D.—2.

Subsidiary Services Expenditure.— -The particulars of the expenditure in connection with subsidiary services are as follow :— 1930--31. 1929-30. 1928-29. Lake Wakatipu steamers .. .. 14,064 18,374 17,425 Refreshment service .. .. 116,506 125,230 116,391 Advertising service .. .. .. 48,692 53,151 50,720 Departmental dwellings .. .. 178,410 187,816 170,073 Leases bookstalls, &c. .. ... 9,804 9,144 8 483 Road-motor services .. .. 109,191 117,118 111,'712 £476,667 £510,833 £474,804 Analyses of the above variations are contained under the appropriate heading for each of these services as set out later in this report. Passengers. An analysis of the passenger revenue is as follows : —■

The variations exclusive of season tickets were distributed as follow :—

The principal decrease for the year was in ordinary passengers, £222,108 ; the revenue in first- , and second-class passengers under this heading decreased by 25-5 per cent, and 16-6 per cent, respectively as compared with 1930. The increase in holiday-excursion traffic was due to the fact that the Easter holidays for 1930 were late in April and were included in the figures for the year under review. A large proportion of advance bookings for Easter, 1931, are also included in the passenger returns for the past year. The bookings for the Christmas issue of holiday-excursion tickets from 15th December, 1930, to 15th January, 1931, show a decrease of £13,500 as compared with the previous year, while the ordinary issues in the same period, decreased by £13,250. The Royal Commission on Railways recommended an increase in the ordinary, holiday-excursion, season tickets, and workers' weekly fares, and these increases were brought into operation on 16th November, 1930. In a period of depression such as has existed in the Dominion for some time past it is difficult to estimate what effect this increase has had on the issues for the various classes of tickets.

XIV

— 1931. 1930. Variation. Per Cent. Passenger journeys— Ordinary Season 7,265,912 15,521,144 8,469,038 16,911,076 -1,203.126 -1,389,932 14-21 8-22 Total 22,787,056 25,380,114 -2,593,058 10-22 Revenue— Ordinary Season £ 1,531,376 247,349 £ 1,733,512 262,415 £ -202,136 -15,066 £ 11-66 5-74 Total 1,778,725 1,995,927 -217,202 10-88 Passenger train-miles 4,874,650 5,037,775 -163,125 3-24 Revenue— Per mile of line Per train-mile £ 539 87-58d. £ 607 95-08d. £ -68 -7-50d. • £ 11-2 7-8

1931 compared with 1930. 1930 compared with 1929. Journeys. Revenue. Journeys. Revenue. Ordinary Suburban Holiday excursion Other reduced fares £ -754,377 -222,108 -367,794 -15,451 +43,636 +56.354 -224,591 -20,931 -454,773 -163,580 -224,635 +265,759 £ -70,084 -8,352 -80,203 +24,105 Total -1,203,126 -202,136 -577,229 -134,534