ROAD V. RAIL

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 26, 31 July 1933, Page 8

ROAD V. RAIL

A KNOTTY PROBLEM

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

DIFFERENTIAL BATES

Professor T. Hytten occupies tho place of honour in tho latest circular of the Bank of New South Wales. His subject is: "Koad and Rail Transport." He deals with the difficulties of achieving co-ordination between the two forms of transport, and contends that no country has, as yet, found tho solution to the problem. Expedients of all kinds have been tried and have achieved gome success, but no scheme has been entirely successful, although there are in some of the experiments tried tho germs of ideas-that may eventually point to success. "If it were a matter," states the writer, "of one form of transport entirely superseding the other on account of greater efficiency the problem would ibe comparatively simple, but this is not the cafe. In some spheres the railway is indispensable, and the time when it may become out of date is not in sight. But, on the other hand, there are spheres in which it is already, obsolete or obsolescent, and in these it must be superseded by the road vehicle. The problem is, therefore, to define the respective economic spheres of the two forms of transport. In seeking a solution the public interest must be considered to the exclusion of all other, keeping in mind tho fact that although the railways in Australia arc public property, tho public interests may, nevertheless, bo best served by the curtailment of their operations." DOOR-TO-DOOR CARRIAGE. The problem, is complicated by the fact that since motor transport is for the moment progressing at a- faster rate than 'railway technique, no solution can be permanent, since the growing, efficiency of motor ■ transport will demand for it increasing encroachments on railway territory. The article sets out the .'relative advantages of the two forms of transport, and points out that road transport in being able to carry' goods from the producer's door direct.to. destination without transhipment eliminates terminal charges. This means that over short distances the road motor is more economical than railways, whereas over ionger distances the railway is the more economical of the two. Added to this, the motor-vehicle has the advantage of being operated in small units allowing for more frequent services. It provides undivided responsibility, thereby avoiding disputes over breakages and losses in transit, and in seme cases obviates tho necessity of tho careful packing the railway demands for fragile goods. ' . All theso are real and economic advantages, but the road motor also •is able' to take certain advantages which make it necessary to regulate motor: traffic. These are summarised nnder three headings: — (1) The overhead charges of road transport are of less importance and they have not tho same need to differentiate between classes of traffic, which in practice means that they carry tho goods for which the railways charge high rates, leaving the • latter with the low grade tramc in • which they cannot compete. (2) They have not the same heavy charges for the construction and maintenance of the road. „ (3) They are not subject to the same rigid labour regulations and sometimes escape other costs unfairly. ■ OWNER-DRIVER ASPECT. In connection with tho latter point tho article deals -with tho small ownerdrivers- who sometimes escape costs merely by failing to meet them. V There are many of these people," states tho article, " who will work day .and night to get a living with a motor-truck. By overloading they do damage both to truck and road, and tho general result is that the truck is worn out before it is paid for. The owner goes bankrupt or his truck is re-possessed by the dealer, but in the meantime he has done a great deal of damage to the railway in that he has cut his rates and forced other motor owners to follow his lead. Discussing possible remedies, the article points out that it is sometimes necessary to curtail road transport, while at other times the Tailway is more economical and has to be protected: The fact that the railways are State Bailways is no special reason for their protection. All industries scrap plant that has become uneconomical on account of obsolescence, no matter what its cost. If cheaper transport is available, it is uneconomical to keep even costly railway plant. Because the problem is constantly changing, a flexible form of regulation is recommended. This can best bo undertaken 'by transport boards with wide powers and equally wide sympathies. Such boards should mako it their aim to achieve as much co-opera-tion as possible between railways and road carriers, closing uneconomical lailway'lines and eliminating road competition with others aiming, constantly at making road vehicles feeders to the railway linos. ' Speaking of. future developments, the article points out that theso are likely to be in the direction of the levelling out of differences between tho .two forms of transport. Railways arp already adopting lighter and faster units on lines with sparse traffic in order to provide more frequent services. On the other hand development in road transport organisation points_ to the integration of road transport into larger units. It points out that the small owner-driver who overworks both himself and his vehicle in time bocomes a menace to other road carriers, to those who financo him, and even to himself. • ORGANISED SERVICES. ■ Boad transport will not work as efficiently as it should without more careful organisation of services which will provide vehicles-with full or reasonably full loads. This will mean tho olimiiwlion of competition by the amalgamation -of competing interests or by the agreement for the establishment of organised services with freight clearing houses at terminals. Once motor transport is organised on these lines, it is not unlikely (.hat it will develop freight tariffs on the samo lines as thoso of tho railways charging different rates for different types of goods. There is a tendency in that direction now caused by the amonnt of overhead charges incurred, and the importance of overhead costs must grow with these developments. "There is a great deal of nonsense talked," says the article,, "on the matter of differential railways rates, which are generally considered unfair only because the principles underlying them are not understood. Motor carriers join the chorus of jeers because it seems good propaganda; but they will gradually bo forced to-adopt the same principle. It must bo adopted sooner or later in industries in which overhead costs play a substantial part. The justification for differential rates is not to be found in tho fact that somo commodities, being more valuable than others, can afford to pay more. Tho justification lies deeper, in the fact that differential rates conduce the fullest use of the service since it allows porno articles to bo transported which

could not stand transport at average payable rates. ' Thus largo areas of wheat lands in Australia would never havo been developed had wheat been required to pay the samo rate as every other commodity." The article is supported by a page of transport statistics.