THE RAILWAY ZONE SYSTEM.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 2, 3 January 1925, Page 4

THE RAILWAY ZONE SYSTEM.

(To the Editor.! Sir,—To read the suggestions of the Railways Commission one would be almost ready to believe that Vaile stage system is responsible for some of the suggestions, only Vaile went one better, by making a seven mile stage fourpencc. The Commission's recommendation is threepence for three miles—Vaile's charges would lead to a larger amount of passenger traffic. His views were to get the people out of the towns into the country and the views of the Commission are the same; but even the members of the British Commission would hesitate to have one stage of fourpence for the second class fare from Pukekohe to Frankton, some 55 miles, and this was put forward thirty years ago, when there was very little settlement. The whole mileage system is a mistake. It is simply the turnpike system on railways; the road turnpike system has been abolished and the railway turnpike system requires to be swept away also. In the year 1886—nearly forty years since—the Government accountant went exhaustively into Vaile's railway stage system and declared, after investigation for 12 months on the longest stage then proposed, Helensville to Morrinsville, 141 miles, which at fourpence per stage would be three shillings and eightpence second class, tho returns for 12 months could not be less than one shilling per passenger. The actual returns were one shilling and elevenpence, which proved that under Vaile's irreducible minimum of one shilling it woulu only require two passengers to one travelling on the stage fares to return more than the Government rates. The returns for the Helensville-Morrinsville line gave as results of investigation that 68 per cent of the passenger traffic up to 10 miles gave 24 per cent of the revenue, 10 miles to 50 miles gave 25 per cent of the travellers who contributed 39.2 per cent of the revenue, and over 50 miles 5.9 of the travelling public paid 36.7 per cent of the revenue returns for the 12 months. Nearly 40 years ago, 424,000 passengers paid" £40,000 and less' than twice that number gave the same results on Vaile's stage system. The whole matter rests on the question of whether two passengers to one would travel on the smaller stage system rates. With faster trains and better conditions of travel it appears to mc certain that more than twice the number would travel in 12 months. —I am, etc., P. E. CHEAL.