531 1929 .. .. 2,886 15,667 186 18,739 1930 .. ; 3,675 16,993 134 20,802 1931 .. .. 3,265 9,057 56 12,378 1932 .. .. 2,607 3,477 67 6,151 1933 .. .. 2,832 1,834 50 4,716 1934 .. .. 3,091 2,406 54 5,551 Totals .. 22,713 73,135 j 1,459 97,307 Commercial Vehicles. 1927 .. .. 630 3,907 155 : 4,692 1928 • 522 2,706 171 3,399 1929 .. ■■ 522 3,318 327 4,167 1930 .. .. 502 4,792 451 5,745 193] .. .. 392 3,225 496 j 4,113 1932 .. 447 1,574 635 | 2,656 1933 . 686 1,149 805 2,640 1934 .. .. 941 1,471 927 j 3,339 Totals .. 4,642 22,142 3,967 j 30,751 Motor-cycles. 1927 .. .. 3,851 1,592 21 5,464 1928 .. .. 3,479 1,067 14 4,560 1929 .. .. 3,794 949 25 4,768 1930 .. .. 3,486 802 12 4,300 1931 .. .. 2,581 548 10 3,139 1932 .. .. 1,567 483 8 2,058 1933 .. .. 1,515 545 12 2,072 1934 .. .. 1,428 514 14 1,956 Totals .. 21,701 j 6,500 j 116 28,317

t3 13 Trucks. So-; ™ . S tn ® ® r®' ■+» «8 a) .2 w c3 oOoj.^j Sis »§© |g ss I Cms. a®- | H § ,3 §1 || t * Tota1 ' ISsg- i | °j |£ § | s H «f sii 3 i i Is i I k »ni!> So5 ■§ a g g g s « | 3 M EH O H GO ® ia Number. Number, i Number. I Number. I Num. ! Numbcr. Number. Number. Number. ' Number. Number. North Island .. 81,783 14,612 10,203 24,8X5 , 394 1,016 715 70S 960 14,996 125,453 South Island .. 45,974 8,360 4,799 13,159 j 136 523 465 407 442 9,693 70,799 New Zealand totals 127,757 22,972 15,002 37,974 530 1,539 1,180 1,175 1,408 24,689 196,252

H. —40,

The increase in vehicles licensed as at the 31st March, 1934, as compared with the previous year was 2,408. These figures do not take cognizance of the plates issued to dealers in and manufacturers of motor-vehicles, 1,033 sets of which were issued during the financial year 1933-34, as compared with 1,175 during the previous year. (c) Motor-vehicle Registration-plates. An order was placed for the manufacture of similar classes of plates for the year 1934-35 as for the previous years, and, in addition, for a supply of plates with the initial letter " V," which will be assigned to passenger-trucks and vehicles (all classes) insured as "contract motor-vehicles." Plates with the initial letter " R " are issued to trailers licensed for the year 1934-35, and car plates without initial letter numbered 1 to 300, inclusive, are being reserved for issuance to "rental" and " private-hire " cars. (d) Vehicles actually on the Road. The number of " live " registrations on the register kept in accordance with the provisions of the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, may be taken as a reasonable indication of the number of vehicles actually on the road. The numbers of these "live " registrations have been estimated for each month, and the monthly averages for the twelve-monthly periods ended on 31st March, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, and 1934, are given hereunder —

N.B.—Service-cars designed to carry not more than nine persons are included with motor-cars, while those designed to carry more than nine persons are included with omnibuses. The above table shows 3,784 fewer motor-cars and 824 fewer motor-cycles on the road in 1933-34 as compared with 1932-33. However, the number of motor-cars licensed on 31st March, 1934, was 127,757, which is 679 more than those licensed as at the 31st March, 1933. The number of trucks and trailers increased by 2,956 and 855 respectively, which is an encouraging sign of increased business activity. (e) Petrol Consumption. The following table shows a classification of the petrol consumed in the Dominion during the last six calendar years according to whether it was consumed in motor-vehicles or otherwise.

I he figures in the first column afford a reasonably reliable index of the usage of motor-vehicles during the last six years, subject to allowance being made for the growing use of smaller cars with a lower consumption of petrol, and also subject to the fact that in latter years a greater proportion of applications have been made for refunds on petrol not used in motor-vehicles.

6

Monthly Averages. Type of Vehicle. i — *930. 1931. 1932. , 1933. ! 1934. i J ' I I Number. Number. Number. Number. Number. Motor-oars .. .. 125,013 134,407 130,889 , 127,115 123,331 Trucks .. .. 23,512 25,294 26,232 26,907 29,863 Omnibuses .. .. 1,029 1,040 1,048 1,000 1,000 Traction-engines .. 173 117 123 136 140 Trailers .. .. 755 923 1,160 1,545 2,400 Tractors .. .. 293 302 426 561 600 Motor-cycles .. .. 26,266 25,167 23,487 21,995 21,171 Other motor-vehicles .. 445 j 458 441 421 420 Totals .. 177,486 187,708 183,806 179,680 178,925 i

Consumption of Petrol. Calendar Year. Motor-vehicles Other—i.e. Engines, (i.e., Petrol on whieh Aeroplanes &e. (Petrol! all Duty was paid). Refunds of f i Duty were made). Gallons. Gallons. Gallons. 1928 •• •• •• 41,457,150* 2,057,940* 43,515,090* 1929 •• ■■ •• 56,575,840 3,650,040 60,225,880 1930 •• •• •• 62,821,479 3,907,900 66,729,379 1931 -• •• •• •• 55,203,252 5,286,000 60,489,252 1932 •• •• ■■ 49,861,449 5,495,479 55,356,928 1933 •• •• 51,262,371 5,400,0001 56,662,371 * Excludes an unknown amount of petrol on which duty was not paid. f Estimated.

H.—4o,

(/) Special Motor Transport Statistics, 1933. In August, 1933, the Registrar of Motor-vehicles compiled statistical data on behalf of the Transport Department relating to — (i) The mileage covered by motor-vehicles from the Ist June, 1932, to the 31st May, 1933 ; (ii) The occupation of owners of motor-vehicles ; and (iii) The classification of types of motor-vehicles. Tables numbered 5 to 8 inclusive in the Appendix to this report are compiled from this statistical data which relate to vehicles relicensed during the period Ist June, 1933, to the 31st July, 1933, for the licensing year 1933-34. (i) Mileage of Motor-vehicles. Table No. .5 is useful in showing relative mileages travelled by the various types of vehicles, but, owing to the incompleteness of particulars regarding the mileages of all licensed vehicles, the average figure in column 6 thereof can be accepted as approximate only. It will be seen that those vehicles used for the carriage of passengers for reward have the greatest mileage per vehicle —viz., omnibuses, 22,200 miles ; service cars, 19,620 miles ; taxis, 10,860 miles. (ii) Occupation of Owners of Motor-vehicles. In compiling Table No. 6 every class of occupation has been specifically named in which one thousand or more vehicles are owned, and occupations involving less than one thousand vehicles have been included in the relative miscellaneous item, under the respective headings. Table No. 6 relates only to Types 1, 2, 3, and 11 of motor-vehicles mentioned in Table No. 5. Types 4 to 10 constitute special classes of vehicles the ownership of which is obvious from the name of each type. It is interesting to note who are the greatest users of the classes of vehicles comprising Table No. 6. Users of 5 per cent, and over of the total of each class are summarized below : —•

Motor-cars. —Broadly speaking, the farming industry accounts for 30 per cent, of the motor-cars in New Zealand, 37 per cent, are used for private and family use, and the remaining 33 per cent, are used for business purposes. A certain proportion of the latter, however, are probably used for private purposes as well as in business, but no reliable estimate can be made of this proportion. Light Trucks.—Fifty-eight per cent, of light trucks are used for business purposes, 31 per cent, are owned by farmers, and 11 per cent, by private owners. Heavy Trucks.—Nineteen per cent, of heavy trucks are engaged directly in farming industry, 76 per cent, are used in business (including 28 per cent, owned by persons directly concerned in transport), and 5 per cent, are privately owned vehicles. Motor-cycles.—Privately used vehicles lead with 54 per cent., followed by 33 per cent, in business use and 13 per cent, owned by farmers. As in the case of motor-cars, a certain proportion of those vehicles used in business are also probably used for private purposes. In studying Table No. 6 the fact should not be overlooked that the occupations shown do not necessarily determine the use of the vehicle ; this refers more particularly to motor cars and cycles than to motor-trucks. (iii) Classification of Makes of Vehicles. A classification of all types of vehicles into the various makes is contained in Tables No. 7 and No. 8. The most outstanding feature of the tables is the prominence of " Ford" and, to a lesser degree, " Chevrolet " vehicles. Another interesting feature is that a small number only of the various makes of vehicles accounts for the larger percentage of the total of each class —e.g., 24 makes of motor-car account for 85-7 per cent, of the total motor-cars, while the remaining 344 makes licensed represent only 14-3 per cent. 4. MOTOR-SPIRITS TAXATION ACT, 1927. The following data show the yield from and distribution of the petrol-tax for the year ended 31st March, 1934. The figures regarding the net yield for previous years are given for comparative purposes :— (a) Yield. £ Gross yield .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,518,633 Deductions — Refunds and cost of making same .. .. .. 150,486 Net yield .. .. .. .. .. £2,368,147

7

Motor-cars. Light Trucks. Heavy Trucks. Motor-cycles. Per Per Per Per Cent. Cent. Cent. ' Cent. Dairy-farmers .. 16-3 Dairy-farmers .. 17-7 Carriers .. 26-5 Labourers .. 16-3 Domestic duties* 14-9 Butchers .. 6-7 Merchants .. 14-4 Farm labourers 11-7 Sheep-farmers .. 8-6 Shopkeepers .. 6-3 Dairy-farmers .. 11-1 Clerks .. 8-7 Merchants .. 5-9 Builders .. 11-0 Dairy-farmers .. 8-3 Bakers . . 5-8 Manufacturers . . 5-8 Sheep-farmers .. 5-0 Percentage of total 139 ■ 8 Percentage of totali47 • 4 Percentage of total 68 • 8 Percentage of total 45 • 0 * " Domestic duties " includes cars owned or used by married, women.

H.—4o.

Net Yield (i.e., Gross Yield less Refunds), Year ended 31st March. £ 1928 •• •• •• .. .. 143,516* 1929 - •• .. .. .. 802,232 1930 •• • ■ .. .. 961,907 1931 ■ -• .. .. 1,314,450f 1932 •• ■ •• ■■ .. .. 1,677,520$ 1933 •• •• ■ • .. .. 1,865,7625 1934 • •• •• .. .. 2,368,147 Total since inception of tax .. .. .. .. £9,133 534 * Part year only. ■f Increase from 4d. to 6d. per gallon as from 22nd July, 1930. % Increase from 6d. to Bd. per gallon as from 7th October, 1931. § Increase from Bd.' to lOd. per gallon as from 9th February, 1933. (h) Distribution. The distribution of the net yield of the petrol-tax was as follows for the year ended 31st March 1934:— £ Per Cent. Main Highways Board .. .. .. .. .. 669,868 28-29 Boroughs (population of 6,000 and over) .. .. . . 101,728 4-29 Consolidated Fund .. .. .. .. .. 1,579,'965 66-72 Commission to Customs Department for collection .. .. 16,586 0-70 Total .. .. .. .. .. £2,368,147 100-00 N.B.—-The distribution of petrol-tax amongst boroughs in accordance with section 9 (1) (b) of the Motor-spirits Taxation Act, 1927, for the year ended 31st March, 1934, together with cumulative figures showing the total distribution from the inception of the petrol-tax up to the 31st March, 1934, is given in Table No. 7 in the appendix. (c) Classification accobding to Vehicles. The following figures show the net yield from the petrol-tax for the year ended 31st March, 1934, split up according to the nature of the vehicle in which the motor-spirits was consumed : —

N.B.—Service-cars designed to carry not more than nine persons are included with motor-cars, while those designed to carry more than nine persons are included with omnibuses. Motor-spirits in respect of which refunds of the tax were made have not been included above. The above figures are obviously inconclusive as evidence of the incidence of the petrol-tax. Like all taxes, this one may shift either backwards -to the producers of the benzine, or forward to the consumers of motor-transport services, while a certain amount of the burden may be carried for a time by the operators of motor-transport services. In the long-run, the petrol-tax will tend to be shifted forward to the consumers of motor-transport services, and, in so far as the increased cost of these services causes a diminution in the demand for them, a proportion of the tax will also in the long-run be cast upon the producers of motor-vehicles and equipment, in the form of losses of business consequent on a diminished demand. For the year ended 31st March, 1934, passenger-transport effected by motor-cars, motor-buses, and motor-cycles contributed £64 out of every £100 of the total yield from the petrol-tax, against £35 out of every £100 from trucks. Thus the petrol-tax derived from the carriage of passengers is nearly twice that derived from the transportation of commodities. A further analysis of the motives lying behind the movement of persons (impossible at this stage) would shed further light on this question. Investigations by the Department indicate that approximately 50 per cent, of the total cost of operating motor-cars in New Zealand is for purposes of a nonbusiness nature. (d) Refunds of Duty. Refunds of duty may be claimed by all persons using motor-spirits for any purpose other than as fuel for motor-vehicles in respect of which annual license fees are payable in terms of the Motorvehicles Act, 1924. The refunds are made by the Registrar of Motor-vehicles (the Director-General of the Post and Telegraph Department). The number of claims for refunds of duty on motor-spirits handled annually has increased year by year, and on an average over 12,300 claims were dealt with each quarter during the year 1 933

8

Kind of Vehicle. Estimated Amount. Percentage of Total. £ Per Cent. Motor-cars .. .. .. .. 1,336,000 56-41 Truok s .. .. .. .. . .. .. 833,500 35-20 Omnibuses .. .. .. .. .. .. 98,500 4-16 Motor-cycles .. .. .. .. .. .. 78,000 3-30 Balance, covering other motor-vehicles and other uses of motor- 22,000 0-93 spirits for which refunds were not claimed Total .. .. .. .. .. 2,368,000 100-00

H.—4o

The following table shows the number and the total amount of claims paid in terms of the Motor-spirits Taxation Act, 1927, since the inception of that statute : —

The particulars of the claims paid during each of the quarterly periods in 1933 are as follows : —

Section 38 of the Finance Act, 1932, which authorized the Minister of Finance to approve of payment of certain " late " claims for refunds that were lodged during the period of four months after the close of the prescribed quarterly periods during which the motor-spirits were consumed, was repealed by section 7 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 2), and the period allowed for the lodgment of ordinary claims was extended from one month to two months after the close of each quarter. As a result, persons entitled to claim refunds now receive them automatically if their applications are lodged within two months after the close of the prescribed quarterly periods, provided, of course, that the claims are otherwise in order. With the exceptions mentioned in the following paragraph, refunds are made at the rate of 6d. per gallon in respect of all claims lodged during the first month following the close of the quarterly periods ; claims lodged during the second month are subject to a deduction of 10 per cent. Provision is made in section 4 of the Customs Acts Amendment Act, 1932-33, whereby refunds of duty may be made at the rate of Bd. per gallon on motor-spirits consumed in aircraft or in any vessel engaged exclusively in the fishing industry for commercial purposes. As is the case .with the claims mentioned in the preceding paragraph, those lodged during the second month following the close of the quarter during which the spirits are consumed are subject to a deduction of 10 per cent. (e) Special Mileage-taxation. Owners of motor-vehicles not propelled exclusively by means of motor-spirits are required in terms of section 19 of the Finance Act, 1932-33 (No. 2), to pay a special mileage-tax based upon the actual road-mileage covered by their vehicles. The rate of tax varies from 4s. 9d. to 13s. 6d. per hundred road miles run according to the classification of vehicles for heavy-traffic purposes. All vehicles subject to the tax and which are exempt from the payment of heavy-traffic fees are required to pay a tax at the rate of 4s. 9d. for every one hundred miles of road traversed. The special tax was being paid by the owners of 269 vehicles as at the 31st March last. The amount of tax collected for the year 1933—34 was £2,015 17s. 7d. Exemptions or part exemptions from the mileage-taxation have been approved as follows under the powers provided by section 9 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 2) : Motor-vehicles driven by compression-ignition (" Diesel ") engines or by steam engines of New Zealand manufacture : — Owner pays 60 per cent, of full tax. Motor-vehicles driven by engines fed from " Diamond Gasogene Suction Gas Plant " or by similar approved apparatus : — Owner pays 30 per cent, of full tax. Agricultural tractors : — Totally exempt. 5. ROAD FINANCE. (a) Dominion's Road Bill, 1928-33. The Department has investigated the numerous statistical data available from official sources and has analysed and classified them in order to show approximately what the roads, streets, and bridges are costing under the headings of construction, maintenance, and loan charges. The figures which have been analysed relate to the five years ended 31st March, 1933. The classification of the roads into main highways, urban roads and streets, and other roads has been carried out, as each class of road or street has differing problems attached to it. This classification has involved a certain amount of estimation, as also have certain aspects of the figures for the whole road bill. Any estimations have been made on a conservative basis, and the figures are sufficiently close to actual fact to form a basis for reliable broad conclusions.

2—H. 40.

9

————— ——-—- — ~~ I Year. Number of Claims. Amount refunded. £ 1928 11,101 34,299 1929 . .. ■■ 19,814 60,834 1930 ' .. •• •• 25,797 83,741 1931 .. ... .. .. •• 37,116 132,150 1932 .. .. •• 45,986 137,387 1933 .. .. .. .. .. 49,265 138,194

Quarter. Number of Claims. Amount refunded. £ March ! 11,699 34,872 Tune •• •• •• 13.485 39,759 September 1 11,968 31,693 December.. .. 12,113 31,870

H,— 4o

The following table shows the expenditure under the various headings for the five years ended 31st March, 1933

The principal points emerging from the foregoing table are : — (1) Maintenance. The expenditure on maintenance on the various classes of roads shows an increase each year for the first three years, followed by an all-round decrease for the next two years. The total expenditure on maintenance for 1932-33 was 24 per cent, less than for the previous year and 32 per cent, less than for 1930-31. (i) Main Highways.—The reduction for 1932-33 was due to the effect of section 37 of the Finance Act, 1932, by which £500,000 of motor-spirits taxation was retained in the Consolidated Fund—this revenue would have normally been expended by the Main Highways Board on the maintenance of main highways. (ii) Other Roads.—The decrease for 1932-33 was due to the reduction of County Council expenditure on rural roads out of ordinary revenue. (2) Construction. (i) Main Highways.—The expenditure under this heading for 1932-33 was only 21 per cent, of expenditure on similar purposes in 1929-30, from which year there has been a progressive decline in the amount spent. The following table, showing the chief items of income to the Construction Fund of the Main Highways Board, indicates the fall in money available for constructional works from 1930 to 1933 : —

(ii). Urban Roads and Streets. —It will be seen that, contrary to other items of expenditure in the road bill, the amount spent on the construction of urban roads and streets during 1931-32 and 1932-33 is greater than that in any of the previous three years. This is explained by the fact that a large amount of unemployment moneys was expended in this direction during the two years mentioned, the estimated amounts being £510,000 and £660,000 respectively. (iii) Other Roads.—Constructional work on other roads shows a progressive increase to 1930-31, the large amount for that year being due to expenditure on roads other than main highways out of the Public Works Fund amounting to £1,475,522. Only £397,000 was made available for expenditure on construction of roads other than main highways for 1932-33, as compared with £1,082,000 expended on the same item the previous year. This is, however, offset to a large extent by an increase of £340,000 in the amount expended by County Councils out of unemployment moneys.

10

1928-29. 1929-30. 1930-31. | 1931-32. 1932-33. Maintenance—- £ £ £ ; £ £ Main highways .. .. .. 1,111,657 1,455,845 1,326,372 j 1,202,343 858,577 Urban roads and streets. . .. 461,530 484,609 581,734 529.104 453,969 Other roads .. .. .. 953,515 995,040 1,130,811 1,009J02 763,648 Total .. .. .. 2,526,702 2,935,494 3,038,917 2,741,149 2,076,194 Construction— Main highways .. .. 1,105,147 1,187,367 838,477 540,841 261,602 Urban roads and streets.. 1,067,074 1,155,636 1,077,380 1,338,677 1,224,214 Other roads .. .. .. 976,442 1,175,048 1,656,395 1,489,127 1,122,145 Total .. .. .. 3,148,663 3,518,051 3,572,252 3,368,645 2,607,961 Interest and sinking fund charges— Main highways .. .. .. 533,355 562,909 595,845 635,930 622,128 Urban roads and streets.. .. 556,847 600,188 615,530 640,728 642,282 Other roads .. .. .. 938,159 1,033,965 1,125,027 1,198,786 1,129,482 Total .. .. .. 2,028,361 2,197,062 2,336,402 2,475,444 2,393,892 Total annual road bill— Main highways .. .. .. 2,750,159 3,206,121 2,760,694 2,379,114 1,742,307 Urban roads and streets.. .. 2,085,451 2,240,433 2,274,644 2,508,509 2,320,465 Other roads .. .. .. 2,868,116 3,204,053 3,912,233 3,697,615 3,015,275 Total .. .. .. 7,703,726 18,650,607 8,947,571 8,585,238 7,073,047

v „„„ (a) Receipts from . , ( (c) Transfers from m , , lear ' Public Worics Fund. Loans ' Revenue. T - otaL ; I • £ I £ £ £ 1929-30 .. .. 200,000 ! 500,000 750,000 1,450.000 1930-31 .. .. .. 550,000 300,000 850^000 1931-32 .. .. .. 380,000 .. 380,000 1932-33 .. .. .. .. 100,000 100,000

H.—4o.

(3) Interest and Loan Charges. These charges have shown a gradual increase over the period 1928 to 1932, the small reduction for 1932-33 being due to a decrease in the average interest charges on public debt for that year. (4) Total Road Bill. The following table, showing the percentages of the total expenditure spent on (a) maintenance, (6) construction, and (c) interest and loan charges, is of interest: —

As payments on account of interest and loan charges have to be met, any decrease in expenditure on maintenance and construction will necessarily increase the percentage of the total amount for these charges. This is evident from the above table, as a decrease in expenditure for 1931-32 and 1932-33 has accordingly increased the percentage of interest and loan charges from 26 per cent, in 1930-31 to 29 per cent, and 34 per cent, for the following two years. (6) Sources of Money expended on Road Bill, 1928-33. The Department has also analysed the expenditure on roads during the five years ended 31st March, 1933, in order to ascertain the sources from which the money expended has been derived. The following table shows, under five main headings, the sources of revenue expended on (a) main highways, (b) urban roads, (c) other roads, and (d) all types of roads : —

The principal points emerging from the above table are ; —• (1) Loan-money.. . The amount of loan-money expended shows a remarkable all-round decrease for 1932-33, for which year it represented only one-quarter of the amount available from this source in 1928-29. Loan-money comprised 8 per cent, of the total money available for 1932-33, while it comprised no less than 30 per cent, of the total during 1928-29.

11

~ Interest and Loan Maintenance. Construction. Charges Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 1928-29 .. .. 33 41 26 1929-30 .... 34 41 25 1930-31 .... 34 40 26 .1931-32 .. .. 32 39 29 1932-33 .. 29 37 34

1928-29. 1929-30. 1930-31. 1931-32. | 1932-33. Main highways— £ £ 1 £ £ £ Loan .. •• 748,735 430,441 530,574, 455,296 37,472 Local rates .. .. .. 540,881 589,986 591,618 1 494,341 428,998 Unemployment-taxation.. .. .. •• ■■ i 55,073 60,259 General taxation .. •• 201,794 210,218 146,274 j 141,823 124,176 Motor-taxation .. .. •• 1,258,749 1,975,476 1,492,228 j 1,232,581 1,091,402 Total .. .. •• 2,750,159 3,206,121 2,760,694 2,379,114 1,742,307 Urban roads — Loan .. •• 595,174 649,396 450,885 330,114 122,417 Local rates .. .. .. 1,309,077 1,379,797 1,497,721 1,405,383 1,291,683 Unemployment-taxation .. .. ■■ •• 75,000 510,000 660,000 General taxation Motor-taxation .. .. •• 181,200 211,240 251,038 263,012 246,365 Total .. .. 2,085,451 2,240,433 2,274,644 | 2,508,509 2,320,465 Other roads — Loan ... •• •• 969,093 1,169,613 1,608,680 1,145,567 412,470 Local rates .. .. .. 1,074,876 1,123,361 1,121,923 841,313 798,805 Unemployment-taxation .. .. •• 39,102 281,242 677,227 General taxation .. .. 722,775 807,690 900,060 966,757 900,750 Motor-taxation .. .. •• 101,372 103,389 242,468 462,736 226,023 Total .. .. .. 2,868,116 3,204,053 3,912,233 3,697,615 3,015,275 All roads — Loan .. •• •• 2,313,002 2.249,450 2,590,139 I 1,930,977 572,359 Local rates ,. .. .. 2,924,834 3,093,144 3,211,262 12,741,037 2,519,486 Unemployment-taxation .. .. •• •• 114,102 846,315 1,397,486 General taxation .. 924,569 1,017,908 1,046,334 1,108,580 1,024,926 Motor-taxation 1,541,321 2,290,105 1,985,734 1,958,329 1,563,790 Total .. ■■ ■■ 7,703,726 | 8,650,607 8,947,571 1 8,585,238 7,078,047

H.—4o

As regards main highways, loan expenditure comprised 27 per cent, of the total expenditure during 1928-29, and for 1932-33 the corresponding figure was approximately 2 per cent. An examination of the table under " Construction, Main Highways," mentioned previously, indicates the main cause of this decrease. (2) Local Rates. Local rates have occupied first place on the total road bill in each of the five years mentioned, but have shown a relatively smaller percentage of the total for 1931-32 and 1932-33 (32 per cent.) than for the previous three years (1928-29, 38 per cent. ; 1929-30 and 1930-31, 36 per cent.). This decrease is probably due to the fact that unemployment moneys have played a prominent part in the last two years under review, and have accordingly relieved the local taxpayer to a certain extent. (3) Unemployment Taxation. Some difficulty has been experienced in estimating the amount under this heading, but, in the light of an analysis of the expenditure of unemployment grants to a number of local authorities, the amount expended on roads has been estimated at 50 per cent, of the total grants to boroughs and 66f per cent, of the grants to counties. It will be seen that expenditure from this source had assumed considerable proportion by 1932-33. The percentages of the total for the last three years of the period were approximately 1 per cent., 10 per cent., and 20 per cent, respectively. (4) General Taxation. This amount represents the annual charges for interest and sinking funds, excluding amounts paid on this behalf by the Main Highways Board out of motor-taxation money. The amount has remained fairly constant, and for 1932-33 represented 14 per cent, of the total. A reduction for this item should be shown for 1933-34 as a result of the Loan Conversion Act, 1932-33, reducing certain interest charges. (5) Motor-taxation. By far the greatest proportion of money from motor-taxation is expended on main highways, the Revenue Fund of the Main Highways Board being composed almost entirely from motor-taxation receipts. The amount for 1932-33 represented 63 per cent, of the total amount spent on main highways, and, but for the effect of the Finance Act, 1932, mentioned previously, authorizing the reduction of £500,000 from petrol-tax from the Consolidated Fund, this percentage would undoubtedly have been much higher. The motor-taxation under the heading of " Urban and Other Roads " is composed of heavy-traffic fees, motor-drivers' licenses, grants from the Main Highways Board, and a small portion of petrol-tax to boroughs with a population of six thousand and over. The percentages of motor-taxation spent on roads to the total expenditure on all roads for the five years were 20, 26, 22, 23, and 22 respectively. (c) Annual Charges pes Mile on Roads, Streets, etc., 1928-33. The following table shows the annual expenditure for the five years ended 31st March, 1933, on the various classes of roads, &c., computed per mile of road and/or street: —

The above figures direct attention to the following points : — (1) In the case of main highways the maintenance charges per mile for 1930 show an increase of 31 per cent, over 1929, followed by a progressive fall for the next three years, the 1933 figure being 44 per cent, less than the corresponding figure for 1930.

12

Annual Charges per Mile of Road. fW of Road Year ended Length of olass 31st March, Formed Roads. Ti , , Maintenance. T and Total. Loan Charges. Miles. £ £ £ Main highways .. .. 1929 10,40-3 107 51 158 1930 10,408 140 54 194 1931 10,420 127 57 184 1932 10,846 111 59 170 1933 10,878 79 57 136 Urban roads and streets .. 1929 4,043 114 138 252 1930 4,084 119 147 266 1931 4,055 143 152 295 1932 4,052 131 158 289 1933 4,106 111 156 267 Other roads .. .. 1929 33,875 28 28 56 1930 34,575 29 30 59 1931 35,103 32 32 64 1932 35,378 29 34 63 1933 35,909 21 32 53 Total, all roads .. 1929 48,321 52 | 42 94 1930 49,067 60 : 45 105 1931 49,578 61 47 108 1932 50,276 55 49 104 " 1933 1 50,893 41 ! 47 88

H.—4o

(2) As regards urban roads and other roads, a similarity in trend is noticeable —viz., the cost per mile shows a more or less steady increase from 1929 to 1931, a slight decrease for 1932, followed by a much more pronounced decrease for 1933. (3) Interest and sinking-fund charges per mile show a similar trend throughout all classes of roads, and a steady increase is shown from 1929 to 1932, followed by a small decrease for 1933 ; it is a coincidence that this decrease for all classes of roads is £2 per mile. (d) Motok-taxation. Table No. 10 shows the total amount of revenue received from the different taxes and fees levied in connection with motor-vehicles to have been £3,139,562 for the year ended 31st March, 1934. It is of interest to note that this figure is £476,688 greater than the figure for the preceding year, the increase being due to the fact that more than £500,000 additional motor-spirits tax was collected during the year. The revenue for 1933-34 is exceeded only by that of 1929-30, when the revenue from Customs duties on vehicles and parts was well over the million mark. It is also of interest to note that the total receipts from all classes of motor-vehicle taxation for the year ended 31st March, 1933 (£2,662,874), represented approximately 60 per cent, of the total expenditure on maintenance and interest and loan charges for all roads and streets during the same year. (e) Motor-taxation and the Consolidated Fund. A certain amount of interest has recently been focused upon the relationship between motortaxation and the Consolidated Fund. Great emphasis has been laid upon the increased revenue derived by the Consolidated Fund from motor-taxation, but no consideration of the matter is complete unless the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund on account of roads, &c., and the total expenditure on roads are taken into account. The following table has been prepared for the purpose of bringing out all the more important facts associated with the problem.

The first column represents the total expenditure on roads, streets, and bridges during the quinquennium ended 1932-33 ; the second column shows the total yield from all classes of motortaxation (including Customs duties on vehicles and parts) ; while the third column represents the annual cost of maintenance plus interest and sinking-fund charges. It is of interest to note that during the six years ended 31st March, 1934, the total revenue from motor-taxation in all its forms, less the amount expended on roads (excluding any proportion of the interest, &c., payments made from the Consolidated Fund), amounted to £6,244,681 ; while the total amount paid from the Consolidated Fund in roading expenditure (excluding expenditure from motortaxation) over the same period amounted to £6,135,317. 6. HEAVY MOTOR-VEHICLE REGULATIONS, 1932. (a) Allocation of Heavy-traffic Fees. Of the nineteen heavy-traffic districts in New Zealand, five applications have been received during the past year for apportionments of fees by the Right Hon. the Minister on the basis of relative surface maintenance costs, the local authorities concerned having failed to agree amongst themselves regarding the allocation of the fees. In one case an order for an apportionment was made and the fees distributed in accordance therewith, while in two other cases agreement was finally reached after negotiations between the Department and the local authorities. The figures for the remaining two districts which have applied for an apportionment have not yet been finalized, considerable delay having been experienced in obtaining details of expenditure from the local authorities. The weakness of the present method of apportionment lies in the fact that many local authorities appear reluctant or unable to furnish the detailed costs of roadworks, thus making the investigation and preparation of the figures rather expensive, besides causing considerable delay in making the allocation. The present system, however, provides a more satisfactory basis and less costly method of apportionment than under the former regulations, which provided for an inquiry by a Magistrate, and sometimes involved costly litigation. (b) Limitation of Loads on Roads. A further number of local authorities have effected load restrictions during the past year by means of road classification, the additional length of rural roads classified being 1,009 miles. Since 1930 the mileage of classified rural roads has increased from 11,930 miles, or 26-6 per cent. of the total formed roads at that time, to 22,293 miles, or 4-7-3 per cent, of the present mileage of

13

I Revenue from Taxation I Annual Cost of Roads : Year lotai Expenditure on on all Forms of Motor- Maintenance, plus Interest Roads, Streets, and Bridges. vehicles. j and Sinking-fund Charges. £ £ £ 1928-29 .. .. .. 7,703,726 2,516,831 4,555,063 1929-30.. .. .. 8,650,607 3,181,661 5,132,556 1930-31 .. .. 8,947,571 2,921,553 5,375,319 1931-32 .. .. 8,585,238 2,644,041 5,216,593 1932-33.. .. .. 7,078,047 2,662,874 4,470,086

H.—4o,

formed roads. In actual fact a greater percentage than this is subject to restriction as, in many counties, while only main highways and the more important roads are classified, the loads possible on the feeder roads are naturally governed by the classification ruling on the main roads. There are still, however, a number of local authorities which have not yet classified the roads under their control, the principal being the Counties of Hawera, Oroua, Kiwitea, Hawke's Bay, and Akitio in the North Island, and in the South Island Amuri, Tawera, and Selwyn Counties, most of the small counties in the vicinity of Christchurch, and also the Counties of Tuapeka, Vincent, and Southland. Of the large number of counties that have taken action in recent years, the majority have followed the policy proposed by the Department of adopting a maximum classification of Class Three, which permits of gross loads up to 6f tons for ordinary two-axled vehicles. Throughout the central and South Auckland portion of the North Island, where road-metal is scarce, the ruling classification is Class Four, providing for a 4| tons gross load on two axles, while in North Auckland the ruling classification is Class Five, which permits of gross loads up to 3 tons only oil two-axled vehicles. During the year a number of the smaller boroughs and town districts have classified their roads with the object of preserving the lighter-type surfaced streets from undue damage from occasional heavy loads. The following tables show the present position regarding the classification (i) of rural roads generally, and (ii) of main highways in rural districts :—

(i) Classification of Rural Roads.

(ii) Classification of Main Highways.

7. BRIDGES ON RURAL ROADS. New Zealand, owing to the topography of the country and the climatic conditions, is a land of rivers, streams, and waterways, and consequently in the case of practically every road built the provision of adequate bridges is a matter of prime importance. Owing to the fact that in general the larger rivers are subject to severe and heavy floods, open fords are more or less impracticable, with the result that the failure of a bridge on an important road means that that road would be closed to through traffic. For the same reason where, due to the deterioration or type of construction, a weight restriction oil a bridge is necessary, in almost every case this means that through traffic on the road is restricted, and it is quite common to travel for miles along a Class Three road which will carry gross loads of 6| tons and find that one defective bridge on the road restricts all traffic to a maximum gross weight of 3 tons. Some thirty years ago, when the question of access to farm lands was the first consideration, it was essential that bridges be built as cheaply as possible, and consequently native timbers were principally used and narrow bridges providing for one-way traffic only were generally constructed. Dealing with bridges of a length of 25 ft. and over, the present position as set out in the Local Authorities Handbook is as follows :—

Table A.—Bridges over 25ft. in Length on all Rural Roads (including Main Highways).

14

— l Ro7d S d | ClassIL j C,assII[ - ' ClassIV - | «ass V. T tSf Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. North Island .. .. .. 25,453 I 379 4,046 7,565 2,996 14,986 South Island .. .. .. 21,693 j 1,048 3,874 : 2,045 340 7,307 L Totals .. .. 47,146 j 1,427 | 7,920 , 9,610 3,336 | 22,293

— Highways. ! Ciass «■ Class 1H - | IV. Cla SS V. I Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. | Miles. North Island .. .. .. 5,883 249 2,194 2,463 393 ; 5,299 South Island .. .. .. 4,713 782 2,351 172 17 j 3,322 Totals .. .. 10,596 1,031 4,545 2,635 j 410 ! 8,621

Type of Construction. j Number. ! Length, in Feet,. Percentage^ 6 Total Length. Concrete or etone .. .. .. .. 508 40,357 8-1 Concrete, steel, and timber combinations .. .. 776 80,4-31 16-2 Timber, including New Zealand timber and Australian hardwood .. .. .. .. 4,390 377,767 75-7 Totals .. .. .. .. 5,674 498,555 ! 100-0

H.—4o,

The main point disclosed by this table is that over 75 per cent, of the bridges on the rural roads of this country are timber bridges with a probable average life of from twenty-five to thirty years. The Main Highways Board have compiled a very valuable bridge register for all bridges on main highways, and a summary of this register gives the following results : —

Table B.—Bridges over 25ft. in Length on Main Highways.

An investigation of the register in relation to the timber bridges gave the results set out hereunder :—

Table C. —Age of Timber Bridges on Main Highways.

The Main Highways Board have a definite programme for the replacement of defective and obsolete bridges, and it is therefore proposed to investigate the position of the bridges on rural roads other than main highways. The total length of timber bridges over 25 ft. in length on all rural roads, including main highways, is 377,767 ft., while the main highways account for 146,553 ft., leaving a balance of 231,214 ft. on rural roads other than main highways. In the absence of any reliable data concerning the age of timber bridges on rural roads other than main highways, it is assumed that the ages of these timber bridges would be comparable with those on the main highways, and on this assumption the following table shows the position :—

Table D.—Age of Timber Bridges on Rural Roads other than Main Highways.

This table indicates that 64 per cent., or 147,977 ft., of the timber bridges on the rural roads other than main highways were built over twenty years ago, while 36 per cent., or 83,237 ft., are over the age of thirty years. In view of the vital importance of bridges to land transport, it appears essential that a definite bridge-renewal programme similar to that being carried out by the Main Highways Board should be put in hand with the object of replacing within the next ten years 147,977 ft. of bridging on the rural roads other than main highways. To replace these timber bridges with concrete would cost approximately £15 per foot, and the total sum to be provided would be approximately £2,250,000. By adopting concrete for replacement, all materials, with the exception of reinforcing-steel, would be available within New Zealand.

15

Type of Construction. iLength, in Feet. XotaTLength Concrete or stone .. .. .. .. j 27,700 11-8 Concrete, steel, and timber combination .. .. 61,448 26-0 Timber, including New Zealand timber and Australian hardwood .. .. .. .. .. 146,553 62-2 Totals .. .. .. .. .. 235,701 100-0

Age of Bridges. j Length, in Feet. 6 Under 10 years .. .. .. .. 20,517 | 14 10 years to 20 years . . . . . . . . 32,242 22 20 years to 30 years . . .. . . . . 41,035 28 30 years to 40 years .. .. .. .. 33,707 23 40 years to 50 years .. .. .. .. 14,655 10 Over 50 years . . . . . . .. 4,397 3 Totals .. .. .. .. 146,553 i 100

Age of Bridges. ! length, in Percentage 5 6 I Feet. of Total. U-: ;| : .; Under 10 years .. .. . . . . .. 32,370 14 10 years to 20 years . . .. .. .. .. 50,867 22 20 years to 30 years . . .. .. .. .. 64,740 28 30 years to 40 years .. .. .. .. .. 53,179 23 40 years to 50 years . . .. .. .. .. 23,122 10 Over 50 years .. .. .. .. .. 6,936 3 Totals .. .. .. .. .. 231,214 100

H.—4o.

8. TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. The administration of the Transport Licensing Act has continued to be a major function of the Department during the year. The regulation and control of the passenger-services has already passed the primary stage, and the relicensing of those services was carried out during the year. The first year's licensing of the goods-services was also undertaken, and this involved the Department in a heavy volume of work. Generally speaking, the control of the latter services was introduced with a minimum of friction, and, although there were many inquiries regarding the legislation and regulations and their application, the work is now proceeding smoothly. A. PASSENGER-SERVICES. In the passenger field the past year has been one of reconstruction and consolidation rather than of marked progress or revolutionary change, and there has been a steady rehabilitation of finances and services generally after the stress of the previous uneconomic conditions. (a) Continuous Passenger-service Licenses. The passenger-service licenses in the North Island, with the exception of a few individual cases, are dated to expire on the 28th February each year, while those in the South Island expire on the 31st August. Applications were received during the year for a number of new licenses and for the renewal of those South Island licenses which expired on the 31st August, 1933. Applications were also received for the renewal of those licenses in the North Island which expired on the 28th February, 1934. Altogether 739 applications for licenses were considered, and of these 644 were granted, 51 were refused, 26 were withdrawn, and 18 were deferred. These figures show an increase as compared with those of the previous year, when 548 applications were dealt with, of which 457 were granted, 47 refused, 16 withdrawn, and 28 deferred. (b) Seasonal Passenger-service Licenses. Seasonal passenger-service licenses, as was the case last year, were not availed of to any great extent. During the year 32 applications for new licenses and the renewal of existing licenses were received. Of these, 24 were granted, 2 were refused, 3 withdrawn, and 3 deferred. During the previous year 31 applications were considered, 20 being granted, 1 refused, 2 withdrawn, and 8 deferred. (c) Temporary Passenger-service Licenses. The number of applications received for temporary passenger-service licenses is still considerable. This class of license is used principally in connection with race meetings, shows, and other special occasions which involve a considerable movement of traffic beyond the capacity of the existing passenger-services, if any. During the year 1,774 applications were received, 1,746 were granted, 27 were refused, and 1 withdrawn. The corresponding figures last year were 2,025 received, of which 1,874 were granted and 151 refused. With a view to providing greater flexibility, those operators who regularly conducted temporary services to shows, race meetings, &c., were invited to apply for continuous licenses, the fees, broadly speaking, to be based on the number of functions catered for during the previous year. By this method it is hoped to avoid the continual application for temporary licenses by those operators who regularly attend such meetings, and also to minimize the inconvenience to operators of having to submit applications for each separate event. A number of operators have already availed themselves of these facilities. (d) Traffic and Financial Statistics, 1933-34. Operators are required by regulations made under section 37 of the Act to furnish figures regarding traffic and finance during each year ended on the 31st March in order that the effects of the administration of the Act may be closely observed and matters of general policy framed accordingly. The provisions of this section also provide the machinery for checking that the benefits of the transportregulations are passed on to the public in the form of lower fares or improved service. There are still a small number of operators whose accounts and records do not disclose the maximum amount of information relating to the state of their businesses, and up till this juncture, owing partly to the newness of the legislation and the difficult times through which many operators have been passing, a reasonable amount of latitude has been extended to operators generally. Henceforth, however, the further administration of the Act will concern the closer examination of fare rates and standards of service, and it will therefore be necessary to bring all operators into line in this respect. It has been found impossible to obtain and assemble the figures relative to the South Island passenger-services in time for inclusion in this report. The figures for the North Island have been completed, however, and these give an accurate picture of the state of the industry for the country as a whole. In order to make the figures more informative, they have been classified according to (a) fleets comprising vehicles having a seating-capacity for more than nine passengers, (6) fleets comprising vehicles having a seating-capacity for nine or less than nine passengers, and (c) fleets comprising both classes of vehicles, and also fleets the operators of which run both passenger and goods services. (i) Traffic. There has been a considerable improvement in the traffic figures as compared with those of the previous year. A noticeable feature has been the increase in the proportion of the larger vehicles comprised in the total. Last year there were 833 passenger-service vehicles operating in the North

16

H.—4o.

Island, of which 36 per cent, were the larger type classed as " (a)," 36 per cent, were of the smaller ' " (b) " type, and the remaining 28 per cent, were contained in mixed fleets. This year the total number of vehicles has fallen to 770, of which 45 per cent, were of the larger type and 27 per cent, of the smaller type, while the " mixed " fleets again comprised 28 per cent. This swing-over to the larger vehicles was an expected result from the elimination of unnecessary competition, and it should now be possible to convey the same number of passengers more cheaply than before. The number of vehicle-journeys has increased from 1,452,472 to 1,556,087. This is attributed partly to the number of new services commenced exceeding the total of those abandoned, partly to the improvement of passenger tallies necessitating more extra trips to cope with overloads, and partly also to the elimination of duplication or long-distance journeys, with the result that a number of operators are now providing more frequent services over shorter sections. The latter factor also accounts for the decrease in vehicle-mileage from 16,541,668 to 15,475,980 miles and for the diminution in the average length of the vehicle-journey from 6-5 miles to 5-7 miles in the case of the larger vehicles and from 33-6 miles to 28-0 miles in the case of the smaller ones. One effect of the swing-over to the larger vehicles has been to cause a slight drop in the average passenger loading per journey for this type of vehicle, which has fallen from 10-3 to 9-7. The smaller vehicles, however, have shown an improved loading, the average now being 4-6, as compared with 3-7 last year, while the average for all classes has fallen from 9-2 to 8-9. The reletting of mail contracts recently has resulted in a partial overhaul of that phase of the industry, and under the new conditions many mail contractors using light cars have found it expedient to obtain passenger-carrying licenses. As many of them pick up only an occasional passenger, this has caused the number of empty trips per 100 vehicle journeys to increase from 8-2 to 9-6 for the smaller vehicles ; the larger vehicles again show an average of 1-8 empty trips per 100. A certain amount of empty running is unavoidable even on the best-planned time-tables, and it is not considered that these percentages of empty trips are excessive. Although it might at first sight appear that 9-6 per cent, for the smaller vehicles is rather high, it must be remembered that a certain number of passenger-service licensees carry occasional passengers merely as an adjunct to the main job of conveying mails or newspapers. At the same time, however, there are still probably a number of instances where further co-ordination would be advisable, and this fact, together with the prospect of a return towards normal conditions, should show a decrease in the percentage of empty trips next year. (ii) Revenue. The total revenue for the licensed passenger-services during the year ended 31st March, 1934, amounted to £589,488, as compared with £638,180 during the previous year. The proportion derived from the carriage of passengers represented £519,372, or 88 per cent., the remaining 12 per cent, being obtained from the carriage of goods, parcels, and mails. Although the number of passengers has increased from 13,311,746 to 13,901,571, the sum collected therefrom has fallen from £564,035 to £519,372, a drop of approximately 8 per cent. The average revenue per passenger was 9'od., as compared with 10-2 d. last year. The fall in passenger revenue is due chiefly to fare reductions made possible by the improved conditions, and to a lesser extent to the tendency for the travelling public to avoid the longer trips in favour of the shorter ones on such occasions as picnics, &c. The opening of the new railway-line connecting Stratford with the Main Trunk line had an immediate effect on the road services between New Plymouth and Auckland. The average revenue per vehicle-mile was 10-65 d. for vehicles with more than nine seats and 6-60 d. for those with nine seats or less, while the average for all vehicles was 9-14 d. this year, as compared with 9-26 d. last year. Detailed figures regarding the revenue are given in Tables 14 to 21 of the Appendix. (iii) Expenditure. There has been a decrease in operating-costs as compared with the figures for last year. The total costs for the North Island have fallen from £634,759 to £570,423, a drop of £64,336, or 10 per cent., despite the fact that there has been an increase of 4 per cent, in the number of passengers carried. The drop in costs is similarly reflected in the average costs per vehicle-mile, which have fallen from 10-72 d. to 10-41 d. in the case of the larger vehicles, from 7-1 Id. to 6-29 d. in the case of the smaller ones, and from 9-21 d. to 8-85 d. in the case of the average for all vehicles. Vehicle-running costs have fallen, from 4-93 d. to 4-74 d. per vehicle-mile. Included under this heading are petrol, lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, and depreciation. The amount written off for depreciation represents 10-5 per cent, of the original purchase price of the vehicles, as compared with 11-1 per cent, last year. The average mileage run by each vehicle has increased from 19,858 to 20,099 miles. It would be rather optimistic to assume that the average vehicle will be serviceable for nine years and a half after running this annual mileage, and, as a number of operators allow as much as 30 per cent, per annum for depreciation, it follows that others are not making sufficient provision for this item, and will probably have to secure replacement vehicles before the old ones have been adequately written down. Details of depreciation are set out in Table No. 23 of the Appendix. Vehicle standing charges, which include license fees, &c., wages, insurance, and garage fees, have increased from 3-lOd. to 3-Ī9d. per mile, due mostly to the fact that wages and drawings in lieu of the wages of working-proprietors have not fallen pro rata with the decrease in total mileage run. This

3—H. 40.

17

11. 40

item has fallen from £1-63,479 to £160,849, a drop of £2,630, but owing to the contraction of the industry the average wages plus drawings per vehicle-mile have increased from 2-37 d. to 2-49 d., or, based on the rate per vehicle, from £196 to £209. In the absence of details of the number of operatives plus the number of working-proprietors engaged, it is not possible to ascertain from these figures whether the industry is providing a reasonable wage-rate or not; on the one hand, there are probably considerably more employees and working-proprietors than there are vehicles, while, on the other hand, many of the vehicles do not provide full-time employment on licensed services for one man. The foregoing figures, however, indicate that there has been some improvement in the wage-rates paid out by the industry as a whole as compared with those of the previous year. There has been a substantial reduction in general overhead charges per mile, this year's figure being 0-92 d., as compared with l-82d. last year. This saving is attributed partly to the elimination of unnecessary management expenses and competitive advertising, to a greater degree of co-ordination in booking-office facilities, and also to a lesser extent to reductions in interest charges. (iv) Financial Results of Year's Operations. The total revenue has fallen from £638,180 to £589,488, a drop of £48,692, or 7-6 per cent., while the expenditure has fallen from £634,759 to £570,423, a drop of £64,336, or 10 per cent. These and the foregoing figures indicate the benefits that may be expected to accrue from the operation of the Act when economic conditions return to normal. There has been an increase of 4 per cent, in the number of passengers carried, notwithstanding which there has been a drop of 10 per cent, in the cost of carrying them. A portion of this saving has been passed on to the users of the services in the form of reduced fares and rates. The net profit has increased from £3,421 to £19,069, which represents a return of 4-37 per cent, on the operator's capital and reserves employed. This is hardly a reasonable return for normal times, but it must be regarded as satisfactory in view of the abnormal conditions which have prevailed during the year. The demand for a considerable proportion of passenger travel is very elastic, and suffers heavy shrinkage in times of economic depression. It was apparent that many concerns would not be able to survive the fierce and uneconomic competition which had become intensified during the depression, and that many which did survive would be in a very parlous condition. The Transport Licensing Act removed most of the uneconomic and wasteful competition, while yet retaining sufficient healthy competition where the volume of business warranted it and where the benefits accruing to the general public therefrom outweigh the attendant disadvantages. The Act has been successful also in eliminating much unnecessary vehicle-mileage. The net result has been that, although several operators have gone into liquidation during the past year and there have been some inroads into the capital reserves of the industry, this aspect is much more satisfactory than could have been hoped for in the absence of regulation. Although monopolies have been created in many instances, they are subject to strict regulation in the public interest, and in the long-run it will be found that the net balance is very much to the public advantage. As yet it has been found possible only to a limited extent to pass a portion of these advantages on to the users of the services in the form of reduced fares. Although a considerable number of fares have been reduced, the majority of them have remained unchanged since last year, and in a few isolated instances there have been increases. In the latter cases, however, it was invariably found that " cut-throat " competition had reduced fares to an uneconomic figure and that the existing schedule definitely could not be maintained. (v) Financial Condition of the Industry. The statement of assets and liabilities shown in Table No. 22 in the Appendix sets out the financial position of the industry for the North Island at 31st March, 1934. The total assets amounted to £648,782, of which vehicles, stocks, plant, and machinery represented £342,294 ; land and buildings, £131,638 ; debtors, £54,543 ; cash, £44,421 ; and other assets, £75,886. During the year there has been a considerable scaling-down of the overcapitalization that has been so pronounced a feature of the industry. The total assets for the North Island have been reduced from £925,737 to £648,782, a reduction of £276,955, or 29-9 per cent., on last year's figures. The greatest proportionate decrease has been in " other assets," which include such items as depreciation and sinking fund investments, goodwill, and capital accounts in debit. Cash has fallen by 49 per cent., and the value of the vehicles by 25 per cent. On the other side, the classification of liabilities shows £418,383 for capital and £17,648 for reserves, leaving other liabilities aggregating £212,751, including £27,431 owing on vehicles. The ratio of capital plus reserves to other liabilities is now 67 :33 as compared with 69 :31 last year. The book value of the assets, however, is now probably a closer approximation to their real value, and in spite of the inroads into cash and reserves the finances of the industry generally are probably in a slightly more healthy condition now than at the 31st March, 1933. A study of the foregoing figures directs attention to the extent of the overcapitalization and congestion which obtained in the industry before the Act came into operation, and which were causing high fare rates and precarious services. Something approaching order has now been established, and, although economic conditions are still far from normal, the industry is more than holding its own. There has been a great improvement in the standard of the services available ; time-tables are now rigidly adhered to, and the vehicle regulations have ensured that a reasonable degree of safety and comfort are provided for the travelling public. The gradual lifting of the depression should see the industry better able to provide cheap and efficient service than ever before in its history.

18

H. —40

(vi) Mileage saved. An investigation of the conditions existing in 1931 before the Act came into operation disclosed that the vehicle-mileage run throughout New Zealand on continuous passenger-services was approximately 32,000,000 miles per annum. The position was again examined last year, and it was found that the Act had resulted in the total being reduced to 22,750,000 miles, a reduction of 9,250,000 miles, or 29 per cent. The New Zealand total for the year ended 31st March, 1934, has not yet been assessed, but the total for the North Island is available, and shows a reduction from 16,542,000 to 15,476,000 miles, a'saving of 1,066,000 miles, or 6-4 per cent., on last year's figures. If this percentage obtains throughout New Zealand, the net saving would amount to 1,456,000 miles. Assuming that this saving in vehicle-mileage would mean economy of the full running-costs and a partial saving in standing and overhead charges, the full annual monetary saving due to the operation of the Act may be set down at approximately £300,000. These savings are real, and are represented at present by greater financial stability in the industry and the avoidance of any great increase in fares to off-set the heavy falling-ofi in traffic. There is every indication that these savings will contribute towards the possibility of substantial reductions in fares and/or improved services being made available as soon as the volume of passenger traffic regains its normal level. (e) Passenger-service Vehicle Inspections. The requirements relating to the design, construction, and condition of each type of passengerservice vehicle are comprehensively stated in the Passenger-service Vehicle (Constructional) Regulations, 1933, published in the New Zealand Gazette No. 87, of 21st December, 1933. These regulations were the subject of representations from and conferences with various interested parties over a considerable period of time, and were finalized to give the greatest satisfaction to all parties concerned consistent with the Department's policy of ensuring the comfort and safety of the travelling public. Part I of these regulations sets out the requirements to be met in regard to passenger-service vehicles first used in a passenger-service (as defined by the Transport Licensing Act, 1931) before the Ist June, 1932. Passenger-service vehicles (other than passenger-trucks) first used in a passenger-service subsequently to that date, also those which had been licensed under the Motor-omnibus Traffic Act, 1926, and to which the provisions of Parts I and II of the Motor-omnibus Traffic (Constructional) Regulations, 1929, applied, are required to comply with Parts I and II of the Passenger-service Vehicle (Constructional) Regulations, 1933. Part 111 deals with passenger-trucks, which are also subject to some of the clauses in Parts 1 and 11. Part II stipulates, inter alia, certain minimum measurements in regard to seating-accommodation, and the effect of compliance with these requirements in ensuring reasonably comfortable passenger accommodation has already been the subject of favourable comment by the travelling public. It has become quite evident that the standard seven-seater car, with its customary dickey seats which in most models monopolize much of the space required by the rear-seat passengers, is not a suitable vehicle for the conveyance of fare-paying passengers. Many operators have recognized this, and of their own volition have reconstructed their Part J vehicles as far as possible in line with the Part II requirements. The position in regard to new service-cars of medium size is somewhat difficult at present, as very few manufacturers are offering in the New Zealand market a standard chassis suitable for passengerservice work in the seven- to twelve-seater classes. It is hoped, however, that vehicles of such capacities will soon be available to meet this popular requirement, also to avoid the costly and undesirable alterations to chassis of the large private-car type. Within the period Ist July, 1933, to 30th June, 1934, 2,383 applications for certificates of fitness (or permits) have been dealt with. Of this number, 798 were applications for permits in connection with temporary passenger-service licenses, covering 425 separate vehicles ; 29 vehicles were refused permits or were condemned as unfit for further service in this period ; and 37 vehicles were not to be resubmitted for inspection on the expiration of their then current certificates or permits. The total number of vehicles, their type, and location in the Dominion which carried certificates of fitness or permits in the period under review is shown below : —

N oxb ,—District No. 3 was absorbed by alteration of the boundaries of Districts Nos. 2 and 4 in June, 1933.

19

District No. { Omnibuses. I Service Cars. trucks? 1 "" TotaL , I I • ; _ 1 M 66 7 56 143 2 212 277 19 34 542 4 68 167 5 39 279 5 13 130 2 44 189 6 108 151 10 19 288 7 . . .. 19 128 1 16 164 8 . . ! 49 59 9 12 129 9 . . : 50 86 3 18 157 10 .. .. 20 83 1 11 115 Totals ; 553 1,147 57 249 2,006

H.—4o

B. GOODS-SERVICES. (1) Scope of Regulation. The Order in Council invoking the modified provisions of the Transport Licensing Act, 1931, to apply to the carriage of goods as from the Ist June, 1933, was gazetted on the 23rd March, 1933. Broadly speaking, it may be stated that this Order (reissued with amendments on the 21st December, 1933) brings within the provisions of the Act all services which operate for hire or reward five miles or more over a primary or secondary main highway outside an exempted area, with certain exemptions. The classes of services exempted from the provisions of the Order are as follow :— (1) Milk and cream while being carried from farms to dairy factories. (2) Vehicles used under passenger-service licenses. (3) Any goods carried in a vehicle used exclusively for funerals. (4) Newspapers if carried on vehicles used principally for the carriage of milk or cream from farms to dairy factories. (5) Goods towed or carried on vehicles used solely in connection with the repair or wreckage of vehicles which have met with mishap. (2) Number of Licenses granted. A considerable amount of work was thrown on the Department and the Licensing Authorities in dealing with applications for goods-service licenses. In order to facilitate the interpretation of the following remarks, the undermentioned definitions are given : — (a) " Goods-service license " : Only one goods-service license is required by each licensee irrespective of the number of vehicles he may operate. (b) " Vehicle authorities " : A vehicle authority is a document issued subsidiary to a goodsservice license and forming part thereof, and which is required to be carried on any vehicle authorized to be operated by the licensee, but which is transferable from one vehicle to another. From this it follows that more than one vehicle authority can be issued under the one license, and this is the position which obtains where an operator has several vehicles in use simultaneously. (i) Continuous Goods-service Licenses. During the year 2,146 applications were received for continuous goods-service licenses. Of these applications, 1,898 were granted, 118 were refused, 43 were withdrawn, and 87 were deferred. (ii) Seasonal Goods-service Licenses. Owing to the varied and seasonal nature of the commodities transported by goods-service operators, the seasonal license has been availed of to a greater extent than in the cases of passenger-service licenses. Up to the 31st March, 1934, 99 applications were received, of which 88 were granted, 3 were refused, and 8 withdrawn. (iii) Vehicle Authorities. Although 1,986 continuous and seasonal goods-service licenses were granted, these embrance a total of 2,906 vehicles, 1,975 in the North Island and 931 in the South Island. An analysis of the vehicle authorities granted according to the maximum weight of goods authorized to be carried (referred to in Table No. 25 of the Appendix) directs attention to the following : — (a) The predominant class of truck used by goods-service operators is that with a carryingcapacity of 2 tons, but not exceeding 2f tons, which accounted for 20-9 per cent, of the total vehicle authorities issued. This is followed by the 2| ton but not exceeding the 3 ton class, which represents 18 per cent, of the vehicle authorities, and then by 1| to 2 ton class with a total of 14-4 per cent, of the vehicle authorities. (b) Vehicles with a carrying-capacity of under 1 ton and not exceeding H tons represented only 7-9 per cent, of the vehicle authorities. (c) Vehicles with a carrying-capacity of 2 tons and not exceeding 4 tons represent a total of 60-7 per cent.; these generally being the most popular type of vehicles. A sharp decline is shown in the number of vehicle authorities issued for the heavier class of vehicle with a carrying-capacity exceeding 4 tons. In this connection attention is drawn to the fact that approximately 66 per cent, of the total main highways are classified in Classes Three and Four, which limits the gross weights of heavy motorvehicles other than multi-axled heavy motor-vehicles to 6| tons and 4| tons respectively. This probably accounts to a large extent for the popularity of the 2- to 4-ton pay-load vehicles. The vehicle authorities granted were further analysed according to the size of areas or route covered, the relative table being shown in the Appendix (Table No. 26). The majority of areas granted in the South Island are described by counties, roads, or definite points, and the figures shown are approximately the equivalent of ridings or counties. The following principal points emerge from the table : — (a) Of the total vehicle authorities issued, 1,348 (or 46-3 per cent.) were confined to areas, 1,008 (or 34-8 per cent.) were granted for combined areas and routes, and 550 (or 18-9 per cent.) were confined to routes alone. (b) Approximately 20 per cent, of the area authorities were confined to ridings. (c) The remaining 80 per cent, were defined by varying numbers of counties, the largest of the group being for one county, followed by two, and then six or more.

20

H. —40

(id) Twenty-eight per cent, of the combined area and route authorities were defined by two counties, followed by 27 per cent, for three, 16 per cent, for one, 12 per cent, for four, 11 per oent. for six or more, and 4 per cent, for five counties. (e) Where route authorities alone were granted, 31 per cent, ran through one county, 31 per cent, ran through two, followed by 12 per cent, for three, 10 per cent, for four, 9 per cent, for six or more, and 7 per cent, for five counties. (/) Of the total authorities (whether area, combined route and area, or route alone), approximately 30 per cent, were for one county or less, 25 per cent, for two, 17 per cent, for three, 12 per cent, for six or more, 10 per cent, for four, and the remaining 6 per cent, for five counties. (iv) Temporary Goods-service Licenses. It was anticipated that the demand for temporary goods-service licenses would be heavy. It was also realized that special conditions operated which made the speedy issue of temporary licenses imperative, and it was therefore essential to devise some means whereby such licenses could be obtained with a minimum of delay. Arrangements were therefore made with the Licensing Authorities and Post and Telegraph Department whereby temporary licenses are issued on behalf and under direction of authorities by those Postmasters who are also Deputy Registrars of Motor-vehicles. The extent to which temporary licenses were availed of is disclosed by Table No. 27 in the Appendix. An examination of this table reveals the following main points : — (a) Of the total number of temporary licenses issued, 928 (pr 24-5 per cent.) were in the Number Two District, followed by 676 (or 17-8 per cent.) in the Number Eight District, and then by 501 (or 13-2 per cent.) in the Number Six District. (b) The majority of the temporary licenses, 2,160 (or 57 per cent.), were issued in the North Island. (c) The fact that the table discloses many operators having received as many as over ten licenses does not in itself indicate that they are abusing the system, as an examination of such cases indicates generally that the respective licenses are obtained for different purposes. In this connection it is interesting to note that an analysis of the licenses discloses that— (1) Thirty-five per cent, of the licenses were issued for the removal of mixed and unspecified loads : (2) Approximately 21 per cent, of the total licenses issued were for the purpose of removing furniture and household effects : (3) The removal of live-stock accounted for approximately 14 per cent, of the licenses, while those issued for the removal of timber and wool amounted to approximately 5 per cent, each : (4) The removal of farm-produce accounted for approximately 22 per cent., and farm supplies —i.e., manure, machinery, &c.—amounted to 11 per cent. (d) Generally, it may be stated that the table indicates that the system for issuing temporary licenses is operating satisfactorily in view of the difficulties encountered. (3) Traffic and Financial Statistics. Goods-service operators were required by law to submit figures regarding traffic and finance during the year ended the 31st March, 1934. These returns will become integral parts of the whole licensing system, as, without the information contained in them, it would not be possible to ensure that the administration of the Act was being directed to the public welfare. It was found that a number of operators were unable to submit figures of value for this purpose from one or other of the following- causes : — (a) Insufficient records and accounts. (b) Impracticability in some cases of separating transport figures from those relating to other businesses run in conjunction with carrying-work. Nevertheless, a relatively large number of operators supplied reasonably reliable information, which has been tabulated. Care has been taken during the year to acquaint the operators with the requirements in this respect, and every reasonable assistance has been freely extended to them by the Department. It is of interest to note that approximately 2,900 trucks are licensed under the Transport Licensing Act. The total number of trucks in the Dominion is approximately 29,000, so that somewhere in the vicinity of 26,000 trucks do not require to be licensed under the Act. In the Appendix will be found the following tables relating to goods-service financial and statistical data :— (a) Table No. 29, showing the amount of assets and liabilities of goods-services, by transport districts, as at 31st March, 1934. (b) Table No. 28, showing principal revenue and expenditure statistics of licensed goodsservices, by transport districts, as at 31st March, 1934. (c) Table No. 30, showing depreciation on goods-service vehicles, by transport districts, as at 31st March, 1934. (d) Table No. 31, showing principal traffic statistics of goods-services, by transport districts, for the year ending 31st March, 1934.

21

H.—4o

Attention is directed to the fact that the financial and traffic data covers approximately 75 per cent, of the motor-truck business subject to the licensing provisions. This fact should be carefully borne in mind where the figures are being used. The number of operators and the number and capacity of vehicle authorities are, of course, actual figures. (i) Traffic (Table No. 31). The number of licensees actually operating during the year was 1,904:, holding amongst them 2,906 vehicle authorities, or an average of 1-5 vehicle authorities per operator. This average points to the fact that the owner-driver is a predominant figure in the industry. The average load authorized to be carried per vehicle authority was 2 tons 14 cwt. —a fact which confirms the conclusion drawn in a previous paragraph that the truck of approximately 2 to 4 tons capacity is the type most in favour in the phase of the goods-transport industry which is covered by the legislation. According to the traffic returns rendered by operators, a total vehicle-mileage of 32,000,000 miles was recorded during the year, the average vehicle-mileage per truck for the Dominion being 14,400 miles. Unfortunately, very few operators were in a position to supply particulars as to the tonnage of freight carried during the year. A most informative avenue of investigation of transport costs is thus temporarily closed, but every endeavour will be made to secure this information in respect of the current year. (ii) Liabilities and Assets (Table No. 29). The data under this heading are sufficiently complete to enable the conclusion to be drawn that the goods transport industry is, as a whole, in a relatively satisfactory financial position. Total assets amount to £1,700,000, as against liabilities other than capital and reserves of £600,000, the remaining £1,100,000 representing capital and reserves invested by the operators themselves. 0 (iii) Revenue (Table No. 28). The total revenue for the industry amounted to £1,342,000, of which £1,256,000 (or 93J per cent.) was derived from the carriage of goods, £20,000 (1|- per cent.) from mail contracts, and £66,000 (5 per cent.) from other sources. (iv) Expenditure (Table No. 28). The principal items of expenditure were those coming under the heading of " vehicle-running costs," which includes petrol, lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, and depreciation, the expenditure under this heading being £650,000, or 55 per cent, of the total. Vehicle standing charges (licenses, plates, heavy-traffic fees, wages, &c.) absorbed £423,000 (36 per cent.), while overhead charges (mainly management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) accounted for the remaining £124,000 (10 per cent.). The total expenditure was £1,198,000. A feature of the operating-costs of the industry is the relatively low percentage (10 per cent.) of overhead charges to total costs. This figure shows considerable fluctuations over the various districts in its proportion to total costs. (v) Profit. Revenue exceeded expenditure by the substantial margin of £144,000, this representing the net profit earned by the industry. In addition to this net profit, operators drew the sum of £160,000 in lieu of wages. The profit of £144,000 represents a return of 12 per cent, on capital invested by operators and 11 per cent, on the total revenue. The magnitude of the profit is mainly due to the fact that inadequate provision has in general been made for depreciation of trucks. A detailed analysis of this profit revealed the following interesting facts : Of all the operators who submitted returns, 70 per cent, showed a profit, 17 per cent, showed neither profit not loss, 13 per cent, sustained losses. Those showing a profit were divided into various classes according to amount of profit received, and it was found that 33 per cent, of the whole number of operators under review were in the class receiving profits of less than £100 ; a further 17 per cent, received' £100 and under £200 ; and 10 per cent, received £200 and under £300 ; making a total of 60 per cent, of the total number under the £300 mark. Thus only 10 per cent, were in receipt of profits of £300 and over. The 17 per cent, who showed neither profit nor loss arrived at this position by drawing all surpluses of revenue over expenditure, and they participated, of course, in the £160,000 drawn in lieu of wages as shown above. Those operators who sustained losses are in relatively small numbers, representing 13 per cent, of the total. The majority of them have, of course, drawn wages from their respective businesses. Approximately one-third of them sustained losses of under £25, while one-half lost less than £50. It is apparent that the majority of operators were able to show a profit and that the total profit for the industry was fairly substantial. Nevertheless, individual undertakings have, on the whole, received a moderate rate of profit owing to the fact that the total net profit was widely distributed amongst a large class of small operators. (vi) General. The truck industry has been subject to regulatory control for one year only. The problems associated with its control are considerably more complex than was the case in respect of passengerservices, owing to fundamental differences between the two phases of transport.

22

H.—4o

The one runs on well-defined routes carrying principally only passengers at fixed and advertised charges, and maintaining regular time-tables. Goods-services have none of these easily controlled features, their cargoes being as varied as their freight rates and their time-tables. The majority of them operate anywhere within their respective boundaries at demand, but only when freight is available. In the circumstances, it is to be expected that more than one year will elapse before proper control can be fully applied and the resultant benefits become apparent. (4) Fixation or Charges. The question of fixing charges for the carriage of goods has engaged the attention of the Department during the past year. Generally speaking, it may be said that the discretionary power of Licensing Authorities to fix charges has been availed of to only a very limited extent, it being considered that at present it is desirable as a general principle to maintain a fair scale by means of competition rather than by price-fixation. In cases where competition has ceased to be effective, or where it is too severe, resulting in too high or uneconomic rates, it is considered that the power vested in Licensing Authorities to fix charges should.be exercised. C. APPEALS. By the Transport Law Amendment Act, 1933, the Transport Appeal Board was abolished, and the functions of that Board were vested in the Transport Co-ordination Board. All appeals which were duly lodged but not determined before the passing of the Transport Law Amendment Act, 1933, will therefore now be considered by the Transport Co-ordination Board. Owing to the transfer of the activities of the Transport Appeal Board to the Transport Co-ordination Board, it was not possible to deal with the appeals on hand immediately. The determination of the appeals is, however, now proceeding apace, and it is anticipated that they will all be finalized at an early date. Up to the 31st March, 1934, 310 appeals (both goods and passengers) were lodged against the decisions of the Transport Licensing Authorities. The following table shows the position in respect of these appeals : —

By July the outstanding appeals had practically all been disposed of. D. CONFERENCE OF CHAIRMEN OF LICENSING AUTHORITIES. On the 24th and 25th May, 1934, a conference of Chairmen of Licensing Authorities was held at Wellington for the purpose of considering the many problems which had arisen in the administration of the Transport Licensing Act, and also for the purpose of ensuring uniformity of policy in dealing with the major subjects which require the consideration of Licensing Authorities from time to time. This conference was attended by each of the nine chairmen, and by two officers of the Transport Department. A wide range of subjects relative to transport matters was dealt with. 9. MOTOR ACCIDENTS AND THEIR PREVENTION. (a) Accident Statistics (Table No. 32). During the year covered by this report there was again a decrease in the number of motor fatalities, the totals being 125 accidents and 135 deaths, as against 140 accidents and 143 deaths during the previous year. This is particularly gratifying, as it is estimated that during last summer there was more traffic on the roads than during the previous summer. The following remarks on the comparative detailed figures for the two years may be of interest: — (1) A reduction of 19 in the number of pedestrian fatalities. (2) A reduction of 18 in the number of collisions motor with motor. (3) An increase of 6 in the number of railway level-crossing accidents. (4) An increase of 9 in the number of accidents due to motor-vehicles going over banks. (5) A 50 per cent, drop in the number of fatal accidents occurring between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. (6) A reduction of fatal accidents in and near Auckland and Christchurch from 33 to 19 and 16 to 10 respectively, and an increase for Wellington and Dunedin environs from 8 to 13 and 2 to 6 respectively.

23

Number of Appeals. Goods- Passenger- Total service. service. Appeals allowed . . . . . . .. .. 69 69 Appeals disallowed. . . . . . .. • • 51 51 Appeals withdrawn . . . . . 17 44 61 Appeals struck out .. .. .. 12 3 15 Appeals referred back to Licensing Authority .. . . 3 3 Appeals awaiting hearing .. .. .. 78 33 111 107 203 310

H.—4o

(7) A distressing feature was that the fatalities to children up to 4 years of age increased from 5 fatalities for 1932-33 to 9 for 1933-34. (8) As compared with last year, there was a striking drop in pedestrian fatalities—26, as against 45. The reduction in motor-cycle fatalities also continues, 27 this year compared with 39 last year. Deaths of persons on other motor-vehicles increased from 38 for 1932-33 to 64 for 1933-34. (9) In regard to the causes of motor fatalities the following points are worthy of comment: — (a) The fatal accidents due to absence or inefficiency of lights still remain high—viz., 15, or over 10 per cent, of the total fatal accidents. This is an accident factor which is definitely controllable by the operators of the vehicles and which will soon receive special attention on the part of traffic authorities. (b) The fatalities occurring while motor-vehicles were being reversed have totalled 11 in the past two years, 5 during the 1932-33 period, and 6 during the 1933-34 period. It is clear that motorists should exercise extreme care during reversing operations. (b) General. One of the most amazing features of post-war civilization has been the lack of public concern in the heavy toll taken of human life by the development in use of the motor-vehicle during recent years. It appears that the public recognizes the manifold advantages that the use of the motor-vehicle has bestowed on man, and is content to accept fatalities and injuries as an inevitable accompaniment to those advantages. This attitude may be defensible, but it is impossible for any person to view the motor-accident position without deep concern if the facts are fully examined. We find in Great Britain that legislation passed in 1931 to ameliorate motor accidents has proved unsuccessful, and that last year 7,202 people were killed and approximately 213,328 injured in road accidents. In the United States of America there occurred in the same year 30,500 road fatalities and approximately 1,067,500 injuries. In this country, with its comparatively small population, there were for the twelve months covered by this report 135 motor fatalities and approximately 4,725 injuries. It is impossible for the human mind to appreciate the anguish and suffering which these cold figures represent. Nor can the financial loss, direct and indirect, be calculated, although attempts have been made based on an arbitrary estimate of the money value of a human life. The measures possible to reduce the toll of the road to a minimum may be divided into five sections, namely : — (1) The Enactment of Prevention Laws.—lt is generally accepted that in this country the laws now in force cover the ground fairly completely. (2) The Enforcement of Laws.—The enforcement position, while not wholly satisfactory, has been improved and will, it is hoped, continue to do so. This aspect is more fully dealt with in another section of the report. (3) Engineering Measures (Removal of Bends, Erection of Bridges over Railway-crossings, &c.). — New Zealand has special difficulties from the engineering point of view, but it may be accepted that the road authorities are doing their best to the extent that resources permit. (4) Local Traffic Measures (Pedestrian Crossings, <&c.). —In many of the boroughs modern measures for control of motor traffic are adequately carried out, but viewed generally there is room for improvement in some districts. The above four sections were surveyed at greater length in this Department's annual report for 1932. (5) Safety Propaganda.—lt is to the subject of safety propaganda that we in this country may well give attention with a view to reduction in the annual toll of motor accidents. Motor unions and other organizations are doing excellent propaganda work, but New Zealand, unlike many other countries, has no central body which exists solely to aid in the reduction of accidents on the road, at home, and in factories. As a measure of what may be accomplished by accident propaganda, the activities of the National Safety Council of the United States of America, the National " Safety First" Association of Great Britain, and the National Safety Council of Australia will be briefly reviewed. National Safety Council, United States of America. —This body has kindly supplied an account of its growth and the scope of its activities. The National Safety Council was organized in 1912 on a purely voluntary basis and by small groups of industrial men who wished to establish a clearing-house for information and ideas relative to safety. No attempt was made to obtain private or public subsidies, and the National Safety Council has always had to pay its own way by demonstrating the value of its work. As the resources of the Council increased, the service was expanded, until to-day it provides for its industrial membership a monthly publication called the National Safety News ; a choice of forty-one coloured accidentprevention posters every month ; a consultation service with a staff of safety engineers ; a library bureau of information; a small publication called the The Safe Worker, for the employees; pay-roll enclosures ; research reports and compilations of experience in pamphlet form ; and many other services too numerous to mention. The National Safety Council has no official connection with the Federal Government, nor has it at any time received financial assistance from this source. The Council estimates that its activities have saved 175,250 lives since its inception in 1912.

24

H.—4o

National " Safety First " Association of Great Britain.—Tie genesis and activities of this association, which receives no'financial assistance from the Government, were traversed by Mr. Wallace B. Phillips, Vice-President of the Association, during a recent address to the annual Safety Congress held in the United States of America last year, and parts of this address are summarized below In Great Britain the National " Safety First " Association is the fountain-head from which pours a steady stream of safety propaganda throughout the nation. The association is supported very earnestly by the Government, and those Departments principally concerned with safety, including the Home Office and the Ministries of Transport, Education, Health, and Labour, all give their very strong co-operation. They are actively represented either on the Council or on the various Committees. Through the friendly co-operation of the press of the entire country, the principles of safety have been widely broadcast. _ . . . All nations are at last beginning to regard the accident problem with anxiety, and it is time that safety is recognized as a world-wide problem, and all nations must be appealed to to co-operate in advancing this great movement. Mr. Phillips emphasized that in order to present facts in a manner that would educate a public composed of all races and grades of people to stop, look, and think it would be necessary to commence with the child. The things firmly entrenched in the mind during childhood are never forgotten. It is a striking fact that in spite of the enormous increase in the number of motor-vehicles and in the dangers of the road the number of children killed in 1932 in the London metropolitan area was practically the same as in 1918, whereas the number of adults who fell victims to fatal accidents in this same area has trebled during that period. A similar though not so marked difference with regard to children injured in street accidents is noticeable ; the number of child victims in 1932 being about twice as many as in 1918, while the number of adults injured has quadrupled. These statistics, stated Mr. Phillips, show very definitely the value of safety propaganda among children of school age. The British association felt that it could claim some of the credit for this very satisfactory state of affairs. _ Another form of educational work producing excellent results is a Safe-driving Drivers Ireedom from Accident Competition, which is open to paid drivers of all member firms. The vehicles involved include omnibuses, long-distance road coaches, trucks, delivery-vans, &c. Mr. Phillips concluded by saying that laws and regulations might help, but they could never cure the evil. The conscience of the people must be awakened to the stupid waste of life, due more often than not to the repetition of a dangerous practice which a person trained to think safe would never have committed. Motor accidents are due rather to man's slow adaption to changed environment than to any inherent evil in the actual means of progress. National Safety Council of Australia.—This association also has been good enough to supply a review of its genesis and activities. In the middle of 1927 the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, having run a Safety Week tor road safety, saw the necessity for a permanent movement which would embrace all forms of safety work'. To start such a movement it called a public meeting comprising some forty-four bodies, which now form the Council of this organization. The objects of the Council are briefly to use every endeavour to enhance the safety of the peoplePerhaps the most obvious work, and certainly the easiest to start, was safety on the road, and the propaganda in this branch has been continuous. One of the most important works undertaken by the Council is work among the schools, this having a dual purpose —viz., to keep the children safer to-day, and to develop in them a safety conscience which they will carry through their adult life. _ ' ... Among numerous. other activities the Council has a journal, the Safety News, which is issued monthly, the whole of its subject-matter being relevant to safety. It is very significant that, despite the voluntry nature of these safety and although the value of their activities has been subjected to the severe test provided by the _financial depression, they are still flourishing, and there has never been any question of ceasing their operations. New Zealand.—As the result of a conference held in 1930 for the purposeof considering ways and means of reducing traffic accidents, a movement was initiated, to set up a Safety League in this country, but, unfortunately, the financial depression intervened and the scheme lapsed. Proposals are now under way for the revival of this scheme, and it deserves the fullest sympathy and assistance from all. When motorists obtained their annual license-plates for the present licensing year opportunity was taken to hand to them an appeal from the Minister of Transport on the subject of reduction m motor accidents ; while during the Accident Prevention Week recently held by the Wellington City Council a suitable radio address was delivered from 2YA by the Commissioner of Transport. 10. TRAFFIC CONTROL. (a) General. During the year a Traffic Officers' Guild was formed, representing a large majority of the traffic officers throughout the Dominion. The new organization should prove of considerable value to the Government in providing an official channel of communication between the Department and the officers controlling road traffic.

4—H. 40.

25

H.-—4O

(b) Transport Licensing Act, 1931. The administration of a statute with such a universal application as the Transport Licensing Act requires special machinery to ensure that its provisions are reasonably observed The Depart ment avoided the creation of special officers for this work by arranging for local-body Traffic Officers and the Department s Vehicle Inspectors to carry out this work. . _ B ° t]l passenger-service and goods-service licensees have in general made themselves acquainted with the objects of the Act and their requirements thereunder, and complaints regarding failure to comply with the terms and conditions of licenses are becoming comparatively rare. Having regard to the fact that approximately 90 per cent, of the Traffic Officers are local-bodv officers having numerous other duties, the provisions of the Transport Licensing Act are being carried out reasonably smoothly and effectively throughout the Dominion. Prosecutions are resorted to only as a last resource ; and the co-operation evinced by local Magistrates is an indication that this fact is recognized and appreciated by the Courts. At present one appeal from a Magistrate's decision is pending. & (c) Meeting of Traffic Officers, By invitation of the Transport Department, representative Traffic Officers from the various local authorities throughout New Zealand met in Wellington on the 19th and 20th June 1934 for the purpose of considering traffic problems of general interest. A number of proposed amendments to motor regulations were placed before the Conference by the Commissioner of Transport and the views of the delegates were forwarded to the Government. Opportunity was taken to demonstrate to those present a number of devices for brake and light testing, and also the electro-matic system for control of traffic at intersections. As a result of the Conference it was recommended that periodical campaigns be undertaken by Traffic Inspectors in unison to ensure that brakes and lights are efficient and in accordance with the regulations, and that efficient silencing devices are fitted to all motorvehicles, with a recommendation that particular attention be paid to motor-cycles. The Transport Department was requested to circularize local authorities on this proposal, so that uniform action might be taken throughout the Dominion. It is proposed that the scheme be given full publicity so that motorists generally may be stimulated to ensure that these items of equipment are maintained in proper order, and so that they may be cognizant of the strong possibility of their equipment being examined on the road by Traffic Officers. Statistics indicate that inefficient brakes and lights, particularly the latter, cause a high proportion of the number of motor accidents, and the proposed action should therefore be of material assistance in helping to reduce motor accidents. 11. CHANGES IN NEW ZEALAND TRANSPORT LAW, AND LEGISLATION AND INVESTIGATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES. (a) New Zealand. Transport Law Amendment Act, 1933. The main alteration in transport laws for this country was effected during the period under review bv the Transport Law Amendment Act, 1933. This Act is in two sections, the first one setting up the Transport Co-ordination Board, activities of which are elsewhere dealt with in this report and the second section amending the Transport Licensing Act, 1931, in several directions The main amendments to the latter Act are as follow :— Under sections 14 and 15 provision is made for the Central Licensing Authority to consist of one member to deal with what may be described as the through services. Section 20 gives power for passenger-service licenses and goods-service licenses to be transferred. Section 27 enables certain passenger-service vehicles or types of vehicles to be exempted from the requirements as to certificates of fitness. An Order in Council has been passed under this power giving such exemption to schoolchildren vehicles, and the inspection responsibility for this has been accepted by the Education Department. There have also been exempted passenger-service vehicles which are" used only under contract or under temporary license and which are already licensed to ply for hire under local by-laws. Section 28 enables Licensing Authorities to authorize services which are mainly goods-services to carry passengers for hire or reward in the course of the goods-service trips. This obviates the necessity of passenger licenses being issued in the case of goods-services which carry a few odd passengers Transport Co-ordination Board—The Transport Law Amendment Act, 1933, provided for the setting-up of the Transport Co-ordination Board. The functions of the Board are defined as follows (a) From time to time, of its own initiative, or as and when directed by the Minister, to hold such inquiries, make such investigations as it or the Minister deems necessary or expedient, and to report to the Governor-General through the Minister the result of such inquiries and investigations with such recommendations as it thinks fit for the purpose of securing the improvement, co-ordination and development, and better regulation and control of all means of and facilities for transport and' all matters ' incidental thereto : (b) To make in respect of each year ending on the thirty-first day of March a report to Parliament which shall include all reports and recommendations made pursuant to the last preceding paragraph, and shall be laid before Parliament not later than the thirtieth day of June next following, if Parliament is then sitting, and if not, then within fourteen days after the commencement of the next ensuing session: (c) To hear and determine appeals under section forty-three of the Transport Licensing Act, 1931.

26

H. —40

Up to tne present the Board has been principally engaged in disposing of appeals against decisions of the Transport Licensing Authorities. It has, however, devoted considerable time to making a comprehensive study of the whole field of transport in the Dominion, and, in addition, has heard representations from various transport interests. The personnel of the Board is as follows : — Colonel Sir Stephen S. Allen, K.8.E., C.M.G., D.5.0., M.A., LL.B. (Camb.), Chairman. H. B. S. Johnstone, Esq. Lisle Alderton, Esq. The Commissioner of Transport is Chief Executive Officer of the Board, and the staff of the Department is utilized as circumstances warrant. Transport (Goods) Order, 1933-34. The Order in Council which, under the powers given by the principal Act, brought goods-services within the scope of that Act was reissued on the 21st December, 1933, with amendments consequential on the passing of the Transport Law Amendment Act, 1933. Opportunity was at the same time taken to eliminate from the Order in Council the exemption formerly given to those goods-vehicles operating for hire under contract between the owner of the vehicle and the owner of the goods proposed to be transported for exclusive use of the vehicle by the latter for seven days or more. This exemption proved unsatisfactory in practice, as it was providing too easy a means for evasion of the licensing requirements. Passenger-service Vehicle (Constructional) Regulations, 1933. An Order in Council relating to the design, construction, and condition of all types of passengerservice vehicles other than " trolley-omnibuses " was gazetted on 21st December, 1933. In the main the Order conforms to the practises previously in force concerning vehicle-inspection, and before its issue the proposals were exhaustively discussed with interested parties. This subject is dealt with more in detail under the heading of " Passenger-service Vehicle Inspections." Heavy Motor-vehicle Regulations Amendment No. 2. The main provisions of these regulations, gazetted on the 12th October, 1933, relate to the exemption of fire-brigade vehicles from heavy-motor-vehicle speed-limits, and the abolition of the passenger-scale computation of heavy-traffic fees payable in the case of trade-motors (i.e., motor-lorries) which carry passengers. (b) Other Countries. (i) Great Britain. Two measures of great interest and importance in the transport field were passed in Great Britain during last year, as follows : — (1) The Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933— The provisions of this Act were summarized in last year's report, and it has the twofold purpose of licensing commercial road transport by goods-vehicles and also enabling the railways companies to make agreed charges with individual operators. The Act has been fully operative since the Ist January, 1934, save that postponement powers have been effected temporarily in regard to the penal sections for breaches of the Act. (2) London Passenger Transport Act, 1933— This Act is one of the most interesting transport measures of recent times. It provides for vesting the ownership of all the vast network of London's public passenger transport —e.g., trams, omnibuses, underground railways —in one controlling public body, the London Passenger Transport Board, and also the same body has control of those London road passenger-services not owned by the Board. The Act has now been fully operative for a little over a year, and is stated to have proved highly successful in its effects. The immensity of the Board's task is apparent by consideration.of a few figures. It caters for the transport needs of 9,400,000 people in a densely populated area of 2,000 square miles, and in doing so during 1933 conveyed 3,500,000,000 people.' It has a staff of 72,000 people and capital of about £109,000,000. (ii) Irish Free State. Road Transport Act, 1933. —This Act is supplementary to the Road Transport Act, 1932, and provides for the control and licensing of commercial-goods transport by road on similar lines to the legislation in force in New" Zealand. The licensing power is vested in the Minister of Industry and Commerce, and there is no right of appeal against the Minister s decisions. It is obligatory on a goods licensee to carry any goods tendered at reasonable reward and of the type and for the area specified in his license. Powers are inserted for the fixing of maximum charges by the Railway Rates Tribunal in the case of carrying companies and for the review of those charges by the Tribunal on the application of any authorized party. There are also provisions to facilitate the rationalization of goods and passenger road transport by compulsory transfer (with compensation) of licenses under certain conditions. (iii) Victoria, Australia. Reference was made in last year's report to the Transport Regulation Act, 1932 (Victoria), and there has now been passed the Transport Regulation Act, 1933. This provides, inter alia, for the licensing and control of commercial passenger and goods transport on the roads, the licensing being carried out by the Transport Regulation Board, and there being a right of appeal (but on points of law or fact only) to the Supreme Court. The Act also gives additional power to the Board to make recommendations to the Governor in Council concerning the closing or reopening of railway-lines.

27

H,— 4o

12. ROAD TRAFFIC LEGISLATION. During the past two decades, as the outcome of the rapid growth of motor traffic, a very great change has taken place in road traffic, necessitating frequent alterations in the laws and regulations. Before the advent of the motor relatively few difficulties existed in the regulation of road traffic, and the powers vested in local bodies were apparently adequate to meet all reasonable requirements. The Municipal Corporations Act and Counties Act gave local authorities almost unlimited power to make by-laws with regard to road traffic, and, in so far as these by-laws applied to traffic which seldom proceed beyond the confines of the local authority, the question of uniformity of application throughout the Dominion did not arise. The rapid development of motor traffic with the consequential improvement in highways brought about new conditions which called for laws of general application, and resulted in the passing of the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, an Act to provide for the registration, licensing, and regulation of the use of motor-vehicles. A perusal of this Act will indicate that its intention was clearly to provide a law of universal application in respect of the use of motor-vehicles, whilst at the same time being sufficiently flexible to provide for any special conditions that may exist in any part of the Dominion. It had .become apparent at that time that local-body boundaries had no significance in the scope of operation of motor-vehicles, and what applied in 1924 applies with infinitely greater force to-day, when the enormous increase in motor-vehicles and the standard of roads are taken into account. Motor traffic is now Dominion-wide in its extent, and has developed to such a degree that steps should be taken to review both the national and local-body laws that are in existence applying to road traffic. Although very full powers are vested in the Government under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, local authorities still have independent powers under the Public Works Act, the Municipal Corporations Act, and the Counties Act to make by-laws. These latter powers have been availed of, and most local authorities have enacted by-laws dealing with motor traffic, with the result that considerable confusion exists in the mind of the road user as to what the legal position may be. The time has therefore arrived when the regulation of road traffic should be covered by a universal set of enactments with provisions to enable local authorities to have special circumstances provided for where justified. Suitable proposals are now in draft form, and are being circulated to local authorities and other interested sections of the community in order that all may have the opportunity to express their views and offer suggestions before the legislation is finally prepared for submission to Parliament. A wide variety of subjects are being dealt with, some of the most interesting being those of speed, trailers, the onus of proof in Court cases, pedestrian and other traffic in relation to motor traffic, drivers' licenses, procedure in connection with prosecutions, amendments to definitions, license fees, and tractors. 13. OVERSEA MECHANICAL TRANSPORT COUNCIL. The Overseas Mechanical Transport Council, London, was established in 1929 to undertake the design, development, and tests of a special motor-vehicle which would be suitable for the transport of relatively heavy loads upon the unmetalled roads of the overseas dominions. As half of the funds available came from the Empire Marketing Board as a pound-for-pound subsidy on contributions from the respective Governments of the Empire, the disbanding of this Board in 1933 was a matter for grave concern, and consequently the past year has been a difficult one for the Council. However, notwithstanding the world-wide financial depression, sufficient money was contributed to enable the Council, through its Directing Committee, to complete two 15 ton tractor-trailer units, but it has not been possible to simultaneously finance the development of the proposed 30 ton pay-load unit. In each of the earlier annual reports of this Department reference has been made to the steady progress of the former unit, which carries a pay-load of up to 20 tons on 24 pneumatic tires at a speed of between twenty and twenty-eight miles per hour. One of the two units has a petrol engine and the other is equipped with a heavy-oil engine. The former unit, the first to be completed, was shipped to the Gold Coast, Africa, and commenced its official trials in March, 1933 in competition with that State's ordinary 2 ton and 5 ton pay-load motor-trucks drawing trailers. These trials proved so satisfactory throughout the dry and the rainy seasons (two and a half months of the former and five months of the latter) over a distance of between eight and nine thousand miles with shade temperatures up to 104° F. that the Gold Coast Government purchased the complete unit. The second experimental unit, incorporating certain improvements suggested after experience with the No. 1 unit, was shipped to South Australia in March last after undergoing severe tests in England. In this connection special mention should perhaps be made of the practically perfect tracking of the trailers in relation to the tractor —a feature of considerable interest and importance to both the operator and the road authority, and achieved through special steering qualities in the bogies of the trailers. Even at comparatively high speed " weaving " was not encountered, and the driver was able to steer the tractor closely round an obstacle and confident that the trailers in turn would do likewise. The circling and figure 8 tests in sand clearly showed that the wheels of the trailers did not at any time run outside of the marks made by the tires of the tractor, the track of which was only 5 in. wider than that of the trailers. Information regarding the official trials in Australia will no doubt be available within a few months ; and the figures showing actual costs per ton-mile for back country transport in South Australia are likely to be of special interest to those who are concerned in the transport of timber, coal, wool, or grain in this Dominion.

28

H. —40

The Oversea Mechanical Transport Council recently offered for exhibition purposes and the Transport Department has accepted a moving-picture film of the test performances and manoeuvres of this special tractor-trailer unit, but it is not yet possible to state when the film will be received. Many readers of this report will be disappointed to learn that advice has just been received from the Council that, owing to a general lack of financial support, it will not be possible to continue publishing the Oversea Mechanical Transport Bulletin, and the issue of April, 1934, is therefore the last of the series. This Department, like many more throughout the Empire, deeply regrets that such action has been necessary. The Bulletin was of inestimable value, particularly to the technical officers, hence, as there is nothing of a similar nature available to take its place, the future cost to Government Departments attempting to keep abreast of the times in road construction and maintenance, in plant and vehicle design, also in the sphere of land transport in general cannot be reliably estimated. 14. TIRE LOADING. It is generally known by those directly connected with road transport vehicles that pneumatic and other types of rubber tires give safer, better, and cheaper service when they are used within the limits of load and at the appropriate air pressure recommended by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, England, or by the corresponding standard tables of the Tire and Rim Association, United States of America. The majority of the agents in this Dominion representing overseas manufacturers of tires or chassis readily pass this information on, or, after ascertaining the weight of the actual loads carried on a given vehicle, they refer to such tables and give a specific recommendation therefrom to the operator who is seeking advice on tire equipment. Again, many vehicle operators and other motorists have learned by experience that it is not in their best interest to operate a vehicle regularly with " overloaded " tires. With such unbiased, helpful, widely recognized, and authoritative recommendations available as a guide to all concerned, the Transport Department, whose duty it is, by the Transport Licensing Act, 1931, to direct both passenger and licensed goods transport in the interest of public safety and toward economy, thought it reasonable to adopt, more or less, these recommended schedules for purposes of checking the load-limit figures as given by the manufacturer or by his local agent to chassis intended for passenger service. However, before making any decision thereon, it was deemed prudent to first fully state the position and proposal for simultaneous consideration by the English Society and the American Association, and also to allow passenger-vehicle owners a liberal overload margin on the respective schedules (which, in general, are in close agreement) until such time as a definite understanding and agreement was reached. Correspondence with this end in view has been conducted throughout the past three years, and in view of information recently to hand it can now be stated for the guidance of all concerned, including road-controlling authorities, that for public passenger vehicles at least the above tire load and inflation tables without overload are definitely recommended. The Department in general intends to give effect to this positive recommendation at an early date in all cases where the tires of the passenger-service vehicles are of that type and construction which is covered by such schedules. Special consideration, however, and as provided in the Passenger-service Vehicle (Constructional) Regulations, 1933, may be given by the Commissioner of Transport to any individual case where special or exceptional circumstances justify some differential treatment in the nature of an overload allowance. 15. THE COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINE. The heavy-oil or compression-ignition —so called " Diesel " —engine had become well established in the field of road transport in England and elsewhere by the end of the year 1932. Throughout the past year its growth has been continuous and far-reaching and is now universally recognized in all countries. Statements regarding the capabilities and performances of motor-vehicles equipped with compression-ignition engines and information concerning new records achieved in both speed and low-operating cost by specially designed railway units fitted with such engines are now a common feature of technical publications, and to-day appear also in some one or another attractive form in the popular non-technical magazines and journals for the enlightenment of children or adults. To gauge the development of the heavy-oil engine in Great Britain one naturally turns to the schedules as published from time to time by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, England. A comparison of the position as disclosed in the autumn issues of 1932 and 1933 respectively (the latter is dated November, 1933, and is the latest available) shows that — (a) Of the fifty-two separate makes of goods-vehicles, of 1 ton capacity or more, listed in 1932 only eighteen were offered with compression-ignition engines, being approximately 35 per cent, of the total. (b) Whereas the number of separate makes listed in the 1933 issue was twenty-one only, no less than thirteen of these were offered with compression-ignition engines—that is approximately 62 per cent, of the manufacturers of goods-vehicles recorded therein were equipping their chassis with heavy-oil engines.

29

H— 40.

No explanation is tendered as to why the 1933 total of makers of goods vehicles of 1 ton or more rated pay-load is less than 50 per cent, of those listed in 1932. However, notwithstanding this factor, tbe thirteen manufacturers (makes) in the 1933 schedule collectively offered ninety models with compression-ignition engines against the sixty-eight models listed by the eighteen in 1932, or, in other words, the compression-ignition engined goods models in 1933 show a percentage increase of 33 per cent, on the corresponding figures for 1932. In the passenger-vehicle group the growth of the compression-ignition-engined unit is even better, in that twenty-five manufacturers offered vehicles of eight-passenger capacity or more in 1932, and, of these twenty-five makers, five offered sixteen models with compression-ignition engines; while the 1933 schedule shows nineteen manufacturers competing in the over eight passenger group, of which number ten makers offered thirty-seven models with compression-ignition engines. The respective percentages (approximately) are, therefore, — (a) Twenty per cent, of the makers listed in 1932 offered compression-ignition-engined vehicles for passenger-service, whereas over 50 per cent, of the 1933 makers did so ; (■b) The number of makers listing compression-ignition-engined passenger vehicles in 1933 was 100 per cent, on the 1932 figures ; and (c) The number of models offered in 1933 was 231 per cent, of the number for 1932. A further indication of the trend and growth of the compression-ignition engine in the sphere of road transport is obtained from a comparison of the exhibits in the heavy-vehicle section of the last two Olympic Commercial Motor Shows, held in London in 1931 and in November last. It has been reported that in the over 3 ton pay-load group the respective approximate percentages of compression-ignition engines to total exhibits in this group were 10 per cent, in 1931 and 70 per cent, in 1933. The omnibus fleet of the London Passenger Transport Board, including those at present on order, comprises 5,253 vehicles, and of these 596 have compression-ignition engines. The Oversea Mechanical Transport Bulletin of April, 1934 (Abstract 1326), refers to an article published in Oil Engine, November, 1933 (Temple Press, Ltd., 5 Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C. 1), concerning exhibits shown at the Public Works Roads and Transport Exhibition in London, and states that the advance in popular favour which has been achieved by the oil-engine is clearly shown in the road-roller section, in that thirteen of the total of eighteen exhibits were of the oil-engined type, while three only were petrol-engined, and the remaining two were fitted with steam-engines. It is significant that some chassis manufacturers now schedule the compression-ignition-engined chassis as standard production and the petrol-engine is offered as an alternative at a reduction in list price, whereas formerly the heavy-oil engine was shown as an alternative to the standard petrol-engine at an increased cost. It is now admitted on all sides that the compression-ignition engine is establishing itself on performance in fair and open competition with all other types of power units, and for heavy-duty service in particular merits every consideration.

16. APPENDIX.

TABLE No. 1.—MOTOR-VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS, 1925-1933. Table showing the Total Number of Vehicles registered under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, at 31st December in the Years 1925 to 1933.

30

(N.B. —Dormant, but not cancelled, Registrations are included in this Table.) Trucks (classified according to Pay-load Capacity). ! « Trailers. © . . m •-« £ j T5 'd T3 | T3 "d <» "So ® od . ™ S -C fl -j pi 3 ® fl q o! „ a d S ® 73* ® e2 31st December, Oars. !^.!c!=lSakSao5aS 0 H"S3i _• £ „ SJ 8 o ji ¥ • b ! oS 1 ? o2f oSV.oSr oS* * 3 s H"S J3 U 3 b §2 H«a «« fl SSo°»g |SH l S t.S s! S H sā ojfe o g S ■e Soj Sa3 Jeai «Ci ;as x S y s " Sqjooooo ; H " 1925 .. 81,662 9.671 2,077 879 713 268; 48 ' 17 13,673 1,285 386 198 291 193 369 25,339 1123,396 1926 .. 101,462 13,056 2,827 1,155 824 314! 48 . 27 18,251 : 1,590 465 241 432 328 455 32,101 155,325 1927 .. 111,641 15,601 3,643 1,322 850 340 | 41 18 21.815 1,143 477 314 535 345 422 34,593 171,285 1928 .. 125,656 17,057 4,302 1,465 866 347 I 48 21 24,106 1,190 421 , 269 689 422 460 36,116 189,329 1929 .. 143,814 18,792 1 6,453 1,668 852 349 51 24 28,189 11,271 372 262 945 449 501 37,349 213,152 1930 .. 154,634 19,839 8.034 1,798 872 350 51 23 30,967 1,308 305 259 1,279 464 503 37,404 227,123 1931 .. 153,265 23,283 8,542 ! 1,757 829 321 44 21 34,797 j 1,234 282 271 1,886 657 468 35,413 228,273 1932 .. 151,356 22,495 1 8,661 ! 1,737 757 298 41 20 34,009 I 1,204 268 I 253 2,457 707 474 33,182 223,910 1933* .. 129,173 f - f I f t t | t ! t 35,766| 1,025 j t ! t : t t t 23,020 188,984 * Licensed vehicles only, dormant registrations not included. t Separate figures not available. J Includes trailers, traction-engines, and tractors.

H.—4o.

TABLE No. 2.—MOTOR- VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS, BY HIGHWAY DISTRICTS. Table showing, according to Highway Districts, the Number of Motor-cars, Omnibuses, and Motor-trucks (including dormant, but not cancelled, Registrations) registered at 31st December in the Years 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1933.

31

. I Motor-cars. * I Omnibuses. Motor-trucks. Highway District. Dl^ lct ! 7 — | • - - - - - — — , 1929. I 1930. j 1931. 1932. 1933.* 1929. 1930. I 1931. 1932. 1933. 1929. 1930. 1931. 1932. 1983.t I i I I I ; i j j j I Auckland North .. .. 1 6,310 6,863 7,122 5,870 4,387 37 43 154 106 .. 1,893 2,104 2,268 1,273 1,428 Auckland South .. .. 2 28,015 30,586 30,417 31,619 28,655 343 341 249 271 .. 6,663 7,173 7,736 8,109 8,554 Tauranga .. .. .. ..3 3,222 3,562 3,921 3,861 3,386 23 26 34 35 .. 835 951 1,127 1,110 1,116 Gisborne .. .. .. .. 4 j 3,648 3,863 3,635 3,559 2,800 36 38 37 36 .. 546 609 1 643 629 573 Hawke's Bay .. .. .. 5 j 9,834 10,382 10,092 9,789 8,096 72 75 66 65 .. 1,896 2,072 2,542 2,472 2,469 King-country .. .. .. 6 1,826 1,989 ; 2,254 2,146 1,762 28 30 18 17 721 787 846 791 659 i ,2 Taranaki .. .. .. 7.1 8,184 8,789 8,726 8,686 7,413 42 43 36 37 | 1,491 1,648 1,838 1,819 1,994 Wanganui .. .. 8 6,652 6,962 6,583 6,416 5,357 41 39 45 44 f 1,263 1,326 1,418 1,350 1,358 Wellington West .. .. .. 9 18,503 20,328 19,545 19,564 16,465 192 198 149 152 1 3,800 4,119 4,476 4,360 4,225 CD Wellington East .. .. .. 10 5,223 1 5,564 5,582 5,439 4,502 39 39 30 30 s 881 947 1 130 1 074 1 178 ! i &c * ' Nelson .. .. .. .. 11 4,513 j 4,892 j 4,948 4,924 4,271 49 49 48 49 jg 778 902 1,051 1,054 1,239 ill' £ West Coast .. .. .. 12 1,891 2,183 2,340 2,308 2,044 58 61 52 | 53 | 567 670 797 756 724 J© Canterbury North .. .. .. 13 1,416 1 1,499 1,619 1,585 1,146 10 11 10 ! 10 226 268 379 361 309 Canterbury Central .. .. 14 15,475 j 16,528 16,490 16,360 14,549 72 72 62 63 .. 2,339 2,605 2.974 2,919 3,395 I I ■ I Canterbury South .. .. .. 15 10,684 11,208 11,041 8,677 6,883 97 100 87 60 .. 1,235 1,422 1,819 1,343 1,797 Otago Central .. .. .. 16 1,869! 1,977 : 1,982 4,035 3,900 18 19 22 41 .. 291 329 389 793 958 Otago South .. .. .. 17 8,485 ! 9,028 J 8,779 8,606 7,114 67 73 67 67 .. j 1,707 1,832 1,931 1,897 1,999 Southland .. .. .. 18 8,064 j 8,431 1 8,189 8,002 6,443 47 51 68 68 .. 1,057 1,203 1,433 1,449 1,791 Totals •• •• 143,814 .154,634 j 153,265 i 151,446 129,173 1,271 1,308 1,234 1,204 .. 128,189 30,967 34,797 33,559 35,766 * Licensed vehicles only, dormant registrations not included. f Includes tractors, traction-engines, and trailers.

H.—4o

TABLE No. 3.—MOTOR-CYCLE REGISTRATIONS, BY HIGHWAY DISTRICTS. Table showing the Number of Motor-cycles registered in the Dominion, according to Highway Districts, at 31st December, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1933.

32

Highway District. District No. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. 1932. 1933.* I | I I - Auckland North .. 1 1,890 2,107 2,266 2,036 1,623 851 Auckland South .. 2 5,718 6,236 ! 6,594 6,821 6,962 5,419 Tauranga .. .. 3 688 736 1 753 708 675 452 Gisborne .. .. 4 480 518 531 562 554 383 Hawke'sBay .. 5 2,108 2,036 1 1,871 1,860 1,724 1,081 King-country .. 6 375 404 416 443 428 334 Taranaki .. .. 7 2,650 2,759 2,782 2,423 j 2,248 1,417 Wanganui .. .. 8 1,706 1,696 1,598 1,341 : 1,230 846 Wellington West .. 9 4,617 4,614 4,526 4,347 4,008 2,773 Wellington East .. 10 939 946 934 749 661 487 Nelson .. .. 11 1,434 1,486 1,487 1,493 1,377 899 West Coast .. 12 632 657 641 733 686 443 Canterbury North .. 13 335 352 358 228 213 207 Canterbury Central .. 14 5,495 5,686 5,717 5,540 5,135 3,669 Canterbury South .. 15 2,583 2,622 2,555 2,278 1,616 1,172 Otago Central .. 16 373 371 379 315 698 638 Otago South .. 17 2,317 2,346 2.303 2,054 1,955 1,273 Southland .. .. 18 1,776 1,777 1,693 1,482 1,389 976 Totals .. .. 36,116 37,349 37,404 35,413 33,182 23,020 I * Licensed vehicles only, dormant registrations not included.

H —40.

TABLE No. 4.—MOTOR-VEHICLES LICENSED AS AT 31st MARCH, 1934. Table showing by Postal Districts the Number of Motor-vehicles licensed under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, as at the 31st March, 1934.

TABLE No. 5.—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the Mileage covered by the various Types of Motor-vehicles for the Year ended 31st May, 1933, and relating only to those Vehicles re-licensed during the Period 1st June, 1933, to 31st July, 1933, for the 1933-34 Licensing Year.

5—H. 40.

33

33 H —40. TABLE No. 4,—MOTOR-VEHICLES LICENSED AS AT 31st MARCH, 1934. Table showing by Postal Districts the Number or Motor-vehicles licensed under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, as at the 31st March, 1934. ® , l4 i r rjO s . •£< 02 02 JH . £ £ 2 o.£ £ S OQ ja5f la 1 5 fig o p -I ! s - I Postal District. Cars. g £$g trucks ~ 3 § fl° 2 »1 g Total - H § g irucKs. g « - p « g o *3 III © I | S I Sf§ > 1 I 3"* | * __ North Island. Auckland .. 23,003 3,989 3,037 7,026 177 353 155 40 155 139 234 33 4,930 36,245 Thames .. 4,423 941 532 1,473 10 52 48 .. 26 66 22 5 727 6,852 Hamilton .. 9,790 2,170 1,506 3,676 43 117 110 2 54 107 201 8 1,830 15,938 Gisborne .. 3,311 390 387 777 17 37 49 .. 20 39 37 2 481 4,770 Napier .. 6,799 1,450 831 2,281 35 69 73 1 49 67 67 3 983 10,427 New Plymouth .. 7,385 1,192 893 2,085 7 43 57 4 75 77 55 13 1,498 11,299 Wancanui .. 5,119 863 545 1,408 4 55 50 4 37 60 41 7 854 7,639 Palmerston North 8,154 1,306 758 2,064 16 62 46 5 54 85 86 11 1,205 11,788 Wellington .. 13,799 2,311 1,714 4,025 85 228 52 19 137 128 223 10 2,488 21,194 Total .. 81,783 14,612 10,203 24,815 394 1,016 640 75 607 768 966 92 14,996 126,152 South Island. Nelson .. 2,771 533 361 894 8 46 75 2 17 20 41 5 673 4,552 Blenheim .. 1,584 352 146 498 .. 20 15 .. 13 25 10 . . 362 2,527 Greymouth .. 1,460 275 243 518 9 32 26 2 9 33 51 1 375 2,516 Westport . . 488 136 105 241 .. 12 12 2 3 16 2 .. 106 882 Christchurch .. 17,696 3,035 1,603 4,638 33 163 72 35 114 130 182 18 4,146 27,227 Timaru .. 4,650 908 358 1,266 20 34 24 2 23 46 17 3 886 6,971 Oamaru .. 2,088 336 198 534 10 18 18 .. 8 13 16 1 360 3,066 Dunedin .. 8,670 1,570 1,008 2,578 35 125 81 13 59 70 78 5 1,654 13,368 Invercargill .. 6,567 1,215 777 1,992 21 73 73 13 46 54 45 9 1,131 10,024 Total .. 45,974 8,360 4,799 13,159 136 523 396 69 292 407 442 42 9,693 71,133 Grand total 127,757 23,972 15,002 37,974 530 1,539 1,036 144 899 1,175 1,408 134 24,689 197,285 TABLE No. 5,—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the Mileage covered by the various Types op Motor-vehicles for the Year ended 31st May, 1933, and relating only to those Vehicles re-licensed during the Period 1st June, 1933, to 31st July, 1933, por the 1933-34 Licensing Year. Vehicles 0 * Number of Tota l Number Total Vehiclein respect Vehicles in of Vehioles mileage in 6r No." Vehi0le " of which reS Xch° uanTt vwT °i Column < 5) Information /. divided by re Mileage available . 31/7/33. Column (2). Colurnn (/,. supplied. (10 (20 (30 (10 (50 (6.) 1 Motor-cars .. .. 95,916 8,121 104,037 352,616,000 3,680 2 Light trucks .. .. 13,181 1,736 14,917 52,261,000 3,960 3 Heavy trucks .. .. 10,429 939 11,368 70,776,000 6,790 4 Omnibuses .. •• 435 34 469 9,657,000 22,200 5 Taxis .. .. 1,158 138 1,296 12,574,000 10,860 6 Service cars .. .. 582 47 629 11,421,000 19,620 7 Contract cars .. .. 130 9 139 791,000 6,080 8 Rental and private-hire cars 75 4 79 561,000 7,490 9 Local authority road vehicles 860 185 1,045 6,243,000 7,260 10 Government vehicles .. 1,135 58 1,193 8,537,000 7,520 11 Motor-cycles .. .. 13,246 1,694 14,940 34,753,000 2,620 Totals .. 137,147 12,965 150,112 560,190,000 4,080 5—H. 40.

33 H —40. TABLE No. 4,—MOTOR-VEHICLES LICENSED AS AT 31st MARCH, 1934. Table showing by Postal Districts the Number or Motor-vehicles licensed under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, as at the 31st March, 1934. ® , l4 i r rjO s . •£< 02 02 JH . £ £ 2 o.£ £ S OQ ja5f la 1 5 fig o p -I ! s - I Postal District. Cars. g £$g trucks ~ 3 § fl° 2 »1 g Total - H § g irucKs. g « - p « g o *3 III © I | S I Sf§ > 1 I 3"* | * __ North Island. Auckland .. 23,003 3,989 3,037 7,026 177 353 155 40 155 139 234 33 4,930 36,245 Thames .. 4,423 941 532 1,473 10 52 48 .. 26 66 22 5 727 6,852 Hamilton .. 9,790 2,170 1,506 3,676 43 117 110 2 54 107 201 8 1,830 15,938 Gisborne .. 3,311 390 387 777 17 37 49 .. 20 39 37 2 481 4,770 Napier .. 6,799 1,450 831 2,281 35 69 73 1 49 67 67 3 983 10,427 New Plymouth .. 7,385 1,192 893 2,085 7 43 57 4 75 77 55 13 1,498 11,299 Wancanui .. 5,119 863 545 1,408 4 55 50 4 37 60 41 7 854 7,639 Palmerston North 8,154 1,306 758 2,064 16 62 46 5 54 85 86 11 1,205 11,788 Wellington .. 13,799 2,311 1,714 4,025 85 228 52 19 137 128 223 10 2,488 21,194 Total .. 81,783 14,612 10,203 24,815 394 1,016 640 75 607 768 966 92 14,996 126,152 South Island. Nelson .. 2,771 533 361 894 8 46 75 2 17 20 41 5 673 4,552 Blenheim .. 1,584 352 146 498 .. 20 15 .. 13 25 10 . . 362 2,527 Greymouth .. 1,460 275 243 518 9 32 26 2 9 33 51 1 375 2,516 Westport . . 488 136 105 241 .. 12 12 2 3 16 2 .. 106 882 Christchurch .. 17,696 3,035 1,603 4,638 33 163 72 35 114 130 182 18 4,146 27,227 Timaru .. 4,650 908 358 1,266 20 34 24 2 23 46 17 3 886 6,971 Oamaru .. 2,088 336 198 534 10 18 18 .. 8 13 16 1 360 3,066 Dunedin .. 8,670 1,570 1,008 2,578 35 125 81 13 59 70 78 5 1,654 13,368 Invercargill .. 6,567 1,215 777 1,992 21 73 73 13 46 54 45 9 1,131 10,024 Total .. 45,974 8,360 4,799 13,159 136 523 396 69 292 407 442 42 9,693 71,133 Grand total 127,757 23,972 15,002 37,974 530 1,539 1,036 144 899 1,175 1,408 134 24,689 197,285 TABLE No. 5,—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the Mileage covered by the various Types op Motor-vehicles for the Year ended 31st May, 1933, and relating only to those Vehicles re-licensed during the Period 1st June, 1933, to 31st July, 1933, por the 1933-34 Licensing Year. Vehicles 0 * Number of Tota l Number Total Vehiclein respect Vehicles in of Vehioles mileage in 6r No." Vehi0le " of which reS Xch° uanTt vwT °i Column < 5) Information /. divided by re Mileage available . 31/7/33. Column (2). Colurnn (/,. supplied. (10 (20 (30 (10 (50 (6.) 1 Motor-cars .. .. 95,916 8,121 104,037 352,616,000 3,680 2 Light trucks .. .. 13,181 1,736 14,917 52,261,000 3,960 3 Heavy trucks .. .. 10,429 939 11,368 70,776,000 6,790 4 Omnibuses .. •• 435 34 469 9,657,000 22,200 5 Taxis .. .. 1,158 138 1,296 12,574,000 10,860 6 Service cars .. .. 582 47 629 11,421,000 19,620 7 Contract cars .. .. 130 9 139 791,000 6,080 8 Rental and private-hire cars 75 4 79 561,000 7,490 9 Local authority road vehicles 860 185 1,045 6,243,000 7,260 10 Government vehicles .. 1,135 58 1,193 8,537,000 7,520 11 Motor-cycles .. .. 13,246 1,694 14,940 34,753,000 2,620 Totals .. 137,147 12,965 150,112 560,190,000 4,080 5—H. 40.

H.—4o.

TABLE No. 6.—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the various Occupations of the Owners of Motor Cars, Trucks, and Cycles which were licensed during the Period 1st June, 1933, to 31st July, 1933, for the 1933-34 Licensing Year.

34

H.—40. 34 TABLE No. 6,—MOTOE TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the various Occupations of the Owners op Motor Cars, Trucks, and Cycles WHICH WERE LICENSED DURING THE PERIOD 1ST JUNE, 1933, TO 31ST JULY, 1933, POB THE 1933-34 Licensing Year. Motor-cars. Light Trucks. Heavy Trucks. Motor-cycles. Total. n, ■ 1 Per Per Per Per Per Clerical occupations— Cent. Cent. Cent. Cent. Cent Clerks .. .. .. 4,353 4-2 54 0-4 13 0-1 1,300 8-7 5,720 3-9 Clergymen, ministers, and priests.. 984 0-9 19 0-1 12 0-1 71 0-5 1,086 0-8 School-teachers .. .. 2,048 2-0 12 0-1 1 0-0 207 1-4 1-6 Total clerical .. .. 7,385 7-1 85 0-6 26 0-2 1,578 10-6 9,074 6-3 Professional occupations— Accountants .. .. .. 1,009 1-0 9 0-1 1 0-0 37 0-2 1,056 0-7 Doctors .. .. .. 1,057 1-0 11 0-1 7 0-1 12 0-1 1,087 0-8 Miscellaneous (five classes) .. 1,657 1-6 30 0-2 4 0-0 91 0-6 1,782 1-2 Total professional .. 3,723 3-6 50 0-4 12 0-1 140 0-9 3,925 2-7 Wage-earners— / Labourers .. .. .. 3,417 3-3 640 4-3 137 1-2 2,430 16-3 6,624 4-5 Farm labourers .. .. 1,457 1-4 126 0-8 28 0-3 1,754- 11-7 2-3 Miscellaneous (eleven classes) .. 2,739 2-6 190 1-3 103 0-9 1,123 7-5 4,155 2-9 Total wage-earners .. 7,613 7-3 956 6-4 268 2-4 5,307 35-5 14,144 9-7 Commerce, trade, or business— Agents .. .. .. 2,187 2-1 89 0-6 67 0-6 111 0-7 2,454 1-7 Bakers .. .. .. 702 0-7 860 5-8 60 0-5 121 0-8 1,743 1-2 Builders and contractors .. 2,106 2-0 630 4-2 1,251 11-0 246 7-6 4,233 2-9 Business-managers .. .. 3,154 3-0 128 0-9 51 0-5 71 0-5 2-3 Butchers .. .. .. ],069 1-0 1,000 6-7 114 1-0 295 2-0 1-8 Carpenters .. .. .. 897 0-9 178 1-2 27 0-2 505 3-4 1 607 1-1 Dealers .. .. .. 626 0-6 247 1-7 150 1-3 63 0-4 1,086 0-8 Engineers .. .. .. 2,175 2-1 225 1-5 130 1-1 421 2-8 2,951 2-0 Grocers .. .. .. 675 0-6 448 3-0 106 1-0 135 0-9 1,364 0-9 Manufacturers.. .. .. 1,344 1-3 328 2-2 663 5-8 112 0-8 2,447 1-7 Mechanics .. .. .. 1,095 1-1 97 0-7 13 0-1 637 4-3 1-3 Merchants .. .. .. 3,893 3-7 880 5-9 1,631 14-4 162 1-1 6,566 4-5 Salesmen .. .. .. 1,334 1-3 166 1-1 22 0-2 216 1-4 1)738 1-2 Shopkeepers .. .. .. 1,916 1-8 947 6-3 356 3-1 115 0-8 3,334 2-3 Miscellaneous (twenty-two classes) 4,940 4-8 882 5-9 150 1-3 1,099 7-4 7 071 4-9 Total commerce, &c. .. 28,113 27-0 7,105 47-6 4,791 42-1 4,309 28-9 44,318 30-6 Farming— Farmers—Dairy .. .. 16,975 16-3 2,637 17-7 1,265 11-1 1,242 8-3 22 119 15-2 Sheep .. .. 8,952 8-6 752 5-0 388 3-4 340 2-3 10,432 7-2 Agriculture .. .. 3,030 2-9 405 2-7 190 1-7 157 1-0 3,782 2-6 Others .. .. 1,566 1-6 487 3-3 255 2-2 150 1-0 2,458 1-7 Orchardists .. .. .. 641 0-6 290 1-9 97 0-9 55 0-4 1.083 0-7 Total farming .. .. 31,164 30-0 4,571 30-6 2,195 19-3 1,944 13-0 39,874 27-4 Transport— Carriers .. .. .. 795 0-7 485 3-3 3,010 26-5 105 0-7 4,395 3-0 Miscellaneous (three classes) .. 1,222 1-2 125 0-8 145 1-3 416 2-8 1,908 1-3 Total transport .. .. 2,017 1-9 610 4-1 3,155 27-8 521 3-5 6,303 -4-3 Others— Retired .. .. .. 3,097 3-0 51 0-3 8 0-1 29 0-2 3,185 2-2 Local authorities and employees .. 886 0-8 498 3-3 419 3-7 134 0-9 1,937 1-3 Domestic duties .. .. 15,478 14-9 563 3-8 221 1-9 107 0-7 11-3 Miscellaneous (seven classes) .. 1,012 1-0 54 0-4 20 0-2 70 0-5 U156 0-8 Unspecified .. .. .. 3,549 3-4 374 2-5 253 2-2 801 5-3 4! 977 3-4 Total others .. .. 24,022 23-1 1,540 10-3 921 8-1 1,141 7-6 27,624 19-0 Grand total .. .. 104,037 100-0 14,917 100-0 11,368 100-0 14,940 100-0 145,262 100-0 1

H.— 40.

TABLE No. 7.—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the Classification of the various Makes of Motor-vehicles which were licensed during the Period 1st June, 1933, to 31st July, 1933, for the 1933-34 Licensing Year ((a) Type Numbers 1 to 6).

35

35 H.— 40. TABLE No. 7,—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the Classification of the various Makes of Motor - vehicles which weee LICENSED DURING THE PERIOD 1ST JUNE, 1933, TO 31ST JULY, 1933, FOR THE 1933-34 LICENSING Year ((a) Type Numbers 1 to 6). Make. Number. Per Cent. Make. Number. Per Cent. Type 1 : Motor-cars. Type 3 : Heavy Trucks —continued. 1. Ford .. .. .. 19,328 18-6 9. Leyland .. .. .. 280 2-5 2. Chevrolet .. .. .. 12,288 11-8 10. Dennis .. .. .. 274 2-4 3. Austin .. .. .. 7,417 7-1 11. Bedford .. .. .. 263 2-3 4. Essex .. .. .. 7,056 6-8 12. Republic .. .. .. 262 2-3 5. Dodge .. .. •• 6,693 6-4 13. Thornycroft .. .. . 198 1-7 6. Buick 5,550 5-3 14. G.M.C 161 1-4 7. Chrysler .. .. .. 3,527 3-4 15. Rugby .. .. .. 125 1-1 8. Studebaker .. .. .. 2,722 2-6 16. White .. .. .. 107 0-9 9. Rugby .. .. .. 2,305 2-2 17. Willys Knight .. .. 105 0-9 10. Whippet .. .. •• 2,275 2-2 18. Other makes (170) .. .. 1,922 16-9 11. Overland .. .. .. 2,188 2-1 19. Trailers .. .. .. 99 0-9 12. Morris Cowley .. •• 1,911 1 ■ 9 13. Plymouth .. .. .. 1,676 1-6 Total .. .. .. 11,368 100-0 14. Nash .. .. .. 1,522 1-5 15. Morris Minor .. .. 1,449 1-4 16. Singer .. .. .. 1,394 1-4 Type, 4: Omnibuses. 17. Hupmobile .. .. .. 1,380 1-3 1. Reo .. .. .. 68 14-5 18. Hudson .. .. .. 1,368 1-3 2. Stewart .. .. .. 59 12-6 19. Pontiac .. .. .. 1,352 1-3 3. Leyland .. .. .. 34 7-2 20. Willys Knight .. .. 1,280 1-2 4. Thornycroft .. .. .. 31 6-6 21. DeSoto .. .. .. 1,226 1-2 5. Republic .. .. .. 29 6-2 22. Oldsmobile .. .. .. 1,128 11 6. International .. .. 23 4-9 23. Standard .. .. .. 1,081 1-0 7. Dodge .. .. .. 22 4-7 24. Oakland .. .. .. 1,057 1-0 8. White .. .. .. 20 4-3 Other makes (344) .. .. 14,864 14-3 Other makes (38) .. .. 183 39'0 Total .. .. .. 104,037 100'0 469 100'0 Type 2: Light Trucks. Type 5: Taxis. 1. Ford .. .. .. 7,321 49-0 1. Chevrolet .. .. ■■ 138 10-6 2. Chevrolet .. .. .. 2,285 15-3 2. Dodge .. .. .. 122 9-4 3. Dodge .. .. .. 933 6-3 3. Hudson .. .. .. 110 8-5 4. Rugby .. .. .. 343 2-3 4. Essex .. .. .. 103 8-0 5. Buick .. .. .. 257 1-7 5. Buick .. .. .. 89 6-9 6. Morris .. .. .. 255 1 • 7 6. Whippet .. .. ■ . 66 5 • 1 7. Whippet .. .. .. 238 1-6 7. Plymouth .. .. .. 62 4-8 8. Austin .. .. .. 215 1-4 8. Nash .. .. .. 51 3-9 9. Studebaker .. .. .. 137 0-9 9. Studebaker .. .. .. 51 3-9 10. Overland .. .. .. 130 0-9 10. DeSoto .. .. 50 3-9 11. MorrisMinor .. .. Ill 0-8 Other makes (65) .. .. 454 35-0 12. Hudson .. .. .. 103 0-7 13. Other makes (179) .. 1,834 12-3 1,296 100-0 14. Trailers .. .. .. 755 5-1 Total .. .. .. 14,917 100-0 Type 6: Service Cars. 1. Hudson .. .. .. 174 27-7 2. Cadillac .. .. .. 69 11-0 Type 3: Heavy Trucks. 3. Studebaker .. .. .. 61 9-7 1. Chevrolet .. .. .. 2,590 22-8 4. Ford .. .. .. 33 5-2 2. Ford .. .. .. 2,181 19-2 5. Reo .. .. .. 27 4-3 3. International .. .. 958 8-4 6. Buick .. .. .. 26 4-1 4. Reo .. .. .. 466 4-1 7. Chevrolet .. .. .. 24 3-8 5. Graham .. .. .. 428 3-8 8. Willys Knight .. .. 20 3-2 6. Morris .. .. .. 348 3-1 Other makes (45) .. .. 195 31-0 7. Stewart .. .. .. 308 2 • 7 8. Dodge .. .. .. 293 2-6 629 100-0

H.—-40.

TABLE No. 8.—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the Classification of the various Makes of Motor-vehicles which were licensed during the Period 1st June, 1933, to 31st July, 1933, for the 1933-34 Licensing Year ((b) Type Numbers 7 to 11 and all Types).

36

It.—40. 36 TABLE No. 8,—MOTOR TRANSPORT STATISTICS, 1933. Table showing the Classification of the various Makes of Motor-vehicles which were LICENSED DURING THE PERIOD 1ST JUNE, 1933, TO 31ST JULY, 1933, FOR THE 1933-34 LICENSING Year ((b) Type Numbers 7 to 11 and all Types). Make - Number. Percent. Make. Number. Percent. Type 7 : Contract Gars. Type 10 : Government Vehicles —continued. J- F° rcl ' • 33 23-8 3. Moms 69 5-8 2. Chevrolet .. .. .. 31 22-3 4. Albion 57 4 . 8 3. Hudson .. .. .. 7 5.0 Other (59 makes) .. .. 333 27-9 4. J3uick . . . . . . 7 5-o , . 5 3-6 1,193 100-0 Other (35 makes) .. .. .. 56 40-3 139 100-0 Type 11 .- Motor-cycles. 1. B.S.A. .. .. .. 2,429 16-3 Type 8: Rental and Private-hire Cars. 2. Harley-Davidson .. .. 1,979 13-2 1. Morris Minor .... 12 15-2 nc^an •• 1,761 11-8 2. Essex .. .. 9 1X -4 4. A.J.S. .. .. .. 1,612 10-8 3. Packard .. .. 7 8-8 5- Triumph .. .. .. 1,383 9-3 4. Buick .. .. .. 6 7-6 6- Douglas .. .. .. 1,134 7-6 5. Dodge .. .. .. 5 6-3 •• •• •• 896 6-0 6. Morris Cowley .. 4 5-1 Norton .. .. .. 413 2-8 7. Ford .. .. 4 5. 1 9. Royal Enfield .. .. 266 1-8 8. Studebaker .. .. 4 5-1 •• •- •• 247 1-6 9. Austin .. .. 4 5-1 U. Rudge (four types) .. .. 244 1-6 Other (16 makes) .. .. 22 30-3 12. Excelsior .. .. .. 243 1-6 13. Francis Barnett .. . 238 1-6 79 100-0 14. Matchless .. .. 233 1-6 15. New Hudson .. . .. 209 1-4 Other (91 makes) .. .. 1,653 11-0 Type 9 : Local Authority Road Vehicles. — 1. Eord.. .. .. .. 228 21-8 14,940 100-0 2. Fordson .. .. 97 9.3 ——— — 3. McOormick-Deeming .. .. 89 8-5 4. Chevrolet .. .. .. 69 6-6 Types of Vehicles. 5. Leyland .. .. .. 57 5.5 1 Ford .. .. ..29 714 19-8 6. Thornycroft .. .. .. 42 4-0 2. Chevrolet .. .. . 17 447 11-6 Ī- T D< f ms , 38 3-6 3. Dodge 8,124 5-4 8. International .. .. .. 33 3 . 2 4. Austin .. .. . 7 883 5-3 29 2-8 5. Essex 7,278 4-8 •• ■■ 26 2-5 6. Morris (all types) .. .. 5,997 4-0 Mr f" s , , 25 2-4 7. Buick 5,968 4-0 Other (76 makes) 248 23-7 8. Chrysler 3,659 2-4 trailers .. .. .. .. 64 6-1 9. Studebaker .. .. .. 3,023 2-0 10. Rugby .. .. .. 2,786 1-9 1,045 100-0 11. Whippet .. .. .. 2,714 1-8 — 12. B.S.A. .. .. .. 2,441 1-6 Type 10: Government Vehicles. 600 makes) !! 50,'752 33^8 1- Eord .. .. .. S50 46-1 2. Austin .. .. .. 184 15.4 150,112 100-0

H.— 40

TABLE No. 9.—PETROL-TAX ALLOCATION TO BOROUGHS WITH 6,000 OR MORE POPULATION. Table showing the Distribution of the Petrol-tax to Boroughs with a Population of 6,000 and over.

TABLE No. 10.—TAXATION OF MOTOR-VEHICLES, 1923-1934. Table showing the Annual Yield for the Years ended 31st March, 1923 to 1934, in respect of (a) Customs Duties on Motor-vehicles and Parts; (6) Tire-tax; (c) Motor,spirits Tax; (d) Fees, etc., under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924; (e) Heavy-traffic Fees; (f) Drivers' Licenses; and (g) Mileage Tax, etc., under Finance Act, 1932-33, No. 2, Section 19.

37

Year ended 31st March, 1934. __ Total since Inception of Boroughs. Amount of Tax, Quarter ended Petrol-tax up to 31st March, 1934. June. September. December. March. Total. £ s d ~0sci £ s (i £ s d. £ s d £ s d. Wellington City .. 3,803 7 7 3,535 15 2 4,678 13 10 4,609 7 4 16,627 3 11 87,965 2 1 Auckland City .. 3,582 4 3 3,330 3 2 4,406 12 6 4,341 6 8 15,660 6 7 83,904 8 2 Christchurch City.. 3,066 3 3 2,850 8 3 3,771 16 2 3,715 18 5 13,404 6 1 71,702 11 4 Dunedin City .. 2,325 11 10 2,161 19 0 2,860 16 1 2,818 8 3 10,166 15 2 54,594 14 0 WanganuiCity .. 832 14 5 774 2 7 1,024 7 4 1,009 3 9 3,640 8 1 20,021 3 7 Palmerston Nth. City 725 9 10 674 8 10 892 9 1 879 4 7 3,171 12 4 16,535 15 10 Mount Albert .. 703 14 2 654 3 10 865 13 3 852 16 8 3,076 7 11 16,324 13 10 Invercargill City .. 700 7 2 651 1 5 861 10 9 848 15 5 3,061 14 9 16,263 14 5 Mount Eden .. 675 4 6 627 14 3 830 12 5 818 6 3 2,951 17 5 15,940 10 5 Timaru .. .. 579 14 5 538 18 7 713 2 10 702 11 5 2,534 7 3 13,414 5 4 New Plymouth .. 547 17 9 509 6 9 673 19 7 663 19 10 2,395 3 11 12,599 11 0 Napier .. .. 546 4 3 507 15 7 671 18 4 661 19 3 2,387 17 5 12,966 1 10 Hamilton .. 521 J 7 484 8 3 641 0 3 631 10 1 2,278 0 2 12,214 8 8 Lower Hutt .. 485 17 11 451 14 2 597 14 4 588 17 3 2,124 3 8 10,552 0 9 Gisborne .. 484 4 5 450 2 11 595 13 2 586 16 7 2,116 17 1 11,278 2 3 Hastings .. 410 9 11 381 12 3 504 19 5 497 9 9 1,794 11 4 9,190 2 3 Onehunga .. 376 19 9 350 9 3 463 14 11 456 17 6 1,648 1 5 8,941 8 1 Petone .. .. 374 6 1 347 19 4 460 9 0 453 12 6 1,636 6 11 8,707 9 10 Nelson City .. 370 5 8 344 4 7 455 10 1 448 15 1 1,618 15 5 8,636 16 7 Devonport .. 349 16 11 325 4 7 430 7 2 423 19 7 1,529 8 3 8,297 13 9 Masterton .. 293 4 3 272 11 7 360 13 10 355 6 11 1.281 16 7 6,890 17 10 St. Kilda .. 279 16 2 260 2 5 344 4 1 339 2 1 1,223 4 9 6,595 17 6 One Tree Hill .. 271 8 7 252 6 7 333 17 11 328 19 0 1,186 12 1 4,560 0 4 Whangarei .. 259 14 1 241 8 7 319 9 5 314 14 9 1,135 6 10 5,963 7 11 Oamaru .. .. 256 7 0 238 6 3 315 7 0 310 13 6 1,120 13 9 6,057 18 9 Takapuna .. 235 18 2 219 6 3 290 4 0 285 18 1 1,031 6 6 5,568 5 6 Greymouth .. 211 9 0 196 11 5 260 2 2 256 5 2 924 7 9 4,236 12 6 Totals .. 23,269 12 11 21,632 5 10 28,624 18 11 28,200 15 8 101,727 13 4 539,922 14 4

!Customs Duties Motor Fees, &c., „ Mileage Year ended in respect of rr - .. cl . " under Motor- Drivers' Tax, Pi- „ . 31st March, Motor-vehicles 1 x ' S, vehicles Act, Licenses, nance Act, ° a ' and Parts.* ; ax ' 1924. Cees ' 1932-33. t t 1923 .. 221,679 121,092 .. .. .. .. .. 342,771 1924 .. 621,470 123,568 .. .. .. .. .. 745,038 1925 .. 802,903 152,303 .. 257,500 .. .. .. 1,212,706 1926 .. 1,007,641 228,711 .. 86,681t 114,009 33,162 .. 1,470,204 1927 .. 1,074,052 190,575 .. 395,797 220,616 50,650 .. 1,931,690 1928 .. 856,556 227,451 143,516 345,510 157,651 52,495 .. 1,783,179 1929 .. 1,045,635 196,747 802,232 244,598 190,789 36,830 .. 2,516,831 1930 .. 1,432,412 155,910 961,907 391,368 183,486 56,578 .. 3,181,661 1931 .. 828,878 130,4081,314,450 393,798 194,557 59,462 .. 2,921,553 1932 .. 272,992 85,4381,677,520 370,126 179,105 58,860 .. 2,644,041 1933 .. 145,059 64,1771,865,762 352,561 178,183 57,132 .. 2,662,874 1934 .. 125,590 62,979 2,368,147 346,249 178,000J 57,000J 1,597 3,139,562 Totals up to 8,434,867 1,739,3599,133,5343,184,188 1,596,396 462,169 1,597 24,552,110 31st March, 1934 * Calendar year ending on previous 31st December. Includes primage and surtax on vehicles and parts; also on all tires and tire-tax on tires attached to vehicles or parts. f Alteration in lioensing period. J Estimated.

H,— 40

TABLE No. 11.—LENGTH OF ROADS, STREETS, AND BRIDGES. Table showing the Lengths of the various Classes of Roads, Streets, and Bridges in the Dominion at 31st March in the Years 1922 to 1933.

Note. —Figures for earlier years, particularly in regard to unformed legal roads, are not claimed to be entirely accurate.

TABLE No. 12.—LENGTH OF BRIDGES. Table showing the Lengths of the various Kinds of Bridges in the Dominion at 31st March in the Years 1923 to 1933.

38

cq ro •> u Roads and Streets formed to not less than ° Dray-width, and paved or surfaced cd _ -e with- £ 1 ? S co Ph Total t, .Unformed Total Year. I -a -8 £ 43 Formed , , " Legal of all Bitu- ' Ot]her g ft o rg Roads. rac s " Roads. Roads, minous or .Bitumen Metal or and Un- 55 a o Cement or Tar. Gravel. specified ā ea -g «g Concrete. Material, o J3 g Ph Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. V ) Y~ 1922 .. 26,787f* 4-4,244 5,0951 13,6311 62,971 1923 .. 27,8151* 17,7911 45,607 5,377| 13,613 64,5971 1924 .. 28,5531* 17,222f 45,776 5,2181 13,6301 64,624f f A 1925 .. 58| 639 28,243| 4581 16,748 46,147f 5,181* 15,676| 67,006 1926 .. 97f 836 28,981* 3401 I6,521f 46,7771 5,009f 15,792-1 67,5791 1927 .. 133 1,012 29,7261: 373* 16,1071 47,3521 5,093 15,795 68,24of 1928 .. 217 1,2621 30,669§ 129J 15,3811 47,659f 5,0401 15,6691 68,3691 1929 .. 254 1,472 31,334 125f 15,1351 48,321 5,399f 15,197* 68,918| 1930 .. 306 1,724f 83 14,600| 49,066* 5,375 16,506| 70,947f 1931 .. 3391 1,892f 32,855* 116 14,374* 49,578| 5,642-1 16,923* 72,144 1932 .. 336f 2,118* 33,536§ 88* 14,195| 50,276 5,808 16,418" 72,502 1933 .. 344 2,320 34,848 80* 13,300| 50,893 5,8761 17,474 74,243J 1

Bridges, 25 ft. and over in Length, constructed with— t qj. i Australian or AT ,. Other and Totals. Iron Stone and ,, Native TT r' , Hardwood. 1 ESS J I ■vr Total ! vr Total Total i Total Total , T i Total j Length, j " Length. ' , Length. | ' Length. ' Length. j Length. Ft. Ft. Ft. Ft. Ft. Ft. 1923 * * * * * * * * * * 2,955| 328,766f 1924 ..**** * * * * * * 3,297|362,034+ 1925 .. 131 20,315 408 36,840 1,466 180,529 2,035 167,557 74 8,601 4,114 413,842' 1926 .. 175 26,227 431 39,127 1,665 197,735 2,029 161,084 83 8,656 4,383 432,829 1927 .. 193 26,144 489 42,804 1,850 217,600 1,959 148,427 156 14,041 4,647 449,016 1928 .. 171 24,779 545 47,833 2,013 229,208 1,994 153,078 111 12,844 4,834 467,742 1929 .. 206 29,089 608 52,761 2,137 242,474 2,181 165,525 118 9,590 5,250 499,439 1930 .. 232 32,330 671 57,739 2,285 245,867 2,164 168,120 38 5,447 5,390 509,503 1931 .. 272 34,819 751 66,292 2,396 253,057 2,164 164,940 23 4,176 5,606 523,284 19321 552 43,878 2,277 240,622 2,277 163,543 698 79,657 5,804 527,700 1933 574 46,774 2,233 230,380 2,316 164,999 865 92,380 5,988 534,533 * Detailed figures not available. f 30 ft. and over in length. % Classification altered 1932.

H. —40.

TABLE No. 13.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Table showing the Position with respect to Applications for Passenger-service Licenses for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

39

Number of Applications Number of Decisions given Number of Appliea- Number of Decisions Number of Licenses Pn to be dealt with. ' ° * tions withdrawn. deferred. issued. eg © § GO £> —— g Granted. Refused. ts Licensing Authority. . , 3 .S g >> g I t"' ā E-> S <=•> § b •« ® £ o o -J § o J § 1 ra S ® aoS a a § aā° s I o g s S . g | S . 1° s I ! ° a 13 '■§ § g « § f 3 ■■§ g I Us®! og ® o o : g 1 o gglogglooglogf 1 op.sg Oūq B B O ' m B B O:0QBBOi»BBOūQBHOGa B B (z; s- ® Auckland Metropolitan District 35 1 158 194 31 1 158 190 1 1 2 2 1 1 20 1. 158 179 * Wellington Metropolitan District .. 11 1 .. 12 11 1 .. 12 11 1 .. 12 * Christchurch Metropolitan District 9 3 7 19 9 3 7 19 8 3 7 18 * Dunedin Metropolitan Districtf 20 1 9 30 20 1 9 30 20 1 9 30 * Central Licensing Authority .. 104 1 . . 105 79 . . 79 15 1 .. 16 4 4 6 6 79 .. 79 * No. 1 Licensing Authority ..55 1 50 106 46 1 50 97 3 3 3 3 3 3 46 1 50 97 118 No. 2 Licensing Authority .. 89 6 226 421 79 5 218 302 7 .. 7 14 3 .. 1 4 .. 1 .. 1 74 4 218 296 512 No. 4 Licensing Authority .. 83 1 171 255 73 1 166 240 10 .. 5 15 72 1 166 239 260 No. 5 Licensing Authority .. 56 4 123 183 52 4 122 178 2 .. 1 3 2 .. .. 2 52 4 122 178 172 No. 6 Licensing Authority .. 92 2 239 333 84 2 233 319 6 .. 6 12 1 .. .. 1 1 . . .. 1 71 1 233 305 263 No. 7 Licensing Authority .. 78 6 180 264 71 3 179 253 1 1 1 3 6 2 .. 8 71 3 179 253 144 No. 8 Licensing Authority .. 27 .. 106 133 26 .. 100 126 1 .. 6 7 26 . . 100 126 122 No. 9 Licensing Authority .. 52 5 157 214 39 2 156 197 3 .. 1 4 10 3 .. 13 34 1 156 191 145 No. 10 Licensing Authority .. 48 1 357 406 44 1 357 402 2 .. .. 2 1 .. .. 1 1 .. .. 1 44 1 357 402 106 Totals .. .. .. 759 33 1,783 2,675 664 25 1,755 2,444 51 2 27 80 26 3 1 30 18 3 .. 21 628 22 1,755 2,405 1,842 * Vehicles used by operators in the North and South Island Central and Metropolitan districts are included in the other district figures according to where the vehicles are garaged. f Not available.

H,— 4o

TABLE No. 14.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Traffic and Financial Statistics (North Island), by Transport Districts, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.—(a) Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for more than Nine Passengers.

TABLE No. 15.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Traffic and Financial Statistics (North Island), by Transport Districts, for Year ended 31st March, 1934. —(b) Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for not more than Nine Passengers.

40

North Island North Island North Island Total for Total for Item. rS/roi No. 1. No. 2. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. Year ended Year ended • 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. ____________ Traffic statistics — Vehicle journeys .. .. .. 56,104 666,155 223,675 65,483 293,361 1,304,778 1,192,509 Vehicle-miles .. .. .. 316,047 3,925,164 1,133,725 303,018 1,724,535 7,402,489 7,741,764 Empty trips .. .. .. 2,455 8,109 8,357 1,133 3.292 23,346 21,697 Passengers .. .. .. 433,970 7,436,072 1,624,364 512,638 2,685,064 12,692,108 12,328,645 Operating-expenses— ££££££££ Vehicle-running costs (petrol, .. 6,404 84,931 23,819 6,914 47,381 169,449 184,605 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, depreciation) Vehicle standing charges .. 5,303 66,450 17,365 5,181 29,154 123,453 125,363 (license fees, wages and drawings in lieu of wages, insurance, garage fees) General overhead charges .. 1,298 12,012 5,346 845 8,733 28,234 35,668 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totals .. .. .. 13,005 163,393 46,530 12,940 85,268 321,136 345,636 us Passenger revenue.. .. .. 11,676 160,615 46,957 11,417 81,162 311,827 329,997 Mail-contract revenue .. .. 1,076 1,507 330 491 1,043 4,431 3,471 Newspaper revenue .. .. 255 366 125 233 182 1,161 1,215 Goods and parcels revenue .. .. 848 935 1,043 1,099 1,458 5,383 6,392 Other revenue .. .. .. 37 2,589 1,090 812 1,244 5,772 6,983 Totals .. .. .. 13,876 166,012 49,545 14,058 85,089 328,574 348,058 ££££££££ Profits .. .. .. .. 1,189 *4,350 3,729 1,145 3,416 13,829 Losses .. .. .. .. 318 1,731 714 28 3,595 6,386 Netprofits.. .. .. 871 2,619 3,015 1,117 .. 7,443 2,422 Net loss .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 179

North Island North Island North Tslaml TotaI for Total for Item. Sill Wo. 1. No. 2. . No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. Tear ended Year ended l ' enraal ' 31st, March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. Traffic statistics— Vehicle journeys .. .. 10,710 8,281 12,295 76,463 10,151 42,312 160,212 188,137 Vehicle-miles .. .. 1,014,220 244,055 466,242 1,508,572 271,406 980,178 4,484,673 6,313,641 Empty trips .. .. 703 575 671 6,858 2,178 4,441 15,426 15,382 Passengers .. .. 43,071 15,927 40,296 533,982 25,439 72,445 731,160 666,110 Operating-expenses— ££££££££ Vehicle-running costs (petrol, 14,193 4,910 7,300 21,599 4,197 14,623 66,822 100,248 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, depreciation) Vehicle standing charges 8,098 2,350 3,823 12,077 2,204 9,009 37,561 57,830 (license fees, wages, drawings in lien of wages, insurance, garage fees) General overhead charges 4,198 476 644 5,241 247 2,424 13,230 29,003 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totals .. .. 26,489 7,736 11,767 38,917 6,648 26,056 117,613 187,081 Revenue — ££££££££ Passenger revenue.. .. 23,315 5,864 9,054 34,323 4,185 14,781 91,522 152,521 Mail-contract revenue .. 167 1,201 1,521 3,439 1,480 3,821 11,629 12,979 Newspaper revenue .. 1,274 203 808 368 103 3,409 6,165 6,747 Goods and parcels revenue .. 2,544 754 831 2,810 1,356 3,822 12,117 13,812 Other revenue .. .. 30 316 107 289 119 1,056 1,917 2,416 Totals .. .. 27,330 8,338 12,321 41,229 7,243 26,889 123,350 188,475 ££££££££ ProHts .. .. .. 851 835 841 3,439 620 1,500 8,086 Losses .. .. .. 10 233 287 1,127 25 668 2,350 Net profits.. .. 841 602 554 2,312 595 832 5,736 1,394

H,— 4o

TABLE No. 16. —TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Traffic and Financial Statistics (North Island), by Transport Districts, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.-( c ) Fleets containing both Vehicles having Seats for more than and also less than Nine Passengers, and Fleets containing Vehicles carrying both Goods and Passengers.

TABLE No. 17. —TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Traffic and Financial Statistics (North Island), by Transport Districts, for Year ended 31st March, 1934. —(d) Totals for all Vehicles.

6—H. 40.

41

North Island North Island Total for Total for T t „m North Island N 1 No> 2 . No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. Year ended Year ended lte * Central. 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. T vfhltl0ume7s .. •• 11,942 3,508* 22,633 25,180 24,080 3,754 91,097 71,826 Vehicle-miles .. 1,053 250 123,212 845,517 634,580 811,380 120,879 3,588,818 2,486,263 Empty trips .. .. 249 107 2,430 2,515 1,277 825 7,403 5,731 Passengers •• •• 76,359 14,621 128,041 111,536 137,175 10,571 478,303 384,991 0 Vehide g rnXgc7sts (petrol, 15,945 3,013 17,978 13,753 16,040 2,385 69,114 54,772 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, and depreciaVehicle standing charges 12,034 1,440 9,733 9,160 10,650 1,388 44,405 30,489 (license fees, wages, drawings in lieu of wages, insurGenerai S Tye e rhead charges 4,647 594 3,268 3,767 5,548 331 18,155 16,781 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Xotals .. .. 32,626 5,047 30,979 26,680 32,238 4,104 131,674 102,042 Revenue — ££££££££ Passenger revenue.. .. 31,474 4,904 27,415 23,230 25,862 3,138 116,023 81,517 MaU contract revenue .. .! 407 569 422 3,623 500 5 521 4,401 Npwroanpr revenue 433 60 858 258 429 20 2,058 936 GoodTand parcels revenue.. 874 141 3,202 1,971 1,486 724 8,398 6,454 Other revenue .. .. 284 20 1,482 1,140 2,638 .. 5,564 8,339 Totals .. .. 33,065 5,532 33,526 27,021 34,038 4,382 137,564 101,647 £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Profits 759 567 2,624 711 1,800 323 6,784 Losses :: :: .. 370 «_ .. Net profits.. .. 439 485 2,547 341 1,800 278 5,890 Net loss .. . • • • • • ■ • • • • • • • • • d95

North Island North Island Total for Total for North Island N No 2 . No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. Year ended Year ended Central. ' ' 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. Tr v® 0 ictTume7s .. 22,652 67,893 701,083 325,318 99,714 339,427 1,556,087 1,452,472 Vehicle-miles .. 2,067 470 683,314 5,236,923 3,276,877 1,385,804 2,825,592 15,475,980 16,541,668 Empty trips .. •• 952 3,137 11,210 17,730 4,588 8,558 46,175 42,810 Passengers .. .. 119,430 464,518 7,604,409 2,269,882 675,252 2,768,080 13,901,571 13,311,746 0P vS^Xg (petrol, 30,138 14,327 110,209 59,171 27,151 64,389 305,385 339,625 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, and depreciaVehicle standing charges 20,132 9,093 80,006 38,602 18,035 39,551 205,419 213,682 (license fees, wages, drawings in lieu of wages, insurG e neral ga overh f ead charges 8,845 2,368 15,924 14,354 6,640 11,488 59,619 81,452 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totale .. .. 59,115 25,788 206,139 112,127 51,826 115,428 570,423 634,759 Revenue £ £ ££££££ Passenger revenue.. .. 54,789 22,444 197,084 104,510 41,464 99,081 519,372 564,035 Mail-contract revenue .. 167 2,668 3,597 4,191 5,594 5,364 "s'sqr Newspaper revenue •• 1,707 518 2,032 751 765 3,611 9,384 8,898 GoodsTnd parcels revenue.. 3,418 1,743 4,968 5,824 3,941 6,004 25,898 26,658 Other revenue .. .. 314 373 4,178 2,519 3,569 2,300 13,253 17,738 Tota l s .. .. 60,395 27,746 211,859 117,795 55,339 116,360 589,488 638,180 ££££££££ Profits 1,610 2,591 7,815 7,879 3,565 5,239 28,699 Losses " " •• 330 633 2,095 2,211 53 4,308 9,630 Net profits .. .. 1,280 1,958 5,720 5,668 3,512 931 19,069 3,421

H,— 4o

TABLE No. 18.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Average Operating - expenses and Revenue, by Transport Districts, in Pence per Vehicle-mile (North Island). — (a) Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for more than Nine Passengers, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

TABLE No. 19.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Average Operating-expenses and Revenue, by Transport Districts, in Pence per Vehicle-mile (North Island). —(b) Fleets comprising Vehicles having Seats for not more than Nine Passengers, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

42

North Island North Island t i North Island , Average for Average for -^ em - Central • 2 * 0, 4 * 0, -^ 0 * Year ended Year ended 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. ___J Operating-expenses— d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Vehicle-running costs (petrol, .. 4-86 5-19 5-04 5-48 6-59 5-49 5-72 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, depreciation) Vehicle standing charges .. 4-03 4-06 3-68 4-10 4-06 4-00 3-89 (license fees, wages, drawings in lieu of wages, insurance, garage fees) General overhead charges .. 0-99 0-74 1-13 0-67 1-22 0-92 1-11 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totals .. .. .. 9-88 9-99 9-85 10-25 11-87 10-41 10-72 Revenue— d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Passenger revenue.. .. .. 8-87 9-82 9-94 9-04 11-30 10-11 10-23 Mail-contract revenue .. .. 0-81 0-09 0-07 0-39 0-15 0-14 0-11 Newspaper revenue .. .. 0-19 0-02 0-02 0-18 0-03 0-04 0-04 Goods and parcels revenue .. .. 0-64 0-06 0-22 0-87 0-20 0-17 0-20 Other revenue .. .. .. 0-03 0-16 0-23 0-64 0-16 0-19 0-21 Totals .. .. .. 10-54 10-15 10-48 11-13 11-84 10-65 10-79

North Island North Island Item. No. 1. No. 2. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. &EEÊĪ &S?ffiS 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. Operating-expenses— d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Vehicle-running costs (petrol, 3-36 4-83 3-76 3-44 3-71 3-58 . 3-58 3-81 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, depreciation) Vehicle standing charges ]-92 2-31 1-97 1-92 1-95 2-21 2-01 2-20 (license fees, wages, drawings in lieu of wages, insurance, garage fees) General overhead charges 0-99 0-47 0-33 0-83 0-22 0-59 0-70 1-10 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totals .. .. 6-27 7-61 6-06 6-19 5-88 6-38 6-29 7^1 Revenue—■ d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Passenger revenue.. .. 5-52 5-77 4-66 5-46 3-70 3-62 4-90 5-80 Mail-contract revenue .. 0-04 1-18 0-78 0-55 1-31 0-94 0-62 0-49 Newspaper revenue .. 0-30 0-20 0-42 0-06 0-09 0-82 0-33 0-26 Goods and parcels revenue .. 0-60 0-74 0-43 0-44 1-20 0-94 0-65 0-52 Other revenue .. .. 0-01 0-31 0-05 0-05 0-11 0-26 0-10 0-09 Totals .. .. 6-47 8-20 6-34 6-56 6-41 6-58 6-60 7-16

H,— 40

TABLE No. 20.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Average Operating-expenses and Revenue, by Transport Districts, in Pence per Vehicle-mile (North Island). —(c) Fleets containing Vehicles having Seats for more than Nine and also for less than Nine Passengers, and also Fleets containing Vehicles carrying both Goods and Passengers, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

TABLE No. 21.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Average Operating-expenses and Revenue, by Transport Districts, in Pence per Vehicle-mile (North Island). —(d) Total for all Vehicles, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

7 —H. 40.

43

North Island North Island Worth Tilanii Average for Average lor Item. No - !• 0 - 2 - No - 4 - No. 5. No. 6. Year ended Year ended e 1 "■ 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. Operating-expenses— d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Vehicle-running costs (petrol, 3-63 5-87 5-10 5-20 4-71 4-74 4-62 5-29 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, depreciation) Vehicle standing charges 2-74 2-80 2-76 3-46 3-13 2-75 2-97 2-94 (license fees, wages, drawings in lieu of wages, insurance, garage fees) General overhead charges 1-06 1-15 0-93 1-43 1-63 0-60 1-21 1-62 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totals .. .. 7-43 9-83 8-79 10-03 9-47 8-15 8-80 9-85 Revenue— d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Passenger revenue.. .. 7-17 9-55 7-78 8-79 7-60 6 -23 7-76 7-87 Mail-contract revenue .. .. 0-79 0-16 0-16 1-06 0-99 0-37 0-43 Newspaper revenue .. 0-10 0-12 0-24 0-10 0-13 0-04 0-14 0-09 Goods and parcels revenue .. 0-20 0 ■ 27 0-91 0-74 0-44 1-44 0-56 0-62 Other revenue .. .. 0-06 0-04 0-42 0-43 0-77 .. 0-37 0-80 Totals .. .. 7-53 10-77 9-51 10-22 10-00 8-70 9-20 9-81

North Island North Island Worth Island Average for Average for Item. Tmt,»l No - !• No - 2 - No - 4 - No - 5 - No - Year eu ded Year ended ue ual - 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. Operating-expenses— d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Vehicle-running costs (petrol, 3-50 5-03 5-05 4-33 4'70 5-47 4'74 4'93 lubricants, tires, repairs, maintenance, depreciation) Vehicle standing charges 2-34 3-19 3-66 2-83 3-12 3-36 3-19 3-10 (license fees, wages, drawings in lieu of wages, insurance, garage fees) General overhead charges 1-02 0-83 0-73 1-05 1 • 15 0-97 0-92 1-82 (management and office expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totals .. .. 6-86 9-05 9-44 8-21 • 8-97 9-80 " 8-85 9-21 Revenue— d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Passenger revenue.. .. 6-36 7-88 9-03 7-65 7-18 8-42 8-05 8-18 Mail-contract revenue .. 0 ■ 02 0-94 0 • 10 0'31 0-97 0-46 0-33 0-30 Newspaper revenue .. 020 0 ■ I S 0-09 0-06 0-13 0-30 0'15 0-13 Goods and parcels revenue .. 0-40 0-61 0-23 0-43 0-68 0-51 0-40 0-39 Other revenue .. .. 0-03 0-13 0-19 0-18 0 62 0'19 0-21 0'26 Totals .. .. 7-01 9-74 9-70 8-63 9-58 9-88 9-14 9-26

H.-40

TABLE No. 22.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Statement of Assets and Liabilities of Licensed Passenger Services, by Transport Districts, as at 31st March, 1934 (North Island).

TABLE No. 23. —TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Details of Depreciation on Passenger-service Vehicles, by Transport Districts, as at 31st March, 1934 (North Island).

44

North Island North Island j, North Island -vr -i -vr n o -m-x a n ]\j- 0 a Total as at Total as at Item - Centra!. No '^ 0, A 0 ' 4 ' fl0 ' ' ' ' 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. (a) Liabilities. ££££££££ Capital .. .. .. 16,768 36,672 157,376 99,970 36,261 71,336 418,383 593,504 Reserves .. .. .. .. 2,760 5,949 2,301 1,617 5,021 17,648 40,996 Other liabilities .. .. 13,135 11,616 59,325 75,482 25,251 27,942 212,751 291,237 Total .. .. 29,903 51,048 222,650 177,753 63,129 104,299 648,782 925,737 (b) Assets. ££££££££ Passenger-service vehicles .. 13,172 14,401 86,476 63,896 32,101 57,094 267,140 356,907 Other vehicles .. .. 1,043 2,236 5,186 8,396 2,928 3,990 23,779 27,907 Stocks on hand .. .. 1,310 4,118 13,286 5,170 2,452 2,762 29,098 34,736 Plant and machinery .. 905 3,989 6,681 6,165 1,401 3,136 22,277 33,692 Land and buildings .. .. 1,126 9,254 55,324 46,532 4,196 15,206 131,638 145,110 Sundry debtors .. .. 3,806 8,639 13,270 18,332 6,564 3,932 54,543 60,373 Gash in hand and at bank .. 911 3,639 15,593 7,689 5,382 11,207 44,421 87,011 Other assets .. .. 7,630 4,772 26,834 21,573 8,105 6,972 75,886 180,001 Total .. .. 29,903 51,048 222,650 177,753 63,129 104,299 648,782 925,737

North Island North Island j. North Island -m- -i -m- 0 r> a c xr 0 « Total as at Total as at Item - Central. 1 * No '*' 0,4, 0,0, 0 ' 0 ' 31st March, 31st March, 1934. 1933. Number of vehicles .. .. 59 51 241 170 104 145 770 833 £ £££££.£ £ Original purchase price .. 26,032 27,679 201,092 125,356 63,394 146,115 589,668 675,993 Book value at commencement 16,694 17,355 112,168 74,004 36,934 72,107 329,262 432,012 of year Depreciation written off for year 3,522 2,954 25,692 10,108 4,833 15,013 62,122 75,105 Present book value .. .. 13,172 14,401 86,476 63,896 32,101 57,094 267,140 356,907 Unpaid purchase-money .. 497 1,016 9,722 8,336 4,809 3,051 27,431 40,744 Percentage of depreciation written off for year — Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. (а) Based on original pur- 13*5 10*7 12*8 8*1 7-6 10*3 10-5 11*1 chase price (б) Based on reducing value 21-1 17-0 22-9 13*7 13*1 20-8 18-9 17*4

TABLE No. 24.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Table showing the Position with respect to Applications for Goods-service Licenses for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

TABLE No. 25.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Classification of Vehicle Authorities according to Maximum Weights authorized to be carried (North and South Islands).

H.—4o

45

Number of Applications w, lm Vw n f Tw™«r.<> Number of Applica- Number of Decisions Number of Licenses to be dealt with. dumber of Decisions given. tiong wit hdrawn. deferred. issued. Granted. Refused. Licensing Authority. .1 . I J ~T " r ' -'..J--; j~T~> 71 .• » £ <£ ■: 5° a >> § a. ■ g . ■ P ■ 0 \ J I I -i 1 I 2d| § i 2 S"sg g 2 a p3 « s-i £ 2 o £ e C e £2 O > 1 § I 1 t 4 ! i I 3 |i! ! •$ SI I i I r i | I f l 3 eg 9 i 9 £ : 9 "S 9 $ 9 o o o s © o o ® o © a & H ! £ 6®:h hoojB h ; : i : ,—: L ; ! 1 L— — i r-prrri — Central Licensing Authority .. 277 7 .. 284 200 6 .. 206 16 .... | 16 7 1 j .. 8 54 .. .. i 54 200 6 .. 206 No. 1 Licensing Authority .. 188 6 25 219 180 2 25 207 ! 4 j 4 2 4 .. 6 2 .. .. 2 175 2 25 20_ No. 2 Licensing Authority .. 383 17 195 595 358 17 190 565 14 - - | 5 j 19 11 .. .. 11 357 17 190 564 No. 4 Licensing Authority .. j 262 12 2 276 231 11 2 244 25 1 ; .. ; 26 4 .... 4 2 .... 2 231 11 2 244 No. 5 Licensing Authority .. 215 13 22 250 206 10 21 237 3 .. 1 4 6 3 .. 9 j .. 206 10 , 21 237 No. 6 Licensing Authority ,.| 194 7 2 203 171 7 2 180 18 .... 18 5 .... 5 . ... 169 7 2 178 No. 7 Licensing Authority .. 147 10 25 182 132 9 24 165 5 1 1 7 2 .. .. 2 8 .. ■■ | No. 8 Licensing Authority .. 199 10 77 286 173 9 77 259 26 1 .. 27 ■ • •• •• ! 173 9 7 No. 9 Licensing Authority .. 154 4 .. 158 125 4 .. 129 6 .. .. ; 6 5 .. .. 5 18 | .. .. i 18 114 4 No. 10 Licensing Authority .. 127 13 1 141 122 13 j 1 136 :1 .. .. 1 1 ■■ ■■ I 122 13 ; 1 13b Post-offices .. .. 3,451 3,451 .. .. 3,451 3,451 I . .. .. .. •• •• ! •• ; o,451 3,451 Totals .. .. .. 2,146 99 3,800 6,045 1,898 88 :3,793 15,779 |118 j 3 7 128 43 8 j .. j 51 | 87 .. .. J 87 |l,879 88 3,793 j 5,760

6 Tons We iS ht Under 1 to « 11 to 2 2 to 21 ] 2J to 3 i 3 to 31 31 to 4 i 4 to 41 41 to 5 5 to 51 51 to 6 : d not t , 1 Ton. Tons." Tons. Tons. 1 Tons. Tons. : Tons. 1 Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons, j over a^e^' North Island .. 45 58 241 504 343 277 178 125 i 55 : 27 18 10 94 1,975 South Island .. 36 92 178 101 180 96 106 39 59 j 24 11 9 .. ] 931 Totals .. 81 150 419 605 523 373 1 284 164 114 51 29 19 94 2,906 Percentage .. ' 2*8 5-1 14-4 20*9 18-0 12-9 9*9 5*6 3-9 1*7 1-0 0-6 3-2 100

H,— 40,

TABLE No. 26.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Classification of Vehicle Authorities according to Size of Area or Route (North and South Islands).

TABLE No. 27.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Table showing Temporary Goods-service Licenses granted up to 31st March, 1934, according to Districts and Number of Licenses issued to Individual Operators.

46

Area Authorities. ~ defined bv Sidings. Mers where Areas defined by Counties. ~; Combined Iloutes and Area Authorities. Route Authorities. Umt)Cr ° f īn " K - Number of Counties. : Number of Counties. Number ol Counties. Total. 1- 1 2 ' I s ' ! 4 ' 5 ' 1 over, i TotaL 1 - 2 - 3 - j *■ j 5. j Total. 1. 2. 8. 4. 5. ®™ r d Total. 1. 2. 3. j 4. j 5. |j 6 0 ™ r d Total. Sh Island" " 27 50 50 29 14 *5 175 U « 'ol 903 75 145 ' 219 86 37 74 636 100 107 53 29 26 31 346 ! 1,975 Island.. .. 27 50 50 29 14 5 175 59 68 7 3 35 180 86 141 | 60 35 10 40 372 70 63 12 25 14 20 204 931 Totals .. 38 67 69 51 23 17 265 285 264 149 125 70 190 1,083 161 286 279 121 47 i 114 jl,008 170 j 170 65 54 40 51 550 j 2,906 Percentage .. .. 1-3 2-3 2-4 1-7 0-8 0-6 9-1 9-8 9-1 5-1 j 4-3 2-4 j 6-5 j 37-2 | 5-5 9-9 9-6 4-3 ;Te1 3-9 j 34-8 6-8 | 5-8 I 2-3 j 1-8 1-4 1-8 18-9 1W

Number of Temporary Licenses issued to Individual Operators. i ; i 1 1 ; t ; i'orDistrict. j ill Total eentage 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ' 7. 8. i 9 10 0ver l Tem P orar y of TotaL ' ' 10. Licenses 111 ill i issued. 1.. •• 29 23 8 6 2 4 1 1 .. 1 3 244 6-4 2.. .. 150 71 37 22 16 11 5 4 6 1 11 928 24-5 4 -- 61 27 15 4 2 1 1 1 208 5-5 5.. 75 25 16 7 4 2 1 2 2 279 7-4 6.. 68 31 26 11 6 5 5 2 1 9 501 13-2 7.. 35 15 9 10 3 4 3 2 2 1 5 324 8-5 8.. 49 25 13 23 8 7 6 1 6 5 14 676 17-8 9-- 55 20 12 5 5 2 1 2 2 1 3 284 7-5 10.. 43 14 15 9 4 3 5 1 1 1 7 349 9-2 Totals .. 565 251 151 97 50 39 28 15 17 11 55 3,793 100-0

H.—4o.

TABLE No. 28.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Revenue and Expenditure Statistics of Licensed Goods-services, by Transport Districts, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

47

North Island District Number. South Island District Number. T i qivi North Island South Island New Zealand item - Totals. Totals. Totals. 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Percentage of operators in district who supplied 59% 78% 62% 79% 78% .. 64% 73% 71% 67% j .. j returns j ■ Operating-expenses. £ £ £ £ £ £ £ \ £ £ £ £ £ Vehicle-running costs (petrol, lubricants, tires, 48,894 152,143 106,292 88,214 83,770 479,313 40,550 62,425 40,316 28,088 171,379 650,692 repairs, maintenance, and depreciation) j j Vehicle standing charges (license fees, wages, j 26,784 93,074 73,214 62,168 53,866 309,106 26,196 49,154 22,631 16,076 114,057 423,163 drawings in lieu of wages, insurance, garage j fees) General overhead charges (management and office | 5,831 27,726 30,853 16,821 17,907 99,138 4,674 10,491 7,303 2,277 24,745 123,883 expenses, interest, advertising, &c.) Totals .. .. .. .. ! 81,509 i 272,943 210,359 617,203 155,543 1 887,557 71,420 122,070 70,250 46,441 310,181 1,197,738 ! | . I - , V- ! I I ,| , I Revenue.. j £ £ £ £ £!£ £ £ ; £ 1 £ I £ £ Carriage of goods .. .. .. .. 75,938 288,457 207,776 179,769 174,293 926,233 77,907 124,357 78,816 48,409 1 329,489 1,255,722 Mail contracts .. .. .. .. 514, 2,854 8,777 2,581 1,810; 16,536 938 811 1,146 939 3,834 20,370 Passengers and other sources .. .. 16,813 ; 14,838 15,830 8,084 3,832 i 59,397 1,117 2,144 2,467 560 6,288 65,685 Totals .. .. .. .. 93,265 j 306,149 232,383 190,434 179,935 1,002,166 79,962 127.312 82,429 49,908 339,611 1,341,777 ' £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Net profit .. .. .. j 11,756 33,206 22,024 23,231 24,392 114,609 8,542 5,242 12,179 3,467 29,430 144,039

H,— 4o

TABLE No. 29.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Statement of Liabilities and Assets of Licensed Goods-services, by Transport Districts, as at 31st March, 1934.

48

North Island District Number. j xwfv South Island District Number. ... ,, jn ortn South New Item. 1 i 1 Island Island Zealand 1. 2. j 4. 5. ; 6. j TotaL j 7. 8. 9. 10. ! Total " : TotaL Percentage of opera- 59% 78% 62% 79% 1 78% .. 64% 73% 71% 67% tors in districts who supplied returns (a) Liabilities. £ £ £ ! £ £ £!£ £ £ £ £ £ Capital .. .. 83,130 ; 234, 335 223,968:146,342 143,562 831,337 67,421 94,458 98,540 26,781 287,200 1,118,617 Reserves .. .. 5,442 11,456 182 6,085 23,165 2,896 .. 282 .. 3,178 26 343 Other liabilities .. 43,317 119,494 125,600 | 95,368 65,496 449,275 21,757 ! 37,689 36,574 16,168 112,188 561 463 1 1 j- j 1 ; Totals .. 126,447 359,271 1361,024 241, 892 215,143 1,303,777 92,074 132,147 135,396 42,949 |402,566 1,706,343 (b) Assets. £ £ £ I £ £ i £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Goods -service 44,590 125,344 88,575 77,122 79,807 415.438 44,697 56,758 38,211 22,069 161,735 577,173 vehicles Other vehicles .. 2,813 13,242 8,624 11,178 8,751 44,608 5,345 4,799 3,146 1.793 15,083 59,691 Stock on hand .. 1,749 7,737 10,658 4,247 3,399 27,790 2,182 3,336 1,558 588 7,664 35,454 Plant and machinery 5,225 9,426 13,971 5,468 5,941 40,031 ! 2,977 3,426 3,579 1,116 11,098 51,129 Land and buildings 26,632 87,881 91,240 54,613 33,301 293,667 : 9,471 14,119 30,930 2,054 56,574 350,241 Sundry debtors .. 16,285 47,472 57,499 44,200 40,744 206,200 19,292 29,075 21,383 7 894 77,644 283,844 Cash on hand and at 6,165 31,597 31,070 13,553 17,834 100,219 6,636 18,495 7,784 6,493 39,408 139,627 bank Other assets .. 22,988 36,572 59,387 31,511 25,366 175,824 1,474 2,139 28,805 942 33,360 209,184 Totals .. 126,447 359,271 ,361,024 1241,892 215,143 1,303,777 |92,074 132,147 135,396 42,949 402,566 1,706,343

TABLE No. 30. —TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Details of Depreciation on Goods-service Vehicles, by Transport Districts, as at 31st March, 1934.

TABLE No. 31.—TRANSPORT LICENSING ACT, 1931. Principal Statistics of Licensed Goods-services, by Transport Districts, for Year ended 31st March, 1934.

H.—4o

49

North Island District Number. South Island District Number. North bouth NewZealaud Item. N i 1 ; T-~ I ■ - ..J Island i . lsl ' tn ' 1 Total. 1. ! 2. 4. | 5. ; 6. Tota1 ' 7. 8. 9. 10. TotaL Percentage of operators who supplied returns .. 59% | 78% 62% 79% 78% i .. j 64% 73% 71% 67% .. •' Number of vehicles .. .. .. 216 512 356 329 282 | 1,695 j 133 249 141 81 604 2 > 299 £ £ £ £ £ £ i £ £ £ £ £ | £ Original purchase price 77,882 239,541 202,981 152,003 157,408:829,815 187,285 121,627 75,485 35,054 319,451 1.149,266 Depreciation previously written off .. .. 24,369 83,497 95,770 57,902 64,912 j 326,450 j 32,588 50,963 30,243 l®' J-" ' cao'nem Book value at commencement of year .. .. 53,513 156,044 107,211 94,101 92,496 j 503,365 j 54,697 70,664 45,242 24,127 194,730 698,095 Depreciation written off for year .. .. 8,699 30,700 20,415 16,979 17,306 94,099 ; 10,089 13,709 8,051 4,871 ' Present book value .. ' 44,814 125,344 86,796 77,122 75,190 j 409,266 I 44,608 56,955 37,191 19,256 158,010 567,276 Unpaid purchase-money 8,913 29,845 16,771 16,821 11,755 I 84,105' 5,988 8,008 8,601 6,189 28,786 112,891 j . J {

Item _ I District No. 1. | District No. 2. I District No. 4. District No. 5. j District No. 6. District No. 7. District No. 8. District No. 9. | District No. 10. New Zealand. Number of operators .. . .. •• 218 370 279 239 205 135 194 13-» J 30 1,904 Number of vehicle authorities .. .. .. .. 295 606 442 368 293 223 315 ' ] ■& Average number of vehicle authorities per operator .. .. 1-4 1-6 1-6 1-5 1-4 1-0 T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. T. cwt. Average weight authorized to be carried per vehicle authority 2 0 2 9 2 18 2 16 2 19 3 4 o 5 2 13 8 2 14 Total annual vehicle-mileage .. 2,544,793 7,403,311 5,189,507 4,214,288 4,128,280 1,513,723 3,626,982 1,842,427 1,496,189 31,959,500 mileage per vehicle !! !. .. 15,684 14',296 14,532 18,500 10,660 15,700 12,619 !4,249 14,435 d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. d. Running-costs per mile, in pence .. .. .. 4-61 4-93 4-92 5-02 4-90 6-43 4-13 5-2o 4 51 4 88 Standing charges per mile, in pence .. .. .. 2-53 3-02 3-38 3-54 3-10 4-15 3-^5 Overhead charges per mile, in pence .. .. .. 0-55 0-89 1'43 0-96 1-00 0'/4 0-70 ■> Total operating-costs per mile, in pence .. .. .. 7-69 8-84 9-73 9-52 9-00 11 -32 em in Revenue per rnile, in pence . 8-80 9-92 10-75 10-24 10-50 12-68 8-43 10-74 8-01 10-08 Profit per mile, in pence .. .. •• I'll 1-08 1-02 0-72 1-50 1-36 0 35 1 59 0 56 1 09

H.—4o.

TABLE No. 32.—FATAL MOTOR ACCIDENTS. Table showing Analyses of various Data relating to Fatal Motor Accidents in the Dominion during the Years ended 31st March, 1930 to 1934.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given; printing (800 copies), £75.

Price Is. 3d.] By Authority : G. H. Loney, Government Printer, Wellington.—l 934,

50

H.—40. 50 TABLE No. 32.—FATAL MOTOR ACCIDENTS. Table showing Analyses of various Data relating to Fatal Motor Accidents in the Dominion during the Years ended 31st March, 1930 to 1934. Year ended 31st Year ended 31st March, _ _ March, 1930.1931.1932.1933. 1934. 1930.1931.1932.1933, 1934. j ~ — I 1. Number of Accidents. j 2. Number op Persons killed in Motor Accidents. (a) Classified according to Main Causes. (a) Classified according to Age of the Collisions — ! Person killed. Motor-vehicle with pedestrian .. 52 55 30 45 26 j 0-4 years .. .. .. .. 10 7 4 5 9 Motor-vehicle with motor-vehicle .. 40 75 29 39 21 5-9 years .. .. .. .. 8 9 811 4 Motor-vehicle with train .. .. 7 11 8 3 9 10-14 years .. .. .. 2 5 5 4 4 Motor-vehicle with tram .. .. 1 1 1 1 15-19 years . . .. .. 17 24 18 17 13 Motor-vehicle with bicycle .. 12 7 11 16 15 20-24 years .. .. 30 45 15 15 18 Motor-vehicle with horse-vehicle or 4 1 16 4 25- 54 years .. . . 83 100 81 60 56 horse under control 55 years and over .. .. .. 36 57 26 31 31 Motor-vehicle with fixed object .. 6 8 15 5 6 Motor-vehicle with straying stock .. 1 1 . . 1 2 Total deaths . . . . 186 247 157 143 135 No collisions — Went over bank .. .. 27 29 22 9 18 (b) Classified according to the Location of Otherwise .. . . 22 33 31 15 24 the Person killed. Pedestrians.. .. .. .. 53 55 28 45 26 Total accidents .. .. 172 221 148 140 125 On motor-cycles .. . . .. 51 58 47 39 27 i On other motor-vehicles .. ..68 119 72 38 64 fb) Classified according to Hour of On other vehicles or horses .. 14 15 10 21 18 Accident. \ j Midnight to 1 a.m. .. .. .... 4 4 2 4 1 Total deaths .. .. 186 247 157 143 135 1 to 6 a.m. .. . . 7 8 3 5 5 6 to 7 a.m. . . . . . . 1 1 2 7 to 8 a.m. . . . . .. ! I 7 5 4 3 3. Types oe Vehicle involved. 8 to 9 a.m. . . ..6 5 1 2 3 Motor-cycle .. .. .. 59 64 51 48 27 9 to 10 a.m. .. .. 4 4 4 2 6 Private motor-car .. .. ..105 132 75 73 67 10 to 11 a.m. .. .. . . : 5 10 6 11 8 Taxi-cab .. .. .. .. 2 4 11 5 5 11 to noon . . . . . . 11 15 8 9 10! Service-car .. .. ..55132 12 to 1 p.m. .. .. 4 5 9 7 5 Motor-omnibus .. .. .. 3 5 4.. 1 1 to 2 p.m. . . . . . 10 4 9 8 4 Motor lorry or van .. .. 39 46 29 44 38 2 to 3 p.m. .. .. .. 8 13 8 4 6 Bicycle .. .. .. ..12 7 11 20 17 3 to 4 p.m. .. .. 2 16 8 9 8 Tram .. .. .. .. 2 1 1 1 .. 4 to 5 p.m. .. . . 24 18 14 12 10 Horse-drawn .. .. .. 4 .. .. 5 4 5 to 6 p.m. . . . . .. i 23 20 17 15 17 Train .. .. .. ..79739 6 to 7 p.m. .. .. 23 24 18 16 8 Other vehicles .. .. .. 1 .. 1 .. .. 7 to 8 p.m. . . . . 11 16 9 15 14 8 to 9 p.m. . . 12 20 4 8 4 Total vehicles .. .. 239 273 191 202 170 9 to 10 p.m. . . . . 5 7 9 3 2 ' 10 to 11 p.m. .. .. 8 14 6 4 4 „ T ri 11 to 12 midnight . 7 10 6 2 4 .Breaches oe Law, and other Causes of Fatal Motor Accidents. Total accidents .. ..172 221 148 140 125 Breaches of law—Excessive speed m circumstances — (a) But not exceeding 20 miles per 33 6 5 6 I (c) Classified according to Day of Week. hour Sunday . . . . '. . .. 26 33 24 22 17 (>>) Exceeding 20 but not exceeding 35 25 19 16 15 Monday . . . . . . .. 23 28 21 13 23 35 miles per hour Tuesday .. .. .. 17 24 14 17 11 (c) Exceeding 35 miles per hour .. 18 32 13 9 8 Wednesday.. .. .. .. 28 25 10 17 10 On wrong side of road .. .. 24 38 19 22 13 Thursday' .. .. .. . . 21 23 13 20 15 Did not comply with " offside" rule.. 7 7 7 11 8 Friday ' . . . . .. .. 22 33 27 19 13 Passing standing tram .. .. 3 Saturday .. . . .. .. 35 55 39 32 36 I Other passing breaches .. -.9 4 2 1 4 Failure of driver to signal— Total accidents .. .. 172 221 148 140 125 Motor-vehicles .. . . .. 3 .. 2 .. .. Other vehicles .. .. .. 2 .... 1 Breaches of law relating to railway- 7 11 7 3 8 (d) Classified according to Condition of intersections Light. Vehicle without rear reflector or with 2 2 1 1 Daylight . . .. .. 86 89 93 80 72 inefficient one Dusk • • • • • • .. 19 34 13 4 12 Faulty brakes .. .. .. 8 9 6 7 2 Artificial lighting .. .. 22 20 12 3 12 No lights or inefficient lights (including 22 17 9 14 15 Darkness or moonlight .. .. 45 78 30 53 29 horse vehicles and bicycles) Glaring headlights.. .. .. 4 10 2 4 2 Total accidents . . .. 172 221 148 140 125 Faulty steering-gear .. ..3 4 3 2 2 Faulty tires or wheels .. .. 4 8 4 1 Driver's mild intoxication a factor in 12 26 7 6 2 (e) Classified according to Nature of accident Thoroughfare. Driver's severe intoxication a factor in 3 7 4 4 2 Intersection .. .. .. 19 18 17 20 19 accident .Railway-crossing . . .. . . 7 9 7 3 9 Driver unlicensed or inexperienced .. 5 2 7 2 3 Nature or condition of road (bad surface 48 51 27 12 .18 Straying stock . . .. ..11112 or bend, &c., contributed to accident) Other breaches of law .. .. 5 2 1 12 3 Road conditions not a factor .. 98 143 97 105 79 Other causes— Bad weather conditions .. 19 4 3 1 9 Total accidents .. . . 172 221 148 140 125 Vehicle being reversed .. .. 3 2 5 6 Obstruction to view by parked motor- 4 5 1 vehicle Sun-dazzle .. .. .. 2 (f) Classified according to Geographical Driver's physical defect a direct cause 4 .. 1 2 1 Location. Motorist and pedestrian— (a) North Island— Motorist at fault .. .. .. 17 9 1 13 5 Auckland City and environs .. 29 25 28 33 19 Pedestrian (not intoxicated) crossing or 17 30 12 19 9 Wellington City and environs . . 16 19 15 8 13 on road without care or becoming Other towns . . .. .. 20 31 14 7 10 confused Country . . .. 57 88 48 40 44 Pedestrian intoxicated .. .. 5 5 3 2 6 (b) South Island — Children on streets .. ..2 7 7 6 2 Christchurch City and environs .. 13 14 9 16 10 Infant (under six) not under proper 9 115 3 Dunedin City and environs .. 4 8 4 2 6 control Other towns . . .. .. 8 11 II 14 7 Other causes of pedestrian accidents 6 1 4 1 Country .. .. 25 25 19 20 16 Causes not included under the above head- 4 22 34 17 13 ings ] Total accidents .. .. 172 221 148 '140 125 Total causes .. 302 297 1185 193 146 Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given; printing (800 copies), £75. Price Is. 3d.] By Authority : G. H. Loney, Government Printer, Wellington.—1934.