TAXI BUSINESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 192, 16 August 1938, Page 11

TAXI BUSINESS.

RAILWAY VEHICLES.

CAitniNG FOR TOURISTS.

EXPLANATION BY MINISTER.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Monday. "The Railway Department has not entered, nor has it any intention of entering, the taxi business," said the Minister of Railways, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, when statements by Mr. A. Sinclair, chairman of the New Zealand Taxi Proprietors' Federation, and by other Auckland operators, were referred to him. Although the Department had obtained three taxi licenses at Auckland, these were restricted purely to transport between the wharf and the hotel of touritita under the care of the Tourist- Agency, each of which was licensed to arrange such tours. "The £2 fee is paid by the Department merely to remove any doubt ae to its right to render this service to tourists," added the Minister. "It places the Uailway Department on exactly the eame basis as other operators holding tourist licensee. It is desirable as a means to assist in securing that continuity "of transport service so much desired by visitors to Xew Zealand.

No General Business. "I can eay definitely," continued Mr. Sullivan, "that no general taxi business is to Ire catered for by the Department. Reference has been made to the Monterey's last visit to Auckland. On that occaeion Railway Department cars which met the vessel were all ordered before the arrival by the Tourist Department for touriste making sight-seeing and other tours. "The Department never has done taxi business in connection with weddings or funerals, and there ie no intention of catering for such purposes, nor is there anything in the suggestion that the Department proposed to cut rates. The Department's schedule of ratee submitted to the Transport Licensing Authority was calculated on rates which would return a reasonable margin of profit after paying ordinary license fees, petrol tax, tyre tax, sales tax, and exchange. I may say that all these charges are paid by the Railways Deprtment'e road motor services in the same way as other operators. Full Award Kates Paid. "Further, the Department paye full appropriate award rates to all its road services employees and observes award conditions. It is true that the road services return their empty cars by rail instead of by road, being debited with ordinary freight charges for this service. The same service is, of course, open to private road operators if they desire to use it. ,

"I want to make it quite clear," concluded Mr. Sullivan, "that there appears to be a misapprehension on the part of Auckland operators as to the Department's intentions in the matter of the taxi business, and to reiterate that the Department hae no intention of undertaking general taxi work, and that the licenees held for the three vehicles at Auckland are merely for the purpose of rendering continuity of service between the ship and the hotel for tourists as referred to shove in exactly the same way as ie done by private operator* holding licensee which (entitle them t§ cater for the tourist traffic"