TRANSPORT PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 256, 25 July 1930, Page 13

TRANSPORT PROBLEM

Legislation This Session NEED FOR CO-ORDINATION An indication of the introduction of far-reaching measures to bring about coordination in transport, both road and rail, was given by Mr. Forbes, who said legislation would be brought down this session to deal with the matter. “The heavy loss on the railways which has now to be met is only part of .the loss being incurred through the wasteful duplication of transport services and the general lack of co-ordination in this important economic field,” the Minister said “Under modern conditions transport is one of the most important factors in the economic welfare of the community, and the wasteful duplication of harbours, railways, and roads, with the relative duplication of services, can only mean that through higher rates and taxes, and increased prices for commodities and fares, working costs of the farmers, the manufacturers, and the distributors, and generally the price of goods and the cost, of travelling to all sections of the community, are much greater than they need be. “As was pointed out in the last Budget, the basic cause of the serious financial position of the railways is undoubtedly motor competition, and the irony of the situation is that this undermining of the earning power of the public railways has been facilitated by the expenditure of large amounts of public money in building good motor roads alongside the railways. , , “Transport matters have now reached such a position that, in the interests of the whole community, it is essential that far-reaching measures be adopted . to bring about some measure of co-ordina-tion in transport. The matter cannot be left to be settled by competition—firstly, because of the huge waste involved. which the Dominion cannot afford. and, secondly, because the competition is not on an equitable basis, in that, while the railways are expected to pay all costs, the road services are being indirectly heavily subsidised by the ratepayers and the taxpayers. In fact, the whole matter is of such importance that it is imperative to our national prosperity that the means shall be found of rationalising transport. “The Transport Department set up last year has been collecting and collating all the information and data available, both in this country and abroad.. The conclusions emerging from these investigations will be submitted to honourable members in the form of legislation during this session.”