"TOO MUCH HUMBUG."

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 43, 20 February 1929, Page 17

"TOO MUCH HUMBUG."

TRANSPORT FOR SUBURBS. QUESTION OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE. CRITICISM OF FINANCES.

"If we keep goinj? on in this way we won't have anything left," said Mr. F. S. Morton, at a meeting of the Auckland Transport Board yesterday, when there vas a discussion on the subject of allowing a private bua company to cater for the Ellerslie area. "Give us an alternative," said Mr. E J. Phelan. '•I gave it long ago," was the answer. "What was it?" was the pursuing question. Mr. Morton: If you can't operate a service you should not be in it.

Mr. M. J. Coyle said that it had been raid that the City Council was in charge of the Transport Board. The greatest trouble that they had was private enterprise doing certain things. There was an idea that private enterprise would do wonderful things, but when the board considered private enterprise it was charged with not doing the right thing. When the board tried to make alterations it was still wrong. Mr. E. H. Potter said that he would jnako his attitude quite clear. He was strongly in favour of private enterprise in the areas outside the trams, as it would mean better services and relieve the board. Last year there had been a lose of £38,000, and a larger loss the previous year. The loss last year was a, revenue item, but it had not been correctly shown in the accounts. The board should endeavour to get rid of ite losses and put the matter on a proper basis. Two items, one of £52,000, money spent on track renewals, and another of £14,000, moneys written off in connection with buses, had been omitted from the balance-sheet.

The chairman (Mr. J. A. C. Allum) said that there had been too much humbug talked about transport. As a member of the City Council he had done all that he could to see that private operators got a fair deal. The members of the board were trustees of an undertaking in which two millions had been invested. He was sick and tired of the eternal nonsense and humbug about private enterprise. Mr. Coyle: Hear, hear.

Mr. Allum said that the interests of the undertaking had to be placed first. The board had given way to pressure! and had abandoned certain services, and now it was being abused for having done «o. One body had gone behind the board in an endeavour to get its decisions upset. All the board's accounts were in proper form. The application before the board was from the Passenger Transport Company to operate between Lake Road, via Ladies' Mile, Peach Parade, Greenlane Road and Great South Road to the city It was deferred until the next meeting