Rail fare rise seen as a disaster

Press, 18 December 1976, Page 22

Rail fare rise seen as a disaster

The substantial rise in all rail passenger fares from January 2 is an absolute disaster, according to the president of the Canterbury Progress League (Mr D. S. McKenzie).

The increase, and the imminent petrol price rise, would affect one-income families so significantly that many would have to change tlieir plans, he said.

Mr McKenzie said the tim- ! ing was especially disastrous ; for holidaying families. He ! criticised ’the Minister of (Railways (Mr McLachlan) for (“hit and run tactcs.” i “The parallel with the handling of the Rangatira is what should concern us most, and the hit and run tactics of the Minister in hiding this information until the House has risen. Within 24 hours of the House’s rising we are hack to the star chamber j system of Government by Cabinet rather than concensus,” he said. The rises in Railways and ! National Airways Corporation fares could not. fail to ! have a major effect on holiIdays, whether people flew or ! drove, and must mean even (more insularity for the !South Island. : He said people south of 1 Dunedin, who had already

been forced by the dropping ; of the Rangatira to pay an ■ extra night’s accommodation when travelling north, would be even further jeopardised. “I would like to know what the National MPs south of Dunedin think about this,” Mr McKenzie said. ■ The need for transport sys- ; terns to pay their way was ; accepted, but the sad thing was that the Rangatira had been denied the opportunity i to do likewise — a 25 per : cent increase there would have made it profitable, as ■ well as helping the holidaying family man, he said. The president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce (Mr C. F. Whitty) said the only good news about 1 the increase was that it ■ would at least enable people 1 who used these services to • enjoy their Christmas holi- [ day without the worry of trying to find extra funds. He said the chamber conI ceded that, the Government , had to try to make its pas- , senger transport a paying proposition, and it realised it . would add a lot to die cost jof living for those concerned. , | Because of the difficulty in making ends meet in suburqban passenger transportation Jit might be in everyone’s in(terests if some of the cost ! could be spread more evenly [across the community. Mr Whitty said the Government had to consider whether the increase would make the service more profitable or cause a fall in revenue because of passenger resistance. He noted there was no mention of increases in goods freight except bus parcel rates, and warned the Government to consider ! carefully the damage it would

’jdo to South Island manufac-i i turers if freight rates were! 11 increased. 11 They were already finding I it difficult to compete in the! ’ North Island, and any more• i increases would only mean! that some manufacturers •might transfer their plant to! ■ i the north. 5 i The increases showed the | 11stupidity of the decision to! 1 scrap the Rangatira service, ' the member of Parliament; ~ for Sydenham (Mr John Kirk)! 1 said. ’ “The announcement means ’ • that the cost of taking a car I [across Cook Strait has) ■ increased by 88 per cent in |- ■ just one year. And that does ; 1 not take account of the] - increased travel costs people - in the lower South Island | 5 now have to face to get on ’ j the service at all. ’! “Yet, people in the south I ‘[have been left with no I ! alternatives, because of the; -idecision to let the Rangatira! t[service go. ■I “The Labour Party firmly! ; I believes that it was possible! t to work out an economic t service from Lyttelton to • Wellington if the political i will and the interest in - regional development had > been there.” Mr Kirk said. Three Opposition Wellingt ton M.P.s, Mr F. M. Colman ' (Petone), Mr T. J. Young (Hutt), and Dr G. A. Wall • (Porirua) said that by impos- • ing substantial rail fare i increases the Government • was again hitting at workers • and their families. “Workers’ 10-trip tickets! are to be increased by as I i much as 21 per cent, bring-j i ing .a total increase of 96 per j ■ cent in workers’ rail fares j ! since the National Govern-! • ment came into office 12; 1 months ago.”