State Help Sought For Urban Transport

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31993, 21 May 1969, Page 16

State Help Sought For Urban Transport

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, May 20. The Municipal Association believes that all members of the community should contribute to the cost of essential services, so that the burden will not continue to fall only on ratepayers.

For a good many years now it has been the policy of the association to seek an alternative source of revenue which would spread the costs of local government more equitably over the community generally,” said its submissions, presented today, to the Committee of Inquiry into urban passenger transport.

The submissions said the association had 149 members, eight of which operated urban passenger transport services. The assets of these services were estimated to be $10.5m. The profitability of the services was affected by the increasing use of private motor-

vehicles, television—which reduced off-peak travel—and higher costs. There were two ways to increase patronage: to place restrictions on the use of private motor-vehicles, or to raise the standard of the services.

The first was neither socially acceptable, nor feasible. The second could be achieved by provision of freeways for buses in peak-hour traffic, making the service faster and more attractive.

“But it still seems certain that some form of financial assistant will be required,” the submissions said. It was “quite illogical” that losses of' services should be met by ratepayers alone. Urban passenger services were generally accepted to be community services rather than a commercial undertaking, and losses should be

spread over the community at large. The association had been seeking alternative sources of revenue. “It considers there is absolutely no reason why the income-earning, non-rate-paying section of the community should not make some direct contribution to the cost of services, such as urban passenger transport. “Unfortunately, to date the Government has rejected all proposed alternative sources of revenue for local government.” The association sought a general fund from the State through which to meet costs of services generally, and did not seek a fund only for assisting passenger services—“after all, services such as water supply and sewerage are possibly even more Important and more costly to citizens than urban transport.” There was overseas precedent for direct government assistance, but if this were established in New Zealand grants should be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Account. The Industrial Transport Association (the Road Federation and the Road Carriers' Association) all opposed the Ministry of Transport proposal that part of the taxation paid by road users be used to create an urban passenger transport fund.