CITY TRAMWAYS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 1, 1 July 1912, Page 8

CITY TRAMWAYS

BOARD'S NEW PROPOSALS SUGGESTIONS BY COUNCILLOR FULLER. SOME INTERESTING FIGURES. Just at this time the one question m municipal affaire is the question of tlio city tramways. Tho report, ot the Tramway Board, published last week, hsus aroused a great deal of interest everywhere, aud the debate on the subject will be followed very keenly. In the meantime Councillor Fuller, v?hp has made the domain of tramway management and finance his special province, has gone deeply into the matter, and brought to light many interesting fact* and figures, which may be of considerable use in elucidatiug the situation. l MORE INFORMATION NEEDED. In the first place, Councillor Fuller, in the course of an interview with a Post reporter to-day, emphasised the difficulty of ascertaining the position from the abstract statement of income and expenditure and balance-sheet of the Wellington City Tramv/ays as published by the City Council. Both in Christchurch. and Dunedin the traruw&y authorities prepared a- clear summary, prefaced to the statement of accounts, 60 that the situation could bo seen at a, glance. An expert accountant was needed to fossick out of the maze of figures in the Wellington statement the crucial items in tho year's financial working. -A full summary of information in regard to the working of our tramways was needed. POWER SUPPLY SEPARATE FROM TRAMWAYS. It is not right, Councillor Fuller thinks, that the statistics and finances of the power supply branch of the municipal electricity enterprise should be included in the tramway statement. It only leads to confusion, and obscures the true position of the tramways. Power supply should come under the department of electric light. The amount of current might easily be measured up and charged for in the usual way. Th« tramways should stand strictly by themselves as a. separate undertaking, and be separately managed and financed. The citizens would then know where the tramways stood. MANAGERIAL EXPENSES. Managerial expenses on the Wellington tram-way system Councillor Fuller considers excessive. He makes a comparison with Christchurch and Dunedin on the basis of the. Capital of the three concerns. The capital value of the Wellington and Christchurch tramway systems is approximately £500,000 each ; of Dunedin, £300,000 r the exact figures being ; Wellington £619,865, Christchurch '£543,972, Dunedin £304,664* The managerial expenses, including superintendence, ticket check (salaries of ticket office staff and ticket inspectors), salaries of .general officers and staff are as follow for the last year under review :— £ 8 d Wellington ... >.. 8,742 14 4 Christchurch 3,022 13 2 Dunedin ... • ... 2,960 I^s 11 Thus, the cost 3h Wellington is over > double what' if is at Christchurch, 'though the capital is' approximately the same. The items, by wnich Councillor Fuller makes up the total expenses of management for Wellington and Christchurch, are given as follow in the tramway statements of the two cities :—: — .Wellington. — Superintendence (undoi 1 heading "Traffic Expenses"), £1253 3s 8d; salaries of general officers and staff (under heading ''General Expenses' 1 ), £3154 19s lOd; ticket check (including salaries of ticket office staff and ticket •inspectors), £4334 10s. Christchurch. — Superintendence of officers (under heading "Traffic Expenses), £617 9s 8d ; wages, traffic and motor inspectors, and other employees (same heading), £1238 15s 9d; ticket check, ticket inspectors' salaries, printing tickets, and salaries ticket clerks (same heading), £2066 7s 9d. \ Power expenses (salaries and wages) are.— Wellington, £4476 11» sd ; Christchurch, £3317 3b 2d. DEPRECIATION AND RENEWAL. For depreciation and renewals the allowances of the three cities are :r-*Wel-lington, £13,829 3s 2d; Christchurch, 19,447 10s; Dunedin, £13,572 2s lid. The capital values of the three systems have already been given. Wellington allows 2| per cent, for depreciation, Christchurch 2 percent, for depreciation and/2 per cent for renewals on capital •value. ■ Councillor Fuller considers that at least £6000 a year more should be carried to the depreciation fund to bring Wellington up to the proper standard set in this respect by Christchurch. The question is where- .should ihe extra revenue come from. RESIDENTIAL CONCESSIONS. While fully in agreement with th« board's proposals to cut down the length of the sections. Councillor Fuller thinks the measure a little too drastic in regard to suburban dwellers. He considers the board's proposal of universal concession •tickets- of fourteen ridea for, a Is will still hit the man who lives thTOft or four sections out of town too hard and will have the effect of putting a> burden on him almost equal to the oxtra rent of a house nearer town. He proposes for the benefit of those who live three or four tramway sections out of town a residential concession ticket, giving sixteen rides for a Is, but only available in a minimum of three clips. Thus a resident of Island Bay would not be able to us© his eixteen-a-shilling ticket if he were just travelling two consecutive sections io Rintoulstreet junction. The minimum for which this ticket could bo used would be three consecutive sections. HOW IT WORKS OUT. Councillor Fuller has prepared a rough table showing how the system would work out for Island Bay and Nowtonn. Island B. Nwtn. d d Present concession and fare 2| 2 Board's proposal — 14 for' ls over increased number of section*... 3£ " 2£ Councillor Fuller's pro- I posal — 16 for Is residential 3 2£ To City Boundary or Lyall .Bay he works out tho rates as: — At present, 2£d concession ; board's proposal, 3id ; Councillor Fuller's proposal, 3d. Karon would work out similarly. In support the councillor urges that the burden should be imposed more- gradually than as intended by the board. The 16 als residential concessions -would not affect the short distance traffic at all, as not operative under a- length of three sections, and would give a. certain increase of rovenuo above the present concessions, but would not tend to drive the suburban resident from using tho cars at all, or from the suburbs. SHOWING A SURPLUS. Finally Councillor Fuller .thinks that a new time-table better adapted to conditions and a cutting out ol waste mile. ag«, especially along Jervois-quay, would otfecC a-_ Buvinjx of £3000, while

siou and special residential concession tickets should bring in £8000 more. A general reduction of managerial and other expenses would cul out at least another £3000, leaving the council £14,000 to tho good. Of this £6000 should go to the depreciation fund, leaving a credit "balanco or surplus of £8000.