DISSATISFACTION EXPRESSED

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21933, 6 November 1936, Page 10

DISSATISFACTION EXPRESSED

Railway And Carriers B UNFAIR COMPEnTKMf|H ALLEGED ill (run *wecuT«nr twcuji.) AUCKLAND. November JK Much dissatisfaction with tfaemaHHl ner in which the Railway Deparlnßß has extended its activities to the carriage of furniture and cargo to the rah head by vansiM| expressed at the Auckland tion by the Committee of Enquiry |pK. pointed by the Government to sider the conditions of taxi-cab '

town carrying businesses. Evidence was given by Mr JLWf. Simson. president of the Provincial Commercial VW Owners’ Association, who said, J Association had a memberetop Arms, with a total fleet 316 vehicles. The capital reprt u ulig? , was £251.341. The annual wage IKI was £143,063, and toe of eropldxees was 65A This W would be considerably increased m f Se next 12 months through feeagg tion of new awards, and the 1981 M||| . of wages. ; * , “Ply For Hire" Licenses tin tn October of this year, the wh* nSI coStoued. the Ofc Council had issued 838 “ply f« licenses, an increase of <0 over MK year’s total, and more than MO mam thandhere were m MJJnearly 500 owner-drivers op™*** Auckland. Through bavuM no gg? head and through not having to_w ply with awards in respect of -AIM and hours of work these drivers wtm able to subject established tranyvt organisations to unfair tHa owner-driver’s return for his if* vices was not gerferaUy equal to ti» return of a driver under a warn IMH The 500 owner-drivers rquuwnWt said toe witness, a distinct crw>di|-., ,| waste. Some form of licensing w* control was favoured by the awe-, ciation, the members of which sidered that the ultimate MHi i{ would outweigh disadvantages. Master carriers in large centre^ continued the witness had alw«|W acted as feeders to th*» railways. « had regarded that service ** «* «■ , toe proper functions df their inmaQfc They had always been loyal m UMT efforts to serve and support the ways, and it was most rcgicttaMc wk the Railways Department had seen ly i in its efforts to meet competitionfrailh, other sections of toe transport mdustry, to encroach on the leguanma field of the master carrier instead m arranging co-ordination between HI own service and that provided mf the associations of carriers. The y partment had entered directly tototte carrying business in what the maorie* tion considered an ill-concetreu Md’ uneconomic effort to compete win long-distance haulers. - .

“Most Unfair and Un|ne** "We feel that the action of the Rajway Department in sacrificing Mi ( loyal supporters—which we claim od association's members always hana been—has been most unfair and unjust.” stated the witness, “the, medar carriers have suffered severely fans the activities of the De«aor raent m carriage of Immature. It ■. true that out association ntetnacnig have been asked to quote, but On Railway Department undercuts eveay quote without regard to the cod ca i operation.” . The association also felt that the activities of the Post and Telegraph Department were exceeding the true lunctions of that department, and m drew attention to the competition being offered by the Railways Department in customs work. It in hoped that consideration would he given to the question Of cowdan tion between the railway system and city carriers, and that the activities «f the Railway Department should he so restricted as not to compete BB* tairly with the town earner. Uildtaticn of the carriage of goods W taxis was also recommended. LIMITATION OF LICENSES

STRICT SUPERVISION O* TAXI OPERATION RECOMMENDATIONS OF TRAMWAY MANAGER (mu uaocuTioi tiUiiUL) AUCKLAND. November *. Limitation of licenses and supervision of taxi-cabs’ operaUap* were advocated by Mr A. E. MjjfPHj: chairman of the Auckland Transport Board, during the sitting of mittee of Enquiry appointed by Government to consider the opo*» of the taxi-cab businesses of New

land. . a* In answer to a question, he taxis had come into competition trams only when they had been ating at tram rates, and when had surreptitiously been lower rates than they were entitiea w make. . a' Mr A. Sinclair, for the Checker Company, asked the witness wlfcAM* the taxis had not performed a p«w» service over a period of years by sw*. ing people from walking into tram junctions? . - - Mr Ford: Oh. yes. You are g&m the public service The only thinf * , object to is this surreptitious charpjw of lower fares than drivers d*** charge. Mr Sinclair: We are operating un*r City Council by-laws. , Mr Ford: Sometimes yoa don't w; ways carry out the by-laws. I ***** , bring evidence about that if 1 wan!*® to. Several recommendations for the improvement of the methods of task operation were made to the committee later by Mr T. N. Baxter, on behalf w the- Auckland Taxi Owners’ Association, whose membership, said MEaxter, consisted of nine independent owner-drivers. These men tho*Wj there should be one sole control the whole of the taxi industry thi out New Zealand. They wanted a to be fixed that would be sufficient enable the men to make a turns living, working reasonable IwWBBBi They recommended that all fttßpllMßS should carry a meter or other dMMK that would show the amount aclWilß||j due by the passenger when alighted.