HARBOUR FERRIES

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 24, 29 January 1924, Page 9

HARBOUR FERRIES

SEARCH FOR NEW BUSINESS

EAST HARBOUR VERSUS CITY SUBURBS

WHAT IS THE FERRY BOARD'S POLICY?

(By "Eastbournian.")

Yesterday saw the inauguration by the .Eastbourne Ferry Board of a service to Seatoun and Karaka Bay. ' The city side of the harbour has not been served by harbour ferry boats for a number of years, in fact, not since the days of the old Ferry Company, when a,larger fleet than the present one enabled all sides of the harbour to be catered for equally. The piercing of the hill at Seatoun, and the inauguration of a frequent tramway service caused the ferry owners to see that the day of the boat was past, vanquished by electric power. Probably residents of the two suburbs heaved a sigh of relief. Certainly they were entitled to do so, and no one would have blamed them who knows anything of the ] discomforts attendant on. a trip down the harbour/ in the face of a southerly gale. However, after all these years it haa been decided to reconstitute the service, though with an abbreviated time-table— one boat to the city in the morning and one back in the evening, with a ntfdday boat from the city on Saturdays, flßd a Bpecial time-table on Sundays. Yesterday the boat to the city carried some fifty or sixty people," and to-day over a hundred were carried, quite a decent beginning, though it is more than probable that this number is a maximum which will have a very low minimum, especial-. ly if the weather becomes in any way rough. At present the days are sunny and cheerful, added to which is the charm of novelty. Thus there, are extra favourable conditions which are not likely to last. In fact, as the winter approaches it is certain that there will be defections in favour of the tramcar and its more stable, travelling conditions. This, some people will declare, is largely surmise, but the statement is none the less correct. Add to this the further fact that the Wellington City Council is paying a deal.of attention to this portion of its suburban districts, and it is easy to foresee a rate war as far as fares are concerned. , Perhaps residents- in the two districts have sought the extension of the ferry service for that particular purpose. If such has been the case, then it looks as though they will-not be-disappointed. The City Council;has gone to great expense in seeing that Seatoun is properly served in the way of transportation, and more recently a bus service i, between Seatoun and Karaka Bay has been inaugurated, carrrying an annual subsidy of £260. Now a certain number of residents have decided to support the ferry boafc^-for as long as it suits them! So much for Seatoun and Karaka Bay. Now let us consider the reasons for the Eastbourne Ferry Board- deciding to extend its operations to the city side of Port Nicholson. Last year the Ferry Board decided to purchase a new boat, and the Muritai was specially built at Montrose for ferry purposes. Her suitability or otherwise does not enter into the present discussion, but the amount of money_ involved does. For the purpose of the ' purchase, coupled with the cost of reconditioning the DucheßS and Cobar, a loan of £50,000' •at 7 per cent, -was sanctioned. This represents an additional £5500 per an: num on ferry expenses, without the extra charges by Way of wages andother running costs. ' The expenses of Tunning the Muritai have accordingly increased general ferry costs to an alarming extent, so much so that the Ferry Board has felt compelled to look for business further afield. A SERIOUS PROBLEM. Since the Muritai was purchased and placed on the cross-harbour run, there has certainly beea increased travelling returns," but by no means sufficient to pay even the interest, let alone increased running costs: The consequence has been that the Ferry Board is faced with a very serious problem. The bgst month ,so far experienced—last .December— gave the board an additional amount over and above the usual return for that month of £713, but this only with the most favourable weather. Past months have shown only a small increase in ferry revenue, which has certainly increased as the holiday season approached, but which will as surely decrease as the winter months get nearer. ; The fare of Is return for adults and 6d for children that it has been decided to charge from the Seatoun and Karaka Bay trip, is hardly likely to build up a lucrative business for the Ferry Board, while, on the other hand, it isimosi certainly going £o create a deal of trouble between residents and others who travel to and- fro between the city and Eastbourne and' members of the Ferry Board. A councillor at last Friday's meeting of the Eastbourne Borough Council, - when the matter was under discussion, remarked that they could not hope to make money out of the service, but were merely fulfilling a long-felt want. A most estimable sentiment, if one did not know the underlying reason for the new service. Such a statement, comine as it did from one who had, with his fellow councillors, presumably considered the monetary Bide of the venture, makes one pause .and think. If- the board only entered the service for. the sake of* philantrophy and not to harass the City Council, and § lease a few disgruntled residents of _ eatoun and Karaka Bay, then how far is a scheme so conceived likely to carry them on the road to future prosperity? Extra revenue is a dire necessity to the east harbour authority, and each of its councillors, it is to be hoped, has considered the proposition from all standpoints. If extra revenue is the prime reason for the project then why not charge a fare that will be commensurate with the cost of the undertaking as it is extremely doubtful, on the admission of the councillor referred to, that the funds will benefit to any great extent? The small sums that are likely to be received are not likely to repay the cost of the venture, and if they do not do so then the running of the boats is a useless burden on that.part' of the harbour service which is already showing a profit, j The Eastbourne Borough' Council, which controls the service, and whose members comprise the Ferry Board hare evidently got nothing in the way 'of an east harbour policy. If they had it is hardly likely that they would have yen- , tured to inaugurate cheaper fares to a I suburb which is to all intents and purposes the same distance from the city as is Eastbourne, and only slightly nearer than Day's Bay, and which jkas all its interests wound up with those of Wellington. In a little while those who .continue to patronise the boats from those places will be asking for the extension of season ticket privileges to them. Already the weekly'ticket is 6d cheaper than it is to Eastbourne and the presumption is that all later concessions will be expected' to be proportionately lower. QUESTION OF POLICY. To revert to the question of policy. The thi-ee ferry boats are owned and controlled by the representatives of the ratepayer! of Eastbourne, who purchased this primarily fsa; th» purpoei pi ji-

vancing the interests of the eastern side of the harbour. If a policy of this nature had been enunciated to its fullest limits so that no means of extension remained, then the board would certainly be right in catering for other parts. There are several bays ill the east harbour district which so far, are not served at all. York Bay has plenty of building land available, and already a number of houses erected. It is not practicable for these to be inhabited' all the year round at present, because of the lack of transport facilities. Lowry Bay is in the same category. Both places provide a plethora of ideal home sites which cannot be made uae of until some means of transportation has been evolved. The question of wharf accommodation is only of minor importance, as this can be provided with little or no difficulty. The running^ of .boats to .places northward of Day's Bay provides a policy which will do more to build up the east harbour bays for residential purposes than will aimless wandering to other parts of the harbour, "and at the same time will provide traffic to pay the ever-increasing charges on the ferry boats. Were, the other side of the harbour not served by trams, sufch a policy would aavour of dog-in-the-manger, but* under the circumstances the duty of the Ferry Board is to its own district, which is now being throttled owing to lack of outlet, and to its own people, and not to the suburbs of Wellington, which are already well served by electric cars.- ••- The question of fares is a serious one. To give concessions to those who are not deeply- concerned in the buccbss or otherwise of the ferry boats, better than what fe already granted to the nominal owners, is not in the best interests of the borongh, besides being an injustice to those who carry,on their shoulders the responsibility of seeing that the boats are a paying proposition. Every inducement possible should be made to encourage families to cross the harbour and build homes on east harbour shores. Such inducement will bear its own reward in providing an increased number of people to bear the financial burden, and at the came time provide fares as a balance to the ever increasing table of running costs.