Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1947. PRICE OF PETROL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 67, Issue 158, 17 April 1947, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1947. PRICE OF PETROL

The increase in the price of petrol by one penny a gallon does not, on the face of it, appear to be a great deal to the average motorist, but the cumulative effect is very considerable, and it is little wonder that individual automobile associations and the South Island Motor Union, which represents a vast body of motorists, are protesting against the increase. The rise is no doubt due to an increase in the price overseas, and naturally has to be met by motor users in this country. In the case of private motorists, the increase will have to be paid, without any chance of passing the extra burden on, but the same may not be the position with commercial users. Businesses in this category are reacting very unfavourably to the latest ’ increase, and this is not to be wondered at because instead of an increase, most firms were expecting a measure of relief. As the manager of one big firm in a southern city put it, the increase of one penny a gallon does not sound much, but it was quite a different matter when it came to reckoning up the total over a year, when consumption amounted to some thousands of gallons of petrol. In the case of this particular firm, there appeared to be only one alternative, an increase in freight, charges. If one firm is viewing the matter in that light, thousands of others must be doing likewise, and in the long run the public will have to pay the extra penny. Many people regarded the introduction of the 40-hour week as a good thing. It certainly had its good points, but so far as the transport industry is concerned, it meant that many firms, in order to cope with the volume of business offering, were obliged to employ larger staffs and to place more trucks on the road in order to execute the work efficiently and with reasonable expedition. That meant an increase in overhead costs, and the load has now been added to by the increase in the price of petrol. It is not yet known whether taxiproprietors and firms conducting passenger transport services will be permitted to increase fares in an effort to meet the extra overhead placed on them, but it is more than likely that some small increase in fares may eventually come, and again the public will have to pay.' Motoring organisations have been pushing for a revision of wartime taxation, and now they will have an additional argument in their efforts to secure some relief.