SUGGESTED TRAMWAY BOARD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 176, 25 July 1907, Page 5

SUGGESTED TRAMWAY BOARD.

ACTION BY THE MAYOE,

LETTER TO LONDON DIRECTORATE.

At the special meeting of the Auckland City Council to-day, the Mayor, Mr. A. M. Myers, referred to the suggestion made by Dr. Stopford at the last meeting of the Council, that an endeavour should be made to form a Tramways Board in Auckland to take over and control the Auckland Electric Tramway system. Mr. Myers said that irritation which at present existed would continue to a greater or less extent [while the controlling authority was 13,000 miles aw-ay, and read the following communication which he had forwarded to the chairman of directors, Mr. Tegetmeier.

C. G. Tegetmeier, Esq., Chairman of Directors Auckland Electric Tram-

ways Company, Ltd., London, W.C.

Dear Sir, — You will doubtless be somewhat surprised to receive a communication from mc of a nature which you had probably not expected; but it is only after very careful consideration that I take the liberty of addressing you upon the present unsatisfactory position of the Auckland Electric Tramways, which I have had to consider both from the point of view of my position as Mayor of this City, and also as a citizen not wholly unconnected with local enterprise- You must be aware, from the advices of your General Manager, of the friction that has arisen on various grounds between the Company and the different local bodies through whose districts the tramways are Laid, and are doubtless advised of the acute stage which matters have now reached. The more serious causes of the dissatisfaction which is at present so freely expressed by the local bodies and the public generally are the insufficiency of rolling stock to carry the passenger traffic, the condition of such rolling stock, and tye apparent insufficiency of electric power to enable the service to be carried ont without vexatious delays. There are in addition many other points in regard to which local requirements are not met so readily as is desired, all helping to swell the prevailing dissatisfaction. Public feeling runs very high on these matters; I need not, however, enlarge on them, but merely emphasise them in order to bring clearly before you the fact that a good deal of the trouble might be obviated were the supreme management of the company located in this city. It is apparent that where reference has to be made from one side of the world to the other, and replies awaited before different questions of more or less local urgency can ba decided, a considerable amount of annoyance and irritation is thereby caused, which could be avoided if such questions could be determined by a Board situ» ated on the spot. Tou are aware also that in our colony so many public services are owned either by the Government or local authorities, that there is a very great deal of antagonism to the private ownership of anything of the character of a tramway concession; and this is naturally intensified in the case of the Auckland Tramways by the fact of the ownership being in the hands of a company having its headquarters and the bulk of its capital outside the courutry altogether; especially as in the three other principal cities of New Zealand the tramways are owned by the municipalities, ,and an impression prevails rightly or wrongly, that they are managed with much more regard to the public convenience than is the case in Auckland. As the Auckland tramways run through several districts, municipal ownership by one body would perhaps not be quite feasible; but it would be possible to unite the interests of all districts by th e establishment of a separate Tramways Board to control the whole system. In view of the above facts, I would ask you to consider very seriously how difficult it is to carry on the undertaking under present conditions, and whether, in the interests both of the Company and of the people of Auckland, it would not be better to face the position now, and enter into negotiations for the transference of the rights and property of the Company to a local Tramways Board. To put the matter into a practical shape, I would i venture to ask for a reply to the followj ing question:—ls your Company prepared to negotiate for the sale of the •whole of its interests in. the Auckland Electric Tramways to a local Tramways Board, who would obtain legislative authority to acquire and work the concern on behalf and for the benefit of the various local bodies interested; and if so, upon what basis can the price to be paid be assessed , ? I am, I think, correct in assuming that over forty per cent of your shares are at present held by the public of Auckland, and the British Electric Traction Company own the remainder. I can only again in conclusion urge you to be good enough to give my suggestions your earnest consideration, as I feel assured that they are in the interests not only of the public of Auckland, but of the shareholders of the Auckland Electric Tramways Co.; and I trust that you will see your way to send a representative to Auckland at the earliest possible moment, who will be able to see for himself the acute positon of affairs between your Company and the various local bodies, and who will have full authority to deal with the whole question."