MORE BUS SERVICES CUT BY BOARD

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30741, 4 May 1965, Page 1

MORE BUS SERVICES CUT BY BOARD

The Christchurch Transport Board lost £167,242 on its operations in the financial year just ended —an increase of £7641 on its loss the previous year.

A further reduction in Saturday bus services on the Papanui-Cashmere, Riccarton-Sumner, and North Beach routes resulted from discussion on these figures at the board’s meeting yesterday. The services will be reduced to a 30-minute frequency.

In addition, 16 single trips will be deleted from various routes where savings can be made. Any extension of services to new suburban areas would have to be examined carefully, board members were warned. "Patronage is on the decline,” said the chairman of the board’s finance committee

(Mr E. J. Bradshaw), when presenting the revenue account for the year. Operating costs had exceeded revenue by £28,000, he said. About the same number of passenger journeys had been taken on buses last year as on the. trams in 1917, said Mr Bradshaw, but to attract that number of passengers the board had to run buses 2.3 m miles more than the trams ran in 1917.

“That gives some measure of the problem of running an undertaking such as this,” Mr Bradshaw said. Mr H. E. Denton moved that the reduction in Saturday services be considered in six months, but after a brief debate the voting was fourall, and the chairman (Mr J. R. Smith) gave his casting vote for immediate measures. DEFICIENCY “REGRETTABLE”

The increased deficiency, although regrettable, was £9400 less than expected when the estimates were struck, said Mr Bradshaw. “We anticipated a drop of 1 per cent in revenue—in fact, it was a drop of 1.7 per cent, but against that operating expenses, which increased £15,000 on the previous year, were £9BOO less than we estimated, taking into account increases in wages and other factors,” he said. This reduction on estimated expenses, to the extent of £2600, was very satisfactory, said Mr Bradshaw. It was mainly brought about by a decrease in the price of fuel for the buses, by economies by the board, and by good management.

“Our deficiency of £167,000 is the cost to Christchurch ratepayers of the provision of their public transport system,” said Mr Bradshaw. “The benefits to a community of an efficient public transport system cannot be disputed, but I think it is acknowledged in a world-wide way that any public transport system worthy of the name cannot be run on a profit-making basis or even a self-supporting basis. “It requires some subsidy from the ratepayer or the taxpayer, and the extent to which the taxpayer should be called upon to subsidise the service is a very real problem.” THIRD YEAR Operating costs, said Mr Bradshaw, had exceeded revenue by £2B,ooo—“and I am bound to point out to the board that this is the third consecutive year that our revenue target has failed to be made,” he said. This meant an excess of costs over revenue of about £60,000 over three years. “The users have been asked to pay too little towards the cost of their rides in the buses," said Mr Bradshaw.

Patronage was declining

and wages were expected to increase as a result of the conciliation hearing in Wellington for a new passenger transport workers’ award.

“While the board has a responsibility to extend services to new areas, it must at all times be satisfied that services are warranted by patronage,” said Mr Bradshaw.

The board and its management must continue to seek every means whereby dead running could be eliminated and expenses kept within bounds, he said. "ENTIRELY WRONG”

In discussion on the finance committee’s report, Mr R. Jones said that the perpetual whittling away of the bus service to try to make it pay was entirely wrong. The board had reached the stage where it could not do much more whittling. ‘To whittle away services as suggested in this report is not keeping faith with the public, nor providing the necessary facilities,” he said. “You are not suggesting, surely, that we run buses backwards and forwards without passengers?" said Mr J. R. Smith. “That has been our problem ever since I have been on the board.” Was it fair to the ratepaypayers for the board to run services when they were not used or not even wanted? he asked “We have to try to cut out the dead wood," he said. “Even Mr Denton will agree with me.” Mr Denton: Quite. Supporting the reductions of Saturday services to Papanui-Cashmere, RiccartonSumner, and North Beach, Mr P. D. Dunbar said that sometimes only five or six persons made the trip. “If ever there was any dead wood, these services are that,” he said. DELAY SUGGESTED Mr Denton said he was in favour of cutting out dead wood, but thought that Saturday was rather an unpredictable day, with sports, race meetings and other functions. “I would rather wait a little while,” he said. ’’’Let us have our first bite at the apple—that is, with Sundays—and let us have another look at Saturdays in six months' time.” Mr Denton said he would have more to say when the estimates came out. Mrs L. E. Macfarlane supported Mr Denton, and asked that the proposed curtailment be referred back to the works and traffic committee When Mr Denton's amendment for deferment was put, Messrs Denton, R. Jones, R. H. Stillwell, and Mrs Macfarlane voting in favour, and Messrs J. R. Smith, Bradshaw, Dunbar and R. G. Brown against. Mr J. R. Smith gave his casting vote against, and the motion to curtail the Saturday services was then carried.