Midland Motors Seeks Licence For Short Tours

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30364, 13 February 1964, Page 15

Midland Motors Seeks Licence For Short Tours

A tourist potential would be tapped through the provision of short tours of less than four days, the' opera-, tions manager of Midland Motorways, Ltd. (Mr R. C. Wasley) told the No. 9 Transport Licensing Authority (Mr J-, S. Haywood) at the hearing of an- application by Midland Motorways for amendment to a continuous passenger licence held by the company to allow it to conduct two or three-day round-trip tours for tourists. The company is also applying for an increase in the number of its vehicles. Midland Motorways was not opposed to longer tours of eight days or . more, but there was a definite demand for short tours, Mr Wasley said.

The application says that in the case of two or three-day tours’ no bookings “shall ‘be accepted for ■ tours to Mount Cook, Lake Oh.au, Queenstown. Blenheim, Picton, Nelson, Takaka, or Motueka unless the respective route operator is unable to do the tour.”

This was to give protection to the present operators, said Mr B. J. Drake, appearing for the applicant company. The application is opposed by the Railways Department (Mr F. D. Daly), Newmans Bros. (Mr C. B. Atkinson), the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company (Mr M. C. Gresscn). Days Motors, Ltd. (Mr H. W. Hunter) oppose the increase in the number of vehicles. A similar application . by Midland Motorways was declined by the Authority in a decision given in May last year on the grounds that such tours did not take account of public safety, and would intel-fere with, the protection of the present route operators, Mr Drake said. It would be seen that two and threeday tours will not compete with present time-table services. At present a person could not go to Mount Cook on Saturday and come back Sunday, by time-table services. If the application was

granted it would allow the company to make two or three-day tours to Te Anau. Milford, Bluff, Queenstown, and Picton, said Mr Wasley. After travelling by coach in New Zealand and the United States he was sure that the long hours of travel were not difficult, even for passengers of advancing years, Mr Wasley said. The company always observed the regulations regarding drivers’ working hours. Although this involved more wages in sending drivers on the night before to pick up a bus, and the carrying of spare drivers, it was felt that it was in the best interests of the passengers.

The granting of the application would cut out the granting of temporary licences for tours of less than four days, Mr Wasley said. Five had been granted to the company last year; The application volunteered protection for the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company,, and Newman Bros., but not the Railways, said Mr Daly.

‘•What you are attempting to do is to get some of the traffic of the other operators,” he said. . Mr Gresson pointed' out that Midland Motorways would have to touch the Mount Cook Company’s routes in some places, and that it could get- business away from the Mount Cook company by under-cutting its price. This was denied by Mr Wasley. The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday afternoon.