CHEAP RAILWAY FARES

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 4527, 2 December 1884, Page 4

CHEAP RAILWAY FARES

While Mr Samuel Vaile's utterances on the management of Now Zealand railways are as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the Government of- Victoria (in which colony the railways are controlled by a nonpolitical board) have practically proved the correctness of his theories on thereduction of fares increasing the receipts and profits. The Victorian Railway Commissioners recently reduced the price of yearly tickets, which enable the holders to travel over all the line«i, except the suburban ones, from £108 to £75, with the result that there has been a large demand for them. They also issued £25 yearly tickets between Geelong and M elboutjio, and so successful has this experiment been that the Commissioners have been compelled to extend it to.six other towns. The railway returns also continue to oxhibit most gratifying increases. The estimate for the year ended June 30 last was £1,900,000, and the actual receipts £2,083,000. From July 1 to October 30 £663.000 was received, against £581,000 for the corresponding period of 1883. A similar liberal policy on the railways of this colony would, no doubt, produce equally good results. .