The Dominion SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1931 A SOCIAL CHANGE

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 286, 29 August 1931, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1931 A SOCIAL CHANGE

Ih the statistics set out in the annual report of the Transport Department, presented to parliament during the week, may be seen the evidence of a remarkable change in the habits of a people. In spite of depressed trade conditions road transport continues to make steady progress in public favour. Disconcerting as the prospect must be to railway management; the fact to be faced and admitted is that the highways not only have held the gains aiready made at the expense of the railways but also have made further encroachments upon their, field of business. As no analysis of the passenger traffic represented by private cars is possible the incidence of this loss to the railways can only be a matter of vague speculation. That it must be very considerable is obvious from the comparative figures available 'in respect to organised omnibus traffic, service car traffic over defined routes, and organised freight traffic. Estimating on monthly averages,, there were more motor-cars, trucks; omnibuses, trailers and - * tractors'ow the roads during the year 1930-31 than,during 1929-30 (March periods). This increase is reflected in an intensification of the competition with the railways. If we set the percentages of organised motor transport services against the railways, the comparison is really striking. On the road, the number of vehicles increased by 12 per cent., ' the mileage by 13 per cent., goods carried by 17 per cent., arid receipts by 4 per cent. There was a drop of 2 per cent, in the number of .. passengers carried. ’ On the railways, the number of passengers (excluding the railway road transport services) dropped by 14 per cent., season tickets by 10 per cent., goods by 11 per cent., and revenue by 9 per cent. In passing, it may be noticed that coastal shipping freight business dropped by 3 per cent. The broad result is that despite the efforts of official ingenuity to control the growth and vigour of road competition in order to ease, the strain on the railways, its development is irresistible. Even the Transport Department makes no attempt to avoid the conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing figures;-

The outstanding point emerging, states the report,, is that .the economic law of substitution, which is inevitable' in economic progress, is par-' tlculariy to be observed in the field of transport to-day. The plain fact , .appears to be that organised"road motor transport is rapidly gaining . ground, while , the rail and coastal shipping facilities are barely holding their position. It Is true that, the present depression has caused a shrinkage In the national volume of both goods and passenger traffic, but the fact that the motor transport business has expanded in spite of this drawback is evidence of the dynamic conditions in the industry. With this evidence available, it is difficult to avoid a feeling of impatience at . the 'ostrich-like : attitude of national. and .municipal , auuiorities. toward the looming) revolution in transport. At an earilier stage of the competition, before, all; but a’very few had realised its full significance, it was the custom, to regard .road transport as a piratical.enterprise'; wbjch wris-fildhing the railways’ > ■■ ' ruining a national investment, and that this competition could be dealt with by a process of official strangulation. It now seems clear that what really has happened is that a large and increasing section of the public, of its own choice, is changing its habits, and permanently. ' In view of the immense sums sunk in the railways it is but natural that recognition of this new fact of modern life should be reluctant and tardy. Nevertheless, it must be regarded as inevitable. It is no use humbugging ourselves. Human nature is constitutionally unable to accommodote. itself to the practice of that kind of civic morality which consists in patronising a community enterprise merely 'as an act of patriotism. It may be forced to do so by inescapable 'circumstance, but never as long as a preferable alterriative is available. The country, awaits a policy which will recognise that fundamental condition, and more, skilfully and effectively co-ordinate these competitive elements in public transport.