TRAMWAY REVENUE UP

Evening Post, Issue 149, 20 December 1935, Page 6

TRAMWAY REVENUE UP

It is very satisfactory lo note that Wellington's tramway revenue, which had shown a serious decline in recent years, is now taking a turn for the better. According to the general manager of the tramways department there is "an upward movement in the volume of business handled by the department." Between 1929 and 1934 the average number of journeys per head of population served by the Corporation's transport services fell from 460 to 320, representing a loss, Mr.. Cable states, of over twelve million passengers annually. Though the general improvement in business is probably reflected in the tramway returns, an outstanding factor in the increase of traffic has been the popularity of the ten-trip one-section concession ticket, which is now used by more than half the total number of passengers who travel on the tramways. Sales, of this ticket have far exceeded anticipations, but, as they involve a large fare concession, the recovery in passenger traffic is not reflected to the same extent in revenue. The chief competitor of the tramway is the private motor-car, and, as the number of motor-cars is increasing, Mr. Cable does not anticipate that the improvement in tramway traffic is likely to be greatly accelerated in the near future. This competition can only be met by offering greater inducements to travel by tram, and the department is keeping a close watch on developments in this direction elsewhere in the world.