CHRISTCHURCH TRAMWAYS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 226, 17 June 1908, Page 9

CHRISTCHURCH TRAMWAYS.

STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. • (dt tei:g r; a rii. — special coemsponde'it.) Giirlstclwrch, June 16. In his' annual statement tho Chairman of tho Tramway Board, commenting on tho financial report, which showed a credit balance of £233 on the year's working, said it enabled tho financial position of. tho tramways during a normal year of traffic to be discloses for tho first time. Referring to the difficulties of the Cbristchurch system ho pointed out that the district served by tho Christchurch trams was thirty miles in circumference. Ten different lines radiate from the common centre' to different points of tho compass, leaving largo areas of country between tho lines not much benefited by tho service, but still ablo to bo rated if a rate become necessary. Tho policy of the Board must be to seek to provide a service only just a littlo in cxeess of tho actual traffic requirements. For many years there would be a comparatively small proportion. of the rovonuo derived from what might bo called city traffic. In AYollington aud Dunedin three passengers will occupy successively tho sameseat on one trip. This was not so evident in Christcliurch. Tho long gaps on some of the lines were severe handicaps. The Chairman quoted seme statistics showing how Cbristchurch was served by its trams compared with other cities, and how the community patronised tho servico. Population per milo of single track: Cbristchurch 1407, AVellington 2593, Dunedin 290-5, Auckland 2274. Passengers carried per milo of single track: Christcliurch 21.G42, Wellington 625,517, Diinedin 505,307, Auckland 622,729. Sydney 721,673. Cars per head of population: Christcliurch 22, AVellington 24, Dunedin 27. Passengers carried per car milo run : Christcliurch 6.9, AVellington 9.9, Dunedin 9.7. Eevonuo per head of population: Christchurch £1 6s. 6d., AA'ellington £1 17s. Id., Dunedin £1 9s. 7d., Auckland £1 15s. 3d. Capital expenditure per head •of population: Christcliurch £6 2s. Bd., AVellington £7 Gs. 2d.,- Dunedin £7 12s. Gd., Auckland £8 12s. 9d.

To accommodate ' a widely-spread district the Board had laid down moro miles of track par head of population than elsewhere, yet the expenditure per head of population was tho lowest. To keep expenditure anything like under control the number of car miles run had to bo limited, because on a considerable proportion of the trips comparatively fow- passengers were carried. Tho revenue per lie.-u! of population was less than in other cities in tho Dominion, because there was a largo proportion of the population which was not readied by thc„ trams. It must ho accopted as a fact that.if a man' lived more than seven minutes' walk from a tram, ho as a rule used .a horso or a bicycle. The proportion of tho population using the trams being smaller in Christcliurch, the revonuo contributions per {lead of thoso within the areas reached by the trams was higher than in Wellington or During tho past month the chairman said ho had hoard of very many families spending from £20- to' £3!) a year on tram fares. AVith but a normal growth of population some time must elapse before any considerable extension of the tramway system in Cbristchurch could be entertained with a fair prospoct of paying their way.-