SERVICE FARES

Evening Star, Issue 25928, 21 October 1946, Page 8

SERVICE FARES

APPEAL AUTHORITY DECISION UNIFORM RATES NOT FAVOURED The Transport Appeal Authority, Mr Justice Frazer, has given his decision in appeals against various decisions of Numbers 4 and 5 Transport Licensing Authorities amending fare schedules throughout the Sotitli Island. The services concerned were various passenger sendees operated by the Railways Department, Newman- Brothers Ltd. and' 'the Mount Cook- and Southern. Lakes Tourist Company Ltd; The Licensing Authorities fixed, standa rd passenger .service f areSi’at. l|d and 2d a mile respectively, the higher rate being applicable in cases in which road conditions were more difficult, said His Honour. He agreed that the scale of fares should be revised from time to time, but, in his opinion, while the fares' decided upon - by the Licensing Authority might represent reasonable average rates, it; was impracticable to divide the South Island services,' with all their multifarious conditions of operation, into two groups and to adopt for every service in each of . the groups a uniform scale, of fares. He. coind see no objection to the adoption of certain general rstandards-or conventions- as a basis for. .-the.,-, determination of,-passen-ger-fare rates, but these couid only be regarded as - a basis,«;aud.-must -be modified in the -ease, of each: service to, pieet the special Conditions of that service. The uniform addiction ; of two, standard rates for the South Island might result iii. some services making a handsome profit and in others making a disastrous loss. It could be only by Sheer chance that the application of uniform rates wbuld-work out fairly in the case of every individual service. The rates fixed for each service should, of course, be based not only on the actual conditions of operation but on the costs of efficient operation.' His Honour decided to refer the cases to the Transport Licensing Authority with an instruction that'the circumstances of. each service be separately investigated. In all cases lie reserved, final decision until the Licensing Authority had reheard and reconsidered the respective applications and reviews. Where appellants had applied for oral ; hearings of their appeals their requests would be dealt with after the Licensing Authority had further considered their cases. .