TRAMWAY FARES.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 118, 18 May 1920, Page 5

TRAMWAY FARES.

THE ELDEST CHILD. CAN' IT HAVE COXSIDERATIOX ? CONCESSIONS ASKED FOR POX3ONBY A deputation of residents of City West, from t|ie Heme Bay and l'onsonby districts, waited on tne City Council last night with suggestions that were brought dawn by a meeting of Puneonby and Heme Bay ratepayers last week." These ideas, as a<lvanco<l by Messrs. .1. B. Johnston an.l Tf. Druiiirnond, tin , spokesmen for tin- party. directly concerned Mr. 11. N. Bugnull introduced the deputntion iind after tlie speakers had been heard by the Council and answered by the Mayor. Mr. Uagnall moved that their suggestions he dealt with immediately, in open council. This was negatived, and the Council went into committee. Tlie Mayor told the deputation that a great deal of careful consideration had been given to the I'onsonby and Heme Hay lines, in common with' the whole tramway system, but in view of the arguments put. forward by the deputafion lie promised .-till further consideration of Iheir wants and the possibility of meeting them, having regara. of course, to f.iirness to the people of other districts. The first speaker was Mr. Johnston, who laid down three points that had been made at llie meeting. The firstly was the principle that all section fares should he for eqiral distances on all roads. Another point made was that V-oncew-ions should be uniform so that dwellers near the city would be under no disadvantage, and the third, advanced in no parochial spirit, was an outline of the case for Herne Bay. The speaked meant by Heme Bay the district from the terminus , to the Three Lamps. TTe said the run ' from the city to the Three Lamps w.ie the only line in Auckland where a distance under two miles hal been cut into two sections, as was the present case on the College Hill line, and he submitted several disadvantages in having a section ending at Beaumont Street, as j proposed. Mr. Johnston made a point also of the fact that Ponson'by and its neighbourhood was the. city's "oMee't child." "Sorely." lie said, "the c:ty can privo some snecial consideration to its fir?t-born. The district has carried the burden for so long." Following upon these- remarks Mr. •Drummond said the. comparison of the fares and distance* foT the whole system had convinced peopia in cifcy west tliey were under disadvantage. On other j lines the average section dktanee waa 1.3 miles, whereas for Herne Bay it was S miles only, and the heavy concession on the threepenny ticket, alco the half-penny section from the Lamps to the barn was considered by ratepayers as an acknowledgment of this handicap.. But the concession was more apparent than real, for the first section ended at the foot of the hill, and tho.-e who lived at or about the Three Lamps were often com-pelleJ to pay the twopenny fare hecau'se it was hard on them to have to ■walk up the hill, even though they realised* that the extra penny wae too much. It would be a very real concession if tlte College Hill line were reduced to a penny fare from Customs Street to the Three Lamps. In reply the Mayor summed tip the three points raked, saying that the principal of equal fares for equal distances on the whole system was logical and unanswerable. The Council had adopted it as a policy to interfere with the sections aa little as was posrbie. It dM not want to disturb them except where it was absolutely necessary, and in the case of Beaumont *Street the matter was given every consideration before the change was "proposed. In the" matter of extending the section to the Three Lamps the difficulties in the way of the Council were very great. Once a concession was granted anywhere there was a defcge of rcqnests for similar consideration. Even now every district wanted some special concession. Great care had been exercised in mating the sections in the endeavour to see that those living within or near the city or in the nearer eu-burbs were not handicapped in comparison with the folk living further out. The matter of extending this section would be considered again, but it would have to be dealt with in relation to the whole system. The requests were considered in committee. NO FREE PASSES. A MISAPPREHENSION". The idea abroad that a number of people enjoy the possession of free tram passes was exploded by a definite statement on the subject this morning by tho Mayor. "There are no. free passes

whatever for any portion of the system,"' said Mr. Gunson. The only passes issued arc (1) contract tickets, which ore sold at reduced rates to certain civil and municipal servants, and which have been continued on the same terms as they were formerly issued by the company. (2) The only other passes arc those issued to the tramway employees, and which are included in the terms of the agreement as to their pay, and therefore in that sense are not free passes. These are a con- ; tinuation of the same agreement under which the counciT is wording siuce vt took over from the company. The city I councillors have no passes for the tramj. and the council lias no intention of j issuing passes to the councillors. The policy of the council i<. and it no doubt will be maintained, that free passes on j the trams could not under any consideraUion ho voted. Otherwise the system I firstly followed, and now adopted by the I council would have to be reconsidered. The tramway service U lirs-t of ill] i\ i luisimii* undertaking, ami tlic i-ouncil ■ »ili give the best value ponninlc to the : community in the matter of this importanl transit service.' , i■ — .