TAKAPUNA TRANSPORT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 113, 16 May 1927, Page 5

TAKAPUNA TRANSPORT.

POWER FOR TROLLEY BUSES. POWER BOARD GIVES QUOTE. TRAMS BILLED FOR WORK DONE. "Speed the parting, welcome the coming guest," also applies in business. This morning the Waitemata Power Board arranged to see its lawyers about the collection of a little bill from old trams, and in the next breath gave a quotation to the Devonport Ferry Co. for current to run a problematical trolley bus service. The sum of £1500 was spent in getting ready to electrify the trams, and the Takapuna Tram Co. will be billed to that extent. In the quite given the Devonport Ferry Co. the price is £3 per k.v.a. per quarter for the first 200 k.v.a., and £2 10/ for all above, plus *a unit charge of 3d; all subject to 12§ per cent discount. Incidentally the chairman said the old contract had been broken by the tram company, and he thought there was now no intention to electrify the trams. Up to the time of the recent dramatic denouement, the Devonport Ferry Co. bought out "the Takapuna Company's ferries, electrical work was proceeding on the assumption that the trams would be electrified. Now that the company is going into liquidation no one knows what is going to happen to the tram system. The chairman of the Power Board (Mr. J. W. Hayden) at this morning's meeting told the members what had been done to press the board's claim against the company. The position was that about £1500 had been spent, and the board's duty was to see that it got that sum back. The matter had been put before the board's solicitors, but further consideration would be necessary. When the question cropped up of claiming capital or interest, Mr. G. Trevithick advised "charging for all we can think of." Mr. W. P. Gauvain, the board's consulting engineer, said the position was that the board in putting in the Takapuna electric system had used heavier poles and copper wire than it would if the Tram Company had not agreed to take power from the board to electrify the trams. That extra work had run the board into the sum of £1500, as mentioned by the chairman. It was decided that the board's claim against the company should be pressed, and a further consultation with the board's lawyers was authorised in order that •it might be put into proper form. The Bus Scheme. A request from Messrs. Alison and Alderton, solicitors to the Devonport Ferry Company, for information as to the price for current for a proposed installation of a trolley bus system at Takapuna. also came before the board. The letter explained that the company was only considering the proposal and wanted all the information it could get. Mr. Gauvain explained that the board proposed to sell the company power at 10/ per k.v.a. above the price charged to the board by the Government, the charge being subject to a discount of 12* per cent. Mr. A. E. Greenslade asked how that compared with the price it had been intended to charge the Takapuna Trams. • The chairman (Mr. J. W. Hayden): It would be 10/ per k.v.a. higher. The consulting engineer explained that the proposed charge would clear the board j they could not lose. As for the , company, it would be able to get a better load factor, and so get a cheaper unit j still the board would be quite protected. Mr. J. Mackie asked if the chairfman could give them any idea of the probable revenue. The chairman was afraid not. £ A Complication. Mr. S. E. Kennings pointed out that if the board supplied the company with this power they would be using some of the heavy equipment for which they were going to claim from the Takapuna Tram Company, and he wanted to know where that would put them. The chairman: There is a difficulty there, I admit. Mr. J. D. Morison asked if'the board would have the power available. The chairman: We are.promised the power if this bus service comes into operation. I will tell you more in committee. Air. Morison further wanted to know how the new contract would affect the existing contract with the Takapuna Tram Company. The chairman: That has been broken by the company, so we are absolved. Mr. Greenslade reminded the board that such an agreement as that which existed between the board and the Tram Company might still be an asset, even if the company went into liquidation. The chairman agreed, but pointed out that what Alison and Alderton wanted was merely a quotation for current, not a contract, and at present it was not proposed to go any further than merely state , the price at which the board would supply current. Certain poles would be required, and the company would have to erect two substations, but it was not proposed to go into those matters at the present time. Mr. J. MeLeod still had some doubts about the position of the Takapuna trams contract, and he asked how it had been broken. The chairman: By a letter from the company itself. There is no question they don't intend to electrify the trams, but there may be something in the point Mr. Greenslade has raised.

Hie engineer when asked about the proposed price, said it would enable the company to make a fair profit, while it would also clear the board. If any extra work was required, the company would be charged with it. At the price stipulated in the Takapuna tram contract, the board would not have lost money. The price quoted for the buses was fair and equitable, because they would have a better load factor than the trams. When the matter went to the vote, Mr. M. E. Thomson wanted the charge' reduced 10/, to the same sum as that in the contract with the old tram company, but this was defeated and the engineer's proposed prices were adopted.