THE CHANGE IN TRANSPORT

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22343, 5 March 1938, Page 18

THE CHANGE IN TRANSPORT

North and West Coast Position Reviewed MARLBOROUGH, NELSON, AND THE EAST COAST RAILWAY (SPECIALL? WRITTEN FOR THE PRESS.) |By NEVILLE BARKER.] : (1) V In a series of four articles Mr Barker will review, as a result of recent investigations, the transport position in Nelson, Marlborough, and the West Coast, with special reference to recent -mergers- of road transport companies, .

The first attempt to prevent cutthroat competition, overlapping, and waste in motor transport took form in the .Licensing Act of 1931. In 193 G the present Government amended the Act in certain important respects, thief among which was the replacement of the Transport Co-ordination Board by individual licensing authorities. For purposes of administration. New Zealand was divided into four areas, of which that part of the South Island north of a line drawn from the Waitaki river to southernmost Westland represents No. 3 area. It is proposed in this series of four articles to deal with transport change in the northern and western sectors of this legion, comprising the provincial districts of Marlborough, Nelson, and Wcstland. A casual glance at the map will reveal the region's great dependence on its transport system. Pockets of settlement on splayed-out river plains are tenuously joined by winding roads climbing over high ranges and traversing unproductive country or clinging to cliff-bound coasts. Costs of construction and operation are, therefore, high, while the traffic is light. Against this background must be set such new developments as renewed railway construction, the rise of motor transport, the decline of coastal shipping, once of obvious importance to this region of few roads and no railways; and, last, almost peculiar to No. 3 area, the emergence of amalgamations among motor transport operators resulting in practically complete monopolies being established over certain districts.

uniting in Kaikoura, The projected line will follow the coastal route, v/hich is forced out onto the seashore from which hills rise precipitously. involving costly construction and a very narrow traffic-shed on one side only from country which can scarcely be settled more closily. Some increu d development may be expected round Kaikoura and more particularly, with progress in irrigation, on the river plains of the Awatere and Wairnu. three regions where Marlborough s Population is concentrated. Fine wools fetch higher prices in Chnstchurch than Wellington sales and will accordingly move south in increasing quant'tie's. Lamb sold in Canterbury vpeeives a margin of Jd a pound oyer Picton prices. This, combined w.tn ■tii" attraction of Addingtcn's market, will ensure that all stock traffic from as far north as the Awatere will flow south as it tends to now in a smad way. Encouragement may be given to cattle raising, especially if it is found unprofitable to retain flocks on the very high country. A diversion rather than an expansion of traffic, however, may be expected from the comioletion of this line, und its net effect should be to bind Marlborough more strongly to Christchurch and hence less closely to Wellington. A chain is as strong as its weakest link. The average earnings on the South Island main trunk are'£l66o a mile. It is doubtful whether the new sector can earn b3lf this amount unless it to intended to divert, payably or otherwise, a great deal of interiijland traffic. A limited expansion of passenger travel can be foreseen, but no great transfer against the convenience of night travel by steamer express or the great rapidity of air services, as yet in their infancy. That a railway monopoly will be declared over southern Marlborough and northern Canterbury seems assured if j £ome contribution is to be guaranteed! to interest charges over and above operating costs. In all controlled areas no licence is given to motor transport which would enable it to operate for more than 30 miles parallel to the railway. Unless other major developmentsare contemplated this northern line must be regarded as a political concession to local agitation, as a fine reward for patience. In New Zealand the railways are blamed for a lot, but it is only fair to remember that, in the past at least, professional railway servants have been forced to run the dead horses bequeathed them by politicians. Furthermore, many a needlessly steep grade or acute bend drags loads on to every train and therefore drains the public's pocket. Whether the line will bring to Marlborough :he prosperity she has fondly supposed remains to be seen; some of it, as from irrigation, would have come her way in spite of the line.

Marlborough occupying the northeast corner of the South Island is separated from Canterbury by the Conway river, while the extension of this "boundary marches in its entire distance with Nelson along mountain tops. In terms of resources, Marlborough is New Zealand's smallest province. Although 4400 square miles in extent, her population, numbering barely 18.G00, is confined to the coastal fringes of her mountainous country, which is cut only by narrow valleys, unfit for closer settlement. Her people are concentrated in three areas, namely, at Kaikoura, in the lower Awatere valley, and on the Wairau. plains, ■where Blenheim is situated. Hence the province has comparatively little loading and for administrative purposes is not recognised as a separate district by the Main Highways Board. These facts acquire a new significance in view of the steady advance northwards being made by the Main Trunk railway in its effort to link up with the isolated section of line running south from Picton to Wharenui. The East Coast Railway The Picton railway, some 56 miles in. length, recorded an operating loss ■ of £253 for the last financial year. The extent of this financial success, the best recorded on any isolated section in New Zealand, involved a rigid control of motor transport, the railway being given a practical monopoly of the traffic between Blenheim tnd Seddon. although the train runs only three times a week, and between Blenheim and Picton. Over the section between Parnassus and Waipara £15.850 (including interest) was spent over and above revenue. To link the gap of 81 miles between the railheads', rt Was estimated at the time the workings were closed down in 1931-softie £2.341,000 would need to be expended. It is now claimed, however, that the original estimates' are being cheapened by the extensive use of modern machinery. Justification for the construction of the line js found first in the resulting development which may take place, and second, in its importance as a connecting link in the national system of rail communications. The potentialities of 'traffic cannot be considered as extensive. Two ribbons of settlement project northwards from Waipara, on the ritn of the Canterbury plains, and are served already by the inland and coastal roads

The Organisation of Motor Transport Of equal interest to Marlborough but of greater significance to New Zealand is the proposal from Nelson to merge motor transport operating in that part of the island north of a line drawn from Blenheim to Westport. Originally, the idea was planned to take the form of a :,mall amalgamation by direct purchase, but later the scheme was made to include all operators doing business in this area. Now it has sunk to the more modest and workable proportions of including only those who possess route licences. It should be explained that, under the licensing act* two main types of licence can be issued, namely, for route work or fpr ai - ea. The first sort allows the transport operator to carry goods between two designated points, while- the second permits the pick-up or delivery of goods anywhere within a given region. Often each operator is given an area to himself, to go outside of which he must obtain a temporary licence. There are, of course, further refinements, some licences being given for regular services, others for services run only as required, while in many districts, as in Motueka, area and route licences arc combined.

The merger would therefore run over the transport lines, tracing out the giant triangle between Nelson and Blenheim and Blenheim and Westport, with a temporary connexion to the east coast railhead and another to Greymoulh. As some 13 separate concerns are likely to be interested, it may be regarded as the greatest of its kind attempted in New Zealand. Entry is voluntary and the organisation will, if it comes about, lake the form of a private company with such operators as enter and shareholders in proportion to the value of their present services.; Those electing to stay'out are not to be compromised. But presumably, if they cannot make the pace, the terms of their licences will be altered when they come up for renewal. A merger of the sort proposed would not be ill-adapted to meeting certain of Marlborough's transport demands. A considerable part of her production is raised in long valleys confined by steep and barren hillsides. The connecting road to Nelson follows up the rich Happy Valley and the Rai Valley before striking the mountain harrier that separates the two provinces, while the direct route to Murchlson and Westport reaches into the alpine centre of the island via the Wairau river. Efficiently operated, the union of route and 'area licences along these two routes should result in a considerable saving in the number of vehicles required, with a reduction of as much as perhaps 25 per cent, on the 30s a ton freight between Blenheim and Nelson. As it takes one man to drive a truck, whether of eight or two tons capacity, and petrol and other costs do not increase proportionately with size, it pays better So use big vehicles wherever possible. At nodal points therefore, as possibly at Havelock Motueka, and Murchison, it proposed to establish depots from which the goods of the district can be picked up and delivered so that a through service by the largest size of lorry the law allows can be facilitated. Such an amalgamation would not be altogether new to Marlborough, for one is in operation already. Apart from the railway road service to Parnassus, all long-distance passenger transport south . from Blenheim is in the hands of one concern. Fares to Christchurch have benefited by a small reduction. Between Blenheim and Nelson three separate services are running, but en a co-ordinated time-tabie and with interchangeable tickets. A proper organisation of long distance transport should make possible

an extensive triangular trade between three such dissimilar regions. Fruit from Nelson, coal and timber from the Coast, grain and potatoes from Blenheim can be provided as return loads against one another. Much of this traffic has yet to be pioneer'ed, more especially that via Tophouse and the Buller, a magnificent transport Jane through perpetually, corrugated country. To undertake the risks involved requires resources not at the command of any individual enterprise. Two-way payloads on large vehicles enable freight rates to be reduced and markets enlarged so that an. organisation of the sort proposed could well result in increased prosperity to many industries centred between Blenheim and Greymouth. (To be continued.) .. i:i .