H—4o

On an average mileage per vehicle owned of 12,304, the profit per vehicle was £B6. If only vehicles usefully employed are considered, the profit per vehicle was £95. On a vehicle-mile basis the profit was l-67d. (c) Distribution of Rental Cars. —Tables 58 to 60 show the distribution of the vehicles in the four main centres, secondary towns, townships, &c. Of the four main cities, Wellington has the most rental cars in relation to population and Christchurch the least. As in the case of taxis, population alone is a very general guide only and is subject to important qualifications. Table 61, showing the distribution of vehicles by firms, portrays quite clearly the importance of the small firms in the rental-car industry. Approximately 40 per cent, of the vehicles are owned by firms each having not more than seven vehicles. Approximately 25 per cent, of the vehicles are owned by firms each operating twenty or more vehicles. There is no clearly defined line of demarcation between the firms engaged solely in rental-car hiring and those which combine it with other work. Some of the firms performing exclusively rental-car work own only three or four vehicles ; on the other hand, there are a few firms operating ten or more vehicles, and some of these firms combine other forms of business with the hiring of rental cars. General: The future demand for rental cars will depend largely upon the availability of new cars, the general state of prosperity, and the standard of service which can be given by other forms of transport. D. GOODS SERVICES (a) Licensing.—During the year ended 31st March, 1950, the District Licensing Authorities dealt with 3,072 applications relating to goods services—337 new goodsservice licences were granted, 1,008 licences renewed, 795 amended, and 481 licences transferred. Full details of the manner in which applications relating to goods services have been dealt with are set out in Tables 36 and 37. (b) Financial and Operating Statistics, 1948-49.—Tables 62 to 69 in the Appendix detail financial and traffic statistics for licensed goods services in the Dominion for the year ended 31st March, 1949. General: While the railways retain their superiority in the field of heavy-goods transport, particularly for low-rated commodities over long distances, the goods road transport industry is now indispensable in the economy of the country. Table I shows comparative figures for the classification in percentage form of the relative positions occupied by the various forms of road transport: —

Table I—Capital Invested in Railways, Tramways, and Road Transport as at 31st March

28

— 1929. 1949. Per Cent. Per Cent. Railways .. .. 46-48 22-16 Tramways 2-72 1-71 Roads and motor transport 50-80 74-42 Air 1-71 100-00 100-00