CARRYING TRADE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 303, 18 September 1936, Page 11

CARRYING TRADE

Services in Smaller Towns LACK OF CONTROL * Licensing Exemption To Be Abolished With the object of placing the carrying business in the smaller towns on a more efficient basis as well as securing a reasonable standard of efficiency among rural carriers, it has been-de-cided to abolish with certain exceptions the exemption from licensing which applies at present to carriers operating within six miles of the post office of a borough or town district. An announcement on these lines was made last night by the Minister of Transport, Hon. R. Semple. The Minister stated that the Transport (Goods) Order, 1936, which was gazetted on July 18, provided that goods services in which goods .were hauled solely within a radius of six miles from the chief post office of any borough district, or within special areas surrounding the four main cities, did not come under the licensing system. In view of representations made to him recently by the four new licensing authorities, who had just completed, inspections of their respective districts, and also in view of the representations from various interested organisations, it had been decided to abolish the six miles exemption except in th.e case of the following towns: —Whangarei, Hamilton, Rotorua, Gisborne. Napier, Hastings, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Masterton, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru. Oamaru and Invercargill. The four special exempted areas around the four main cities remained unaltered, as also did the statutory exemption of goods services carried on entirely within the boundary of a borough or town district. The new provision would come into effect to-day. Reason For Alteration. “The main reason for the alteration is that local authorities in the smaller towns exercise virtually no control over the local .carriers,” said the Minister. “Inquiries show that out of a total of 134 boroughs and town districts of under 6000 population only 36 have by-laws controlling local carriers, and very few of these use their bylaw powers. The result of this lack of control is intense competition, which is reflected in generally unsatisfactory conditions not only in the local carrying business but through the whole of the truck industry in the rural areas. “Competition in the uncontrolled areas drives down the general standards of operation and forces the unlicensed operators to extend their activities beyond the six miles limit. In the face of this uncontrolled competition it is almost impossible to maintain reasonable standards of driving hours, wages, vehicle fitness, etc., on services that come under the licensing provisions.” The Minister strongly urged those carriers who would now require licences to lodge applications with the Commissioner of Transport, Wellington, without delay. He pointed out that carriers who did not run beyond the boundaries of any borough or town district did not require licences. “The future policy to be followed in the larger towns where the six-mile exemption still applies, and in the special exempted areas around the four main cities will depend on the results of the investigations which I have arranged to have carried out in these cases,” the Minister concluded: