CHEAPER FARES

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 90, 13 October 1922, Page 4

CHEAPER FARES

ON THE CITY TRAMS

CONCESSION TICKET REDUCTIONS

LONG-DISTANCE RESIDENTS

BENEFITED,

Eeduotions in the price of the longerdistance tram concession tickets were recommended to the City Council last night by the Tramways Committee. The recommendations were a reduction of 3d on the four-section concession tickets ;

Of 6d on the five and six section concession tickets; And 3d on the four and five section workers' tickets. . . -.

The reductions to take effect from the Ist November.

The Mayor (Mr. E. A. Wright, M.P.) said the reduction would amount to about £1500 a year. Councillor P. Fraser, M.P., pointed out that large numbers of people who used the one, two, or three section kets used the cars perhaps twice as much as travellers over the longer distances, and he hoped reductions would be made in their favour as soon as possible. Councillor O. H. Chapman said the committee was very cautious in the matter of reduction of fares. He thought moro reduction might have been made in the price of the tickets over shorter distances. The revenue of the trams, he pointed out, was much more satisfactory than last year, and there was every prospect that that satisfactory return would continue. It was significant that, although a reduction had been made in the price of concessions over the single section some time ago, the revenue was still increasing, and that was a point in favour of still greater reductions. The prices of the short distance concession tickets could be cheapened without risk of financial loss.

Councillor C. J. B. Norwood said he would have preferred to have seen full consideration given to the " zoning " of the various districts, by which system trams would leave the termini with full loads instead of picking up passengers cn x route. , The financial return would thus be improved, enabling the council to decrease the fares over the longer distances. He would like to see experiments carried out to that end, and he was sure his proposal' would serve the interests of the people of Karori much better than the cutting out of a single section, 'a* had recently been done as a means of curtailing the fare to that suburb. - PROFIT NOT EXCESSIVE. Councillor W. J. Gaudin stated that the profit of £22,000 made last year could not be held to be excessive. The tramway concern was just emerging from a very difficult period, and it was too early yet to make any drastic reduction in fares. When the new works were completed, a" sum of £11,000 in interest would have to be faced, and, besides, there were many unproductive works, such as duplications, to be carried out. The committee had done the right thing. Councillor L. M'Kenzie thought that the residents of the outlying districts should^be granted greater concessions in fares. 'The passenger traffic must be increased, and the only way to do that was to lower the fares. In. England, fares had been reduced, with the result that the volume of traffic had increased by 18 per cent. When the fares were cheap in Wellington on the first section, people used the teams, • whereas | they walked to-day rather than pajT2d. For the past twenty-four weeks there had been a decrease of 60,000 in the j number of passengers carried, but 10,400 more car miles had been run. That was a disquieting fact which needed explanation. Why run greater, mileage with fewer passengers? Councillor M. F. Luckie: " Sixty thousand out of 60,000,0Q0 is a mere nothing." Councillor M'Kenzie: "Oh, no, of course it is nothing." The council should see that no more cars than necessary were run. to suit the whims of certain people, who exerted pressure, on the council. ' Councillor H. D. Bennett agreed with the latter point raised by Councillor M'Kenzie. It was only with very great reluctance that he had agreed to sup-, port the present suggested-reductions, which %vere due to a question of policy submitted by the Mayor, as chairman of the Tramways Committee. People living in the outlying districts should be carried at as low a rate as possible. At present, however, these people were being carried at a loss, which had to be made up by the travellers on the city sections. The council must give up the policy of making reductions in revenue without being aware of the future working expenses. THE TRAMWAYMEN'S WAGES.. The Mayor (Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P.) said the council could not go any further in the matter of reductions, because it did not know what was going to be the tramwaymen's wages. Councillor Chapman: "Has the tramwaymen's case gone to th* Court?" The Mayor: " I was informed by the Conciliation Commissioner that it. was going there." Councillor-Chapman: " If so, it should have gone there some weeks ago." The Mayor: "I am not aware whe- | ther anything is hanging the matter up. If so, it -will be news to me, I shall make inquiries." Councillor J. Burns put in a plea for a rectification in the length of the sections on the Karori line in order to give concessions to the residents of that suburb. . '

Councillor T. Forsyth said the committee had given its l'fidommenadtions careful consideration. When the" one-section conosssion reduction was effected some time ago, the committee announced that that <was merely a preliminary to further reduction over the longer distances, and the committee was now carrying out that promise. Councillor B. G. H^Burn thought the city might have gone a little further and given the residents in the distant suburbs the benefit of a greater reduction.

Councillor A. W. Parton referred to the possibilities of increasing the revenue of the undertaking through the medium of advertising on the tickets.

After further discussion, the recommendations were adopted.

STUDENTS' CONCESSIONS,

The council also decided to issue monthly concession tickets to evening students, at the Technical College under the age 'of eighteen years *t the following rates:—Two-section tickets 2s, threesection tickets 3s, four-section tickets 4s, five-section tickets sb.

The Mayor (Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P.) said it was felt the students at the Technical College had not,a great deal of money to spare, and the committee proposed to give them the benefit, of a reduction. - ,