CITY TRADING

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 77, 1 April 1931, Page 12

CITY TRADING

CREDIT BALANCES

TRAMS MAKE PROFIT

LOSS ON BUSES

"You will be interested to know how the city trading concerns have prospored during the past twelve months," said the Mayor (Mr. Q. A. Troup) at the Chamber of Commerce dinner last night. '' This is the end of the financial year. The city finance, so far as the district or general fund is concerned, is going to end all right. We will have a small balance, not exceeding £.1000, to spare on. the general fund. "A matter that' has caused us very considerable anxiety during the past year has been the tramway and bus systems. The trams during the past year finished with a profit of £8000. I know that will surprise you, because it was generally expected that the tramways would finish with a deficit. That is not so. It is accounted for by the fact that we have been watching things so closely. As the revenue went down, we have been reducing the expenditure at the same time. The general manager and I have been keeping very close hold on this, and I am glad to say our efforts have been successful to that extent." Mr. Troup said that in the tram 8} Tstem the 2d fare really carried the burden of the whole of the finance. You could not carry people seven miles for 3d and make it pay. The trouble was that more people every year were riding five, six, or seven miles for 3d than was the case formerly. So far as the expenditure went, a further saving could be effected in the coming year. He sincerely hoped the council would maintain the 3d fare to the distant suburbs, because it was important that the people should live out in the healthier suburban districts rather than crowd in the city. £13,000 LOSS ON BUSES. Although there had been a profit of £8000 on the trams, he was sorry to say that there had been a loss of £13,000 on the buses. He knew that some business men might think that the buses could be made to pay, but when it was remembered that the buses were only picking np the ragged ends of the traffic, and going out to sparsely populated districts, it would be seen that they could not be made to pay. On the two services there was a deficit of £5000. For many years past the council had been setting aside very considerable reserves for a rainy day. In the Accident Fund they had sufficient reserves to meet any claim made. This year they would not set aside £5000 for that fund, but instead that amount would go to meet the deficit he had referred to, so that there would be no charge on the rates. The next trading concern was that of light, power, and heat. This' year there had been a profit under this head of about £50,000; but of that £50,000 they had used £10,000, which had been voted for other purposes. There had been the building of sub-stations for the change-over and for the breakingdown of the current, and for additional wiring, which would ordinarily have gone to capital account. There had also, said the Ma.yor, been a profit of £7000 from the milk supply.