CONTROL OF OMNIBUSES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 9, 12 January 1926, Page 11

CONTROL OF OMNIBUSES.

NEW LYNN'S VIEW. ' The New Lynn Town Board at a meeting decided to protest against the draft regulations submitted by the Public Works Department for the control of motor omnibuses. Last night the board decided to register its protest.as follows:— * "The board feels that the cumulative effect of the regulations will be to stifle a reasonable competition between tramway and omnibus enterprises, and any legislation founded on such principle is fundamentally bad and opposed to the best British sentiment. "The users of public transit facilities are the best judges of the class and character of transit suitable to their temperament and convenience, and therefore all classes of public transit should be placed as nearly as possible on an equal footing. "The operation of the proposed regulations is clearly in favour of tramway concerns, notwithstanding that the general run of motor omnibus enterprises aim at giving to the public a Wider and more efficient means of transit than is possible by means of tramways. "It is feared that if the whole of the suburban transit is forced to depend on one means—the tramways—the present possibility of strikes is practically rendered a certainty, and considering the great inconvenience which would be suffered by suburban residents with little prospect of any source of relief being available (at present there are organised bus services which could meet the circumstances), the controllers of tramways would be almost Compelled to accede to demands made in order to meet the needs of the people. It should be remembered that some of the present bus "services resulted from tramway and railway strikes. "The tramway services art mostly confined to the city and close suburban areas, whereas omnibus transit extends to localities many miles distant from the city, bringing such districts within reasonable travelling time of the city. - "Occasionally the point is raised relative to the tendency to residential congestion in and near the city, and the great need in the best interests of public health that the people should- be encouraged to reside further out where conditions are more open and the atmosphere purer. "The advent of motor omnibus Services has greatly aided this desirable spreading out of residential settlement, and may still be an important factor in further development along such lines. It is beyond question that a healthier and better class, of citizenship is attained by means of residential localities where people can own their own homes with suitable areas of grounds. "There is no possibility of tramway services fulfilling _ueh a function owing to the heavy initial cost and the probability of the necessity of running at a loss for Some considerable time. "Apparently the Wider advantages of motor omnibus transit and the broader issues at Stake by any curtailment of such services r_ve been largely overlooked in drafting regulations imposing the restriction_ relative to insurance and fares as set out in the proposed regulations. "Further, some localities are at present entirely dependent on motor omnibus transit, and in Such cases practically all future development must rely on sUch services. No doubt the conditions existing in this respect in and around Auckland prevail generally throughout the Dominion, and the board feels compelled to strongly oppose any legislation which Will operate unduly against" motor transit services. "It is considered that a minimum insurance of £1000 or a satisfactory bond is ample, and that all transit enterprises should be on equal footing in connection with any Regulations put into operation for the safety and welfare of the public."