WELLINGTON TRAMS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 45, 21 August 1908, Page 5

WELLINGTON TRAMS.

FACTS, FIGURES, AND CONCLUSIONS.

THEY CHARGE PASSENGERS LEAST. 11. Three objects of municipal tramways stated : to provide transit ; to maintain the undertaking in a sound financial condition and pay off borrowed money ; and to relieve the rates. So far, the Wellington trains have stopped at the first step. Their financial condition is the matter in debate; but certainly they are making no adequate provision to pay off borrowed money, and certainly they are far from relieving the rates. The reason is that the Wellington City Council has not pondered the Glasgow tramways manager's advice ; and it has yielded in both directions to the pressure that was specified as likely to bring a municipal tram system to financial grief— the public pressure for decreased fares, and the employees' pressure for increased wages. The Wellington trams carry passengers a longer distance for their money than the other city tramways of New Zealand. The Wellington trams pay employees higher wages than the other city tramways of New Zealand. The average fare charged to a passenger for every mile of line he travels is as under :—: — Average Fare per Mile of 1 Journey. .Well'gton. Auck'd. Christ'ch. Dunedin. 0.79 d 0.93 d. 0.96 d .' l.Old. Can anyone say why, at the outset of a doubtful undertaking — an undertaking which, as the Glasgow manager says, requires the strictest economy and the closest watchfulness if it is to thrive — the Wellington passengers \ should pay less fare than Auckland charges? than Christchurch charges? and nearly a farthing less per mile than i CDunedin charges ? If there is loss, it is the ratepayers who will have to find the money. Why should Wellington ratepayers take a risk in excess of that which Christchurch and Dunedin ratepayers take? And the low Wellington fare has erven been made lower in the last two years — in 1906 the average fare per mile of line was o.Bld. It has cost, too, much more m Wellington than m Christchurch or Dunedin to put that average mile of ' lino in place for passengers to travel over. Here are the figures.:— Capital Expenditure per Mile of Track. (Wellington. Christehnrch. Dunedin. £18,200 £9,334 £14,564 " Nearly £4000 per mile more than in Dunedin; nearly twice as much as in Christchurch. Yet the Wellington passenger pays the lowest fare. It costs much more to work tho Wellington lines than it costs in Christ- ' church or Dunedin. Here are the figures :—: — I Working Expenses per Mile of Track. I Wellington. Christchurch. Dunedin. £2,991 £1,185 £1,571 More to build the line in Wellington, and more to operate the line ; yet the Wellington passenger pays the lowest fare. Should not his fare bear some proportion to the additional cost of the .Wellington tramways? Should not the .Wellington passenger's fare be at least as much per mile as a passenger pays in Christchurch, where it cost the City Council little more than half as much per mile to build the lines, "where it does not cost half as much per mile to jnaintain and operate them? If the Wellington passenger /were asked to pay an average penny per mile until the tramway undertaking is with- | out dbubt on a sound footing, would he not receive fair, and even liberal treatment, all things considered, in comparison with the passenger in Christ- j church who pays a trifle less, and the passenger in Dunedin who pays a trifle more ? It all goes to the profit of the city ; it all helps to guard the city agairist loss. Tha cheaper fare in Wellington of course] means a lesser proportionate revenue in so far as revenue depends j upon the greater or lesser distance that a passenger is carried for a given sum. Thus the cheaper Wellington fare has its influence upon the following significant comparison : Average Fare Paid per Passenger.* Wgtn. Ackld. Chch. Dndn. 1.33 d 1.47 d 2.16 d 1.33 d Average Working Expenses per Passenger. Wgtn. Ackld. Chch. Dndn. 0.96 d o.BBd 1.31 d 0.74 d Excess of Fare over Working Expenses per Passenger. Wgtn. Ackld. Chch. Dndn. 0.37 d 0.59 d 0.85 d 0.59 The difference is seriously against Wellington, and to Wellington's lesser average fare per mile must be attributed a portion of the difference. An increased fare in Wellington in proportion to distance will probably mean that fewer passengers will travel, and that they will not travel so often, so that the total revenue will tend to decrease. On tho other hand the revenue in proportion to services will be increased, and it is reasonable to expect an approximately corresponding decrease of expenditure. THEY PAY EMPLOYEES MOST. Here are comparative figures of wages paid by the tramway systems of the four cities. In Auckland, where the trams are owned by a company, the wages are fixed by the Arbitration Board. In the other cities, the City j Council operates the trams and fixes the wages. Wages per Hour of Tramway Employees.

The comparison cannot be made exactly, because (1) the description of employees differs in different services; (2) there occur in each city, in one class or more, a few employees who by reason of length of service or special merit are paid nrore than the average rate. For a closer comparison it is necessary to know the number of men employed in each city at' each wage, in order that the average wage in each class may be ascertained precisely; and this information the Wellington City Council should endeavour to obtain in order to be sure of its ground before dealing with the present demand for increased .wages. The comparieon may b« taken, how«w*r, as showing standard wages — particularly for the two most numerom* classes of employees, motormen and conductors; and it shews that these employees are paid in Wellington from Id to _l£d per hour more than they receive in any of the other cities. All other employees, also, tend to be paid k Sit a hi«her rate in Wellington than.

elsewhere. In ' addition, there are concessions such as a bonus of £122 given to motormen in 1907; and last year the Wellington account was charged with £361 for instruments for the tramway employees' band. In this connection it should be pointed out that Wellington traffic expenses last year ros« considerably. The figures for three years are : Traffic Expenses. 1906. 1907. 1908. £32,572 £39,320 £49,661 Or, reduced to the accepted standard of miles run by the cars : Traffic Expenses per Car Milo. 1906. 1907. 1908. 5.31 d 5.51 d 5.77 d Here is shown the share which employees' wages had in increasing the traffic expense rate of 1908 :—: — 1907. 1908. Per car Per car mile. Cost. mile. Cost. d. £ d. £ Salaries and wages 0.37S 8,657 0.401 3,468 Wages motormen and conductors 3.881 27.C67 4.034 34.818 Inspectors 0.169 1,207 0.200 1,721 Despatchcrs and pointsmen 0.030 ' 610 0.074 043 Car examiners and cleaners ... 0.428 3,051 0.408 4,028 General cleaning 0.030 216 0.047 411 Track cleaners... 0.172 1,225 0.172 1,473 5.14S 36,663 5.396 46,562 Put into words, this shows that tho wages paid the traffic department were increased by all but £10,000 last year as compared with tho year before — an increase at the rate of 27.2 per cent. ! Reduced to the standard of car mileage, I the charge upon revenue of traffic department wages was last year a farthing per car mile more than in ths preceding year. Last year's traffic revenue of £118,441 was £24,049 more than that of the year preceding — an increase at the rate of 25.4 per cent. ; so that the expenditure on traffic department wages, which represents 57 per cent, of the total working expenditure, was last year increasing nearly two per cent, faster than the traffic revenue was increasing. No estimate has been published of the total addition which the proposed new increments to traffic wages will make to the expenditure ; but doubtless the City Council wilF have such an estimate compiled, and will consider it in relation to the revenue, before accepting the recommendation of the Tramways Committee. There are several reasons for believing that the Wellington tramways camel is in somewhat j precarious health, and any new load should therefore be added to its burden very cautiously. It would be indiscreet to say dogmatically that the Welling- J ton scale of wages is excessive, con- ! sidering the cost of living in Wellington; but it is, of course, already the most liberal scale in the country, and its liberality must be viewed in relation to the total costs and profits of tho municipal enterprise. To take such a view is, for the City Council, exceptionally difficult; and on this account it is concluded that the Arbitration Court is better fitted to adjust employees' hours and wages satisfactorily to the ratepayers.

Wgtn. Ackld. Chch. Dndn. b. d s. d. s. d. s. d. .First-class motormen . 1 H> 1 0 1 0 1 0 Second - class ' motormen .11 10 10 10 first-class con- i dactors ... 1 0 0 10£ 0 10 £ OHi Second - clas» conductors ... 0 11£ 0 10£ 0,, 9 0 10£ Car examiners 13 1 Cj 1 1J 1 0j 'Assistant car examiners ... i 0{ — — — Linemen ... 1 3 — 13 10 Trackmen ... 1 0 10 OHi 1 0 Labourers ... 1 0 0 10* OHi 0 lOfc Firemen ... 1 2 1 1J OHi — Greasers ... 1 2 1 0 — —