HARBOUR BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 277, 22 November 1934, Page 20

HARBOUR BRIDGE.

| REVENUE POSSIBILITIES. INCREASE IN TRAFFIC. Denial of a statement which, lie said, was being circulated at Northcotc and Birkenhead, to the effect that the two Mayors were taking a very active part in the harbour bridge project for the one purpose of alienating the charter from the company and vesting it in the local bodies, was made last night by the Mayor of Birkenhead, Mr. George Mills, at the meeting of the borough council. He said there was no such motive. By Act of Parliament the charter was vested in the company, and it could not be taken away. Both Mr. Martin and himself had accepted positions as honorary directors of the Harbour Bridge Company with the sole object of helping the projcct. Revenue from Tolls. Particulars of the tallies of the transharbour vehicular traffic were received yesterday by the Auckland Harbour Bridge Company from the Northcotc Borough Council. A statement was compiled showing the influence of the increased traffic upon the . anticipated revenue from tolls'. An analysis was made of the vehicular traffic, based upon the tallies taken last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the corresponding receipts from tells at the minimum charge' under the Act. This showed a total of

3396 vehicles for three days, yielding £199 10/11 in tolls, or an average of £GG 12/3 a day. • For the purpose of comparison, the figures used at the. Royal Commission in 1929 for a full week in February were 5433 vehicles for seven days, £315 1/11, an average of 77G vehicles per day, £45 0/3. The increase in five years is thus apparently over 45 per cent. The extra revenue would be £21 12/ per day, and £7884 per year.

The tallies last week-end were taken during broken weather, at a correspondingly bad time of year, whereas those in 1929 were taken in February, a much busier period.