LUXURY BUS SERVICE

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26092, 20 April 1950, Page 3

LUXURY BUS SERVICE

CHRISTCHURCH TO INVERCARGILL

NEW APPLICATION FOR LICENCE

A new application for a licence to operate a luxury land-liner service by Victor Leonard Neate, between Christchurch and Invercargill was considered by the No. 3 Transport Licensing Authority (Mr C. L. Bishop) at a sitting in Christchurch yesterday. Neate at a previous hearing early last year was given a licence by the Authority, but an appeal by the New Zealand Railways Department against the granting of the licence was upheld by Judge Archer, Transport Appeal Authority, later in the year. After the application had been granted, the applicant constructed a special bus, which had been on the road since and was at present being used by another company, said Mr L. F. Moller (Invercargill), who appeared for Neate. The application was opposed by the Railways Department, for whom Mr J. H. Tiller appeared. The limited express train which had been put into operation by the department at the time of the appeal, had been instituted solely to keep IJeate off the road, said Mr Moller. Twenty witnesses in favour of the application were heard yesterday, and the hearing will be continued this afternoon, when submissions by the department will be heard.

Quoting from the annual report of the then Minister of Railways (Mr R. Semple) at March 31 last year, Mr Moller said that there was a shortage of about 1800'employees for train Tuning, and another 750 for servicing locomotives and equipment. The introduction of a further service must have considerably increased the running costs of the department, he said. Before the introduction of the limited,

and at the last hearing, said Mr Moller. the department had stated that the two express trains running between Christchurch and Dunedin and Christchurch and Invercargill, were wholly adequate ta cope with the demand. “Since the last application, the department has shown callous disregard for the public in its action of putting on another train and causing more overtime and a greater loss at a time when there were not sufficient meh to run a complete new train” he said. Figures stating the numbers using the limited would be given in evidence. These figures would show that the limited was not doing its job, and that the train was being used as a suburban train between Invercargill, Gore, Milton, and Dunedin.

“If the limited is not taken off, it will be unwise for railway employees to come to tribunals such as this and talk of public interest,” said Mr Moller.

Applicant’s Evidence Neate in evidence said that it was intended to run a service from both northern and southern terminals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays of each week. If necessary the number of vehicles could be increased. The bus built after the granting of the previous application had completed 24,000 miles and had performed? very satisfactorily. “Inquiries that I have made have convinced me that there is a large body of potential passengers available for

my proposed service who now do not travel at all, or who would not now form, and will never in the future become traffic available to the rail.” he said. He considered that the greatest drag on railway finances was the use of the private motor-car. He considered that this was even so with the present petrol restrictions. There were also people v/ith disabilities who were not able to travel by rail, but would be able to by the proposed service.