TRAM FARES.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20898, 4 July 1933, Page 8

TRAM FARES.

♦ EFFECT OF RECENT CHANGES. REPORT TO THE BOARD. The effect of the change in the system of fares made by the Christchurch Tramway Board last November, which has been in operation since that time, was the subject of a report to a meeting of the board yesterday. The report, which took the month of February only for comparative purposes, showed a considerable decline both in revenue and in the number of passengers carried for February, 1933, as compared with February, 1932, but the average fare a passenger was lower lor the month since the alteration in the system. The report stated:— "In November last year the board made changes in its fare system by introducing cheap weekly passes and using coupons instead of the old concession cards, with the following changes:—(a) Coupons made available for use on Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday, and Anzac Day; (b) coupons made transferable; (c) all varieties sold by conductors. There were slight percentage increases in price with decreases in the most used sections—second and third. A suitable normal period for comparison is February—free from the fluctuations of holiday traffic. "This shows the following results:

Fob., 1932. Feb.. 1933. Before After change. change. Total receipts £15,067 £13,387 Passengers . . 1.430.248 1,350,891 Average fare a passenger 2.528 d 2.378 d "There has been a drop in traffic in most, if not all, tramway concerns due to the present world-wide economic conditions, and it is there* fore difficult to say what was the effect on revenue from the changes referred to, but this interesting fact emerges, viz., that under the new fare conditions the average fare paid by each passenger is about 6 per cent, less than that paid a year ago." the report concludes. Criticism of Passenger Average. Mrs E. R. McCombs said she did not like the inclusion of the words "by each passenger" in the last clause of the report. She maintained that that reference included passengers on lines where fares had actually been increased by the change in system. They should have been excluded in some way. Mr W. Hayward said that the figures were very satisfactory. It was after much investigation that the alteration had been made and at that time some members of the board had said that the general result would be to increase fares. The report showed that the result had been to decrease them as supporters of the scheme claimed at the time. Mr W. J. Walter said that the report was right to a point. Perhaps there had been a decrease in fares for those in the inner areas, but fares had been increased in the outer areas considerably. Mr E. H. Andrews: When we made the change we were told by some that we were increasing fares. I can state that the fares to-day are very definitely appreciated by the bulk of our passengers. The report was adopted.