THE BUS REGULATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 161, 9 July 1926, Page 8

THE BUS REGULATIONS.

UNFAIR COMPETITION.

RATEPAYERS CARRY THE

BURDEN.

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. Criticising a statement made by Sir John Luke in the House of Representatives that bus competition -was fair in the House to-night Mr. J. McCombs pointed out that there would be no bus services at all if private companies were compelled to make provision for peak loads. In Christ church 70,000 was an average load for one day, but the peak load on an exceptionally busy day was 152,000. If the buses were to provide for the handling of such a load the private companies would have 70 per cent of their vehicles idle in ordinary times. The capital cost involved in providing for peak loads would mean the disappearance of private companies. Th a buses were taking a slice out of the traffic owned by the people of the city. ilr. Potter objected that only a section of the people of Auckland ensued the trams. Mr. MeCombs said the fact remained that when the ratepayers bought the trams they thought they were purchasing a monopoly of passenger traffic Hβ maintained that it was unfair that, under the Tramways Act, the tramways had to maintain sections of the roadway on each side of the track. In Christchurch the trams had to maintain a width of forty feet on some roads or two-thirds of the total width, so it was useless for anyone to talk about private competition not being unfair. Mr. H. Harris: It is very unfair com* petition if you wipe your competition out, isn't it?