GENERAL MANAGER'S PROMISE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 144, 16 December 1930, Page 12

GENERAL MANAGER'S PROMISE

MINIMUM FARE & CHILDREN'S CONCESSIONS

i The Mayor of Lower Hntt, Sir A. 1\ Roberts, reported to his council last night that, in company with the Mayor of Petone, Mr. D. M'Kenzif, and Councillor Campbell, of Lower Hutt, he had interviewed Mr. Sterling, General Manager of New Zealand Railways, on the question' of bus fares. The ■deputation had been put in possession of much information of which they had not been aware. Mr. Sterling had met the members very fairly, and although he could not promise to revert to the return fare to Wellington he had agreed not to raise the minimum faro of 3d and had promised to continue tho children's concession tickets. It had been arranged that the concession ticket would be subject to two clips per trip for an adult and one I clip for a child. Mr. Sterling had also ! promised that he would bo glad to discuss the whole subject of bus fares when'-the accounts for 31st March were ready. Councillor Campbell was also of the opinion that the deputation was well met by the General Manager, but he was still of the opinion that it was quite wrong to have raised the fares in the middle of the year. Ho was also of the opinion that the question of the licensing authority should be investigated. A better system could surely be devised. It was quite wrong that any body, such as the City Council, which was itself engaged in tho transport business, should be the licensing authority. It was surely wrong for any body to have the power to raise bus fare's and use such increases as a lever to raise the fares on the trams under its control. Tho attitude of a city councillor who had said, "How on earth ■ can we raise tram fares if we refuse- this application of the Railway Department for permission to raise its bus fares?" was surely quite wrong. The Mayor said lie entirely agreed with' Councillor Campbell, The licensing authority should not itself bo an owner of transport. The Lower Hutt Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting- held last evening, j endorsed, on the motion of Mr. A. W. Nesbit, tho efforts that had been made by.the Borough Council in opposing the proposed increase- in bus fares. The chamber declared itself on tho question owing to rumours having been afloat that the business men of Lower Hutt. were, for selfish reasons, supporting the increase.