H—4o

New Vehicles. —The following table shows the number of new vehicles of various types placed in service during the year : Vehicle Group. Number of Vehicles. Omnibuses .. .. .. .. 197 Trolley buses Service cars .. .. .. .. 3 Service coaches .. .. .. 52 Passenger-trucks .. .. .. 42 School buses .. .. .. .. 61 School vehicles .. .. .. 14 Taxis .. .. .. .. 152 Rental Cars .. .. .. .. 233 Ambulances .. .. .. .. 21 Goods-service vehicles .. .. 1,292 Total .. .. .. 2,067 Although there has been a small increase in the number of new passenger-service vehicles constructed in New Zealand compared with last year, the majority have been used to meet the demands of the expanding passenger services rather than to replace the older vehicles. During the past year 7,211 new commercial vehicles were imported, but a comparison of the motor-registration figures shows that practically all of this number were absorbed, there being two hundred to three hundred vehicles scrapped. In regard to motor-cars, 11,010 new vehicles were imported during the year, but as the number in operation increasd by 7,200 only 3,800 cars were available as replacements for the old and worn-out vehicles. In New Zealand to-day there are some 180,000 cars which are ten or more years of age, and it seems clear that for many years to come the bulk of private motoring will have to be done in vehicles which by pre-war standards would have been regarded as having reached the end of their economic lives. Number of Vehicles.—The number of passenger and goocte-service vehicles in operation showed an increase of 1,370 over the figures for the previous year. Details of the vehicles now in operation are set out in Table 21. Ownership of Passenger and Goods-service Vehicles. —The percentage of passenger-service vehicles privately owned shows a slight increase over the figures for the previous year, while the distribution of goods-service vehicles between State and private ownership has . remained relatively constant. Table 22 gives details of the distribution of passenger and goods service vehicles as between local-body, State, and private ownership. Size of Vehicles. —Table 23 sets out the seating-capacities of the various types of passenger-service vehicles in operation. .Table 24 shows the distribution of taxis and rental cars in operation according to horse-power (R.A.C.) ratings. Table 25 gives the gross carrying-capacities of licensed goods-service vehicles according to the " Heavy Traffic " Classification. Table 26 shows the distribution of licensed goods-service vehicles according to axle types. It may be stated that there is a marked tendency for larger vehicles to be placed in service when the older models fall due for replacement.

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