NOT AT ALL CONVINCING

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 47, 23 August 1930, Page 10

NOT AT ALL CONVINCING

(To tho Editor.) ShI,—ln your issue of Wednesday you publish a statement giving "the moat convincing reason for the council s decision to reduce the services, etc.," of the city bus system. May I suggest, Sir, that the statement.is a most convincing reason for the Mayor and councillors to examine the position even casually for themselves. Is it seriously intended that the people living in these outlying districts are expected to swallow this example of financial wizardry? „ ~ r. Take the Mornington-Brooklyn run. Ua three months' working a loss is shown of £228. Expenses incurred total £429, including depreciation, and income only £109. This cost o£ £429 in three months equals £143 per month, or roughly £b us per day on a twenty-seven days _ a month running. As the number of trips per day is twenty-five,' this cost works out at 4s 3d per trip. ISow, Sir, tins bus, I understand, has a maximum oad o£ twenty-five passengers and a full load at 2d per passenger can only bring in 4s 2d. How can the bus be made to pay? I would like to ask the Mayor A this'bus is used for any other running during the time it is not in use on the Brooklyn run? Is any revenue derived, from such mining credited to this bin,, and is any of the amount debited to deP Whaftlrcentage is allowed for .yearly on the cost of the bus as depreciation Is not the Brooklyn bus now written right °ftKnw Sir, as the loss (?) shown on this enlightened statement for *» £™ «™^ apart from sight-seeing, is £3,03 foi thiee TnnnHi<s which equals ±,14,UUU pel ye«u, I way ouV of the' difficulty seems to bo to cut out altogether the services running should hhOT a W£iu^° h , d £804 . L^Mi- £570; oi''£2so7 per quarter lofi. C districts really requiring better bad the whole transport system is showing a.loss, and the financial position is at ° Abss'of £1710 per year on the Brooklyn bns capitalised at 8 per cent, (interest fl por cent" and sinking fund 2 per cent, would mean £21.450, more than sufficient to build tho mile of tramway to Mornmgton even on the seemingly highly conservative estimate of our city engineers. By having a reasonable service to a district such as this nnd thereby encouraging people to use the transport (system, considerable additional revenue would be obtained, and co help the distressed finances ot the Tramway Department. I would suggest to the council as an alternative to .abandon the feeder bus service and permit private enterprise to run services from these outlying districts righ*; to the city and so serve these people in a reasonable manner and save tho huge losses to the council. —I am, etc., ROTHSCHILD.