VERY GOOD YEAR

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 92, 18 April 1940, Page 8

VERY GOOD YEAR

LARGER BALANCES

TRANSPORT AND POWER" .-..;:

EXHIBITION TRAFFIC

General satisfaction was expressed by members of the 'City' Council last night at the result of the. operations of the tramways and electricity department during, the twelve months ended on March 31. The very satisfactory results, said the Mayor, Mr. X. C. A. Hislop, were due in large jiart to the meeting of demands of a larger travelling and visiting public during the period of the Exhibition. The transport system ended the year with a credit balance of £26,183, and the electricity department with a credit of £29,572, but buses alone were on the wrong side by £6,975.

The general manager, Mr. M. Cable, stated that the credit balance on tramway. operation was £33;158. Passengers carried on trams were 48,211,753, an increase of 4,201,144, compared with 1938-39.

Traffic revenue was £488,450, an increase of £65,514. Working expenses increased by £32,930 and special expenditure by £7872, the latter being due chiefly to temporary track work and equipment in connection with the Exhibition, but in addition trams .and buses were provided, involving an expenditure of £78,205. .

Compared with the previous year bus revenue increased by £8190, and expenses by £9318. Of the latter amount £3313 represented increased depreciation charges due to the addition of new vehicles. After meeting working expenses and depreciation there was a loss of £6975 on bus operations.

The net financial result of the operation of trams and buses combined was a credit of £27,183. compared with a credit of £1368 in the preceding year.

Mr. Cable drew attention to the fact; that no depreciation on tramways had been included in the year's expenses, otherwise the credit balance would have been only £602.

EVER-INCREASING DEMAND:

The electricity department revenue for the year, stated Mr. Cable, was £435,715, an increase of £53,155. Working expenses, special charges, and appropriations amounted to £406,143, an increase of £37,947, due principally to the increased quantity of power purchased from the Government. The net result of the year's operations was a credit balance of £29,572, compared with £14,364 in 1938. Mr. Cable stated that the credit balance would be required for exten- ! sions to the distribution system. He had pointed out last year that the department was entering upon a period of essential extensions and that it was only'those new works which enabled it to cater for a valuable and everincreasing domestic load. The success of the department in obtaining well over 50 per cent, of all-electric houses in the Government housing-areas-en-tailed an obligation to ensure thai

the requirements of such "areas, were fully catered for. Owing to the depletion of the reserve fund the . department would depend largely upon revenue in coping with the eve/-grow-ing demand for electricity supply. ■ .

VERY SATISFACTORY YEAR.

The Mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, said that the result of the year's working of the transport system was extremely satisfactory and could be said -to have been due to the larger numbers of passengers carried during the Exhibition months. The figur.es grew during the holiday period. and the additional business was still evident, though there would be some falling away after the close of the Exhibition.

In the current financial year the department had to meet for the first tjme for six years the annual charge, at the rate of 2 per cent, on depreciable assets, for depreciation and renewal funds. The council was, relieved -of that obligation' during the depression years and the exemption had continued up to the present,. but the payment, amounting to £25,000, had again to be made, and rightly so, for it waa essential that the funds should be built-up.

"The very fine result of the past year," said Mr.. Hislop, "will enable us to meet the whole of the. charge for renewal and depreciation -this year without interference with fares or any other readjustments." v

Mr. Hislop paid a tribute to the successful work of the management in rearranging time-tables, providing additional rolling stock,, and so \vatching traffic that trams and buses ran' to good capacity, meeting public demands, but permitting no waste. The whole service, said Mr. Hislop, had shown a splendid spirit of co-operation in meeting all the needs of the travelling public. The very satisfactory result of the Electricity Department's year, a. credit balance of £29,572, had also in part been affected by the Exhibition, directly by power consumed at the Exhibition, and.also by the additional demands for lighting, heating, and power through many more people being in Wellington. Apart from that there had been a phenomenal increase in the demand for electrical services, but the j credit for the year would largely have! to go. in expenditure upon the expansion of the system. •

Althca^jh the Exhibition must result in the loss of shareholders' capital, of which the tramways department had taken up £6250, it was clear, said Mr. Hislop, that there had been a gain of £25,000, after paying for additional track, etc. Though the electricity department had not gained so directly, the very fine result' for the year was in part due to the Exhibition and the influx of visitors. .

EFFECT OF HIGHER FARES

Councillor P. M. Butler said that they had spent a tremendous amount of money on new rolling stock and in other directions. The question of depreciation should, be carefully watched with a view to seeing that the renewal account did not become a burden, as was the case up.to si? years ago. While all due credit must be given to the Exhibition visitors, a good deal of the improved position was attributable to the increase in the long-distance fares which came into operation just before the Exhibition opened. \He understood that about £4000 or £5000 had resulted from the increase, and he hoped that when the proper time arrived the council would do everything possible to reduce the fares. •■•.**■■' ' '

l[. Councillor T. Forsyth'said that even ■with the splendid position shown in the ■ report, the margin on the capital invested was only about 1 per cent. It would be very unwise ' to suggest that there was any possibility of reducing fares. .?, .....-.., Councillor W. JV Gaudin said " that they should wait for a full-year before there was any thought of reducing fares. Two per cent... was a very