A LAST REPOET

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21827, 6 July 1936, Page 14

A LAST REPOET

POWERS OP TRANSPORT BOARD VIEWS NOT INVITED BY MINISTER When it was suggested last March by the Minister for Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) that the members of the former Transport Co-ordination Board should resign, the Minister agreed with the board that its annual report should be made before the suggestion was acted upon. The report, now issued, expresses the board’s wish at the time to co-operate with the Government; but it contains references to the board’s powers and to the extent of co-operation with the Minister. “The board has not been invited by the Minister for Transport to express its views on any of the problems which have come before it from time tc time,” the report states, “and in this respect we do not wish to embarrass the Minister in any way by stating such views in. detail. Consequently our report is somewhat limited in extent. . “Apparently there is a belief that the board, on account of its name, has some real power to co-ordinate transport Actually this is not the case, except with regard to air services. Where road services are in competition with rail or sea transport the board has no authority to do more than to require the road service to conform to what the board thinks desirable, and the board can only exercise this authority when an appeal is brought to it. The railways, or marine transport, are free to take such countervailing action as they see fit.” The clash of interests between the railways and road transport is emphasised, the report stating that in nearly all the cases which came before the board on appeal the New Zealand Government Railways Board was either a party or was represented. Road and Rail “The interests of the railways and of road transport clash to a great extent,” it is stated, "and there is need to determine the respective spheres In which they should operate. Over short distances, on good roads, it is inevitable that road transport from door to door must be the cheaper; and it has been suggested that a solution of the problem lies in determining over what distance in each case road transport should be allowed to compete with a railway. “As roads improve, however, and as vehicles are better constructed, these distances tend to become longer. Certain commodities, however, can be carried more economically by road over very long distances, while railway rates are variable, and in many instances, especially where rail and sea transport are in competition, are extremely low in comparispn with the standard railway rate over the same distance. These and other factors complicate the problem.” In suggesting the resignation of the board, Mr Semple stated at the time that changes were to be made in transport legislation. Since at the time of the drawing up of the report nothing was known of the proposed changes, the board stated that little of a general nature could be added to the report