"ONLY COURSE OPEN."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 177, 28 July 1928, Page 12

"ONLY COURSE OPEN."

ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.

ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED.

•STANDARD OF COMFORT

'"The difficulties of the district in relation to transport are urgent and cannot Vwait until the outside bodies voluntarily amalgamate with the city," .states the report.

la narrowing the issue the commissioner* report that they Jiave adopted 1 lie method of the progressive elimination of varions proposals put forward in evidence, nntil the scheme recommended to his Excellency Is the only course open to them. The four alternatives considered included two requiring that ownership and control should remain "with the city, and two that a separate body should be formed to control transport. The greatest difficulty of all, in I lie opinion of the commissioners, is the existing system of primary control Aiul financial responsibility, under which demands for extension and powers of veto afforded by the deeds of delegation hip wit® the outside bodies.

The creation of a power transport board is not regarded as a practicable solntron. as it is a scheme bristling with difficulties.

Greater Auckland. Referring to the possibilities of enlarging the city's boundaries by the absorption of the independent contiguous local bodies imtil its political area is nearly, if not quite, coincident with the area of the transport district as already defined, the report states that, a [though this method was considered the best in principle* it must he eliminated as politically impossible. The method referred to involves the creation of a Greater Auckland.

"The transport equipment and methods and the standard of comfort required belong to the decade 1925 to 1!W5," continues the report. "The municipal outlook and spirit deposed to by many witnesses before us belong to the decade 1 H2~> to 1H.3.5.

"The solution of the problem requires ua to bring transport requirements and civfc administration into line. One alternative is to bring the civic administration up to date with the requirements. That would mean a compulsory amalgamation of the local bodies, and that is by general consent, wholly impolitic. The only alternative is to relate the present transport problem to the older methods and trust to time, and the education of the public to remove the anomaly. We therefore recommend the formation of n. special transport board to deal with tho problem. - '

That for localities within the tram termini the tram affords the most suitable form of transport, is the opinion expressed in the report.' which adds: "For mass transport in city and closelysettled suburban areas there is a clear preponderance of evidence in favour of the view that the tramcar is the best form of conveyance The tram is, as compared with other forms of transport on similar work, reliable, safe and cheap, and its cfi.rr.ying unit is a car with a large seating capacity.

Motor Bases. "There was some evidence in favour of llie petrol-driven motor ' omnibus, but there is easily a grenrt preponderance of the view we have expressed, and we find accordingly. '"For services beyond the tram termini the motor omnibus is l.y an equally mineral consensus of, opinion the best form of transport as a public conveyance for passengers. "Tlie considefationa lead to a definite conclusion, namely, that a serv.ee from tram terminus should be a beyond a . peak hours, and through service i eaaovab i y good lor «* to run it and economic If»Pf ™ £ 9ide . In the parallel VC " IC . + lie continuation of slack hours, when the con thft through vchiclc9 sparsely speetacle of para fai)9 to keep pwtronisfcd, the reven. of the ex . within a reasonab business pense of so running, . ge fyjce proposition the outer part of tteserv &-»U»t act as a feeder to the §hffThe proposition so stated cirojmstkneos of transport.area o •Anekland. the present Mile* of the Auckland City Council, and, ofinion, that policy i» Justified. We ilnd that in the city of Auckland there is not yet the severe congestion at central point* which, would make it necessary to cut out all outer through services at peak hours/'