TRANSPORT MINISTRY

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 7, 3 October 1927, Page 8

TRANSPORT MINISTRY

» —— NEW PROPOSAL ELABORATED PROBLEM OF MAKING BOTH ENDS MEET The suggestions in the Railways Statement regarding the establishment of a Ministry of Transport were elaborated bv the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) when the Railway Estimates were under discussion in the House of Representatives on Saturday mowing. Mr. Coates said that such a Ministry existed in some other countries. It was an office in which was centralised all information and data—a bureau , which collected information in regard to all means of transport. In the bureau all the information was collected and statistics were sorted out, the information being given to the different Departments concerned. It was not necessarily one man, but might consist of more. Reasons for Establishment. Mr. Coates proceeded to give reasons for the establishment of such an office. In regard to passengers, the railways carried 1,500,000 fewer than in the previous year, and they had about 1,650,000 fewer passenger fares than in the previous year. That was an indication of the trend of the times. It was not necessarily the result of competition by omnibuses, but they knew that the indi-vidually-owned motor-car must have an effect upon the railway traffic. They saw the effect of the motor bus traffic, for instance, in the state of the Hutt railway service. In fact, in all the cities the same conditions prevailed. The severe competition' was forcing the subprban railway business into a very difficult position. Some would say that that did not matter, but he said it did matter. If the railways continued to show losses and business fell off the country would sooner or later be faced with a difficult problem, the problem of making both ends meet. They must have some means by which they could co-ordinate the traffic so that that huge publicly-owned concern might give a full return for its cost.