ROAD, RAIL WATER.

Franklin Times, Volume XXI, Issue 69, 15 June 1931, Page 2

ROAD, RAIL WATER.

TRANSPORT PROBLEMS. COMMISSIONER'S REVIEW. Two main directions in which iiie present transport situation in New Zealand might be met were suggested by Mr .1. S. Hunter, Commissioner of Transport, toward the end of a paper, entitled ‘jg'he Solution of New Zealand's Transport Problem,” delivered at Wellington. The chairman was Dr. E. Kidson. and among those present were -prominent officers of the Main Highways Board and Ihe Government of Railways, Public Works, Forestry, and Scientific and Industrial Research. After an elaborate treatment of railway history, the development of motor transport, and its economic effects, roads and road classification, mol or taxation and road maintenance, the problems of road and rail competition, and a comparison of the external economy of road and rail services, Mr Hunter went on to summarise under seven beads the position in the country to-day. The summary was as follows: —(1) Extensive developments have taken place in the provision of road and rail transport afcilities. ' (2) .These developments appear on the whole to have been, launched without the principle of coordination having been taken into account,. (3) On account of rapid developments iiv the motor-vehicle, the field of motor transport has been quickly extended. (4) Competition has already seriously affected railway revenue, and indications point to a further drift to the road in the future. (5) There is evidence of uneconomic conditions in the organised motor transport industry, due to internal competition. (0) Statistics show that the share of national production, required to provide transportation facilities has grown fairly rapidly during recent years, and suggest that the Dominion is over-supplied with transport, facilities. The burden of maintaining these facilities has been rapidly accentuated by the falling level of prices. (7) The deficit on the operations of Hie New Zealand Government. Railways has been as follows during the last four years (ended in each case March 31) : —1027, £00,6.70; .1028, £291,4 52; 1029, £-432,743; 1030, £1,211,269.

“There are Iwo main directions,” said Mr Hunter, “in which action might he taken to meet the situation in New Zealand to-day. These are first, co-ordination in construction of road, rail and harbour facilities, and secondly, regulation of the t motor transport industry with the object of eliminating uneconomic conditions within the industry, and bringing about co-ordination between motor transport and rail and coastal shipping services. Co-ordinating Construction.

“With regard to the first, broadly speaking, .pail, road and harbour facilities have been developed from the individual rather than the national point of view. The theory of indirect returns has, in the past, been relied upon, and in view of the relatively rapid progress of the Dominion, it has not always been unsuccessful.

Experience both here and abroad points, however, to the undesirability and danger of a continuation of the policy of developing or providing either road, rail or sea transport facilities, on an un-co-ordinated basis. Such a policy can only result in capital being sunk in competing services with economic loss in two directions — firstly, by lowering the earning capacity of the capital jn the competing services, and secondly, by causing a misapplication of capital, that is, the capital diverted from a more productive channel.

“Capital supplies in a borrowing country such as New Zealand have very definite limits, and misapplication of capital on a substantial scale will result in retarding production.

“The basis of a scheme for co-or-dinal ing the construction of facilities

lies in a policy of initialing all developments through a single supreme transport authority,” said Mr Hunter. “This authority should in the first place he in possession of a complete knowledge regarding the capital required, and the real costs of all forms of transportation. It should also have available to it comprehensive data relating to industry and trade, for the purpose of ascertaining the transport requirements necessary to maintain production at the most efficient level. Developments could then be guided in the direction of securing the best and most efficient means of transport avilable, all services being considered, at the lowest cost In the country. “With regard to the second main proposal, the regulation of motor transport, in view of the developments that have already taken place in motor transport, and the absence of any scheme for correlating and coordinating the services, it would he to much to expect any scheme propounded now to correct the errors of the past and prevent their recurrence in the future. The best that can be hoped for is that the situation may gradually be taken in hand, ami future developments guided in the right direction.” System of Licensing. Mr ilunler quoted at length from 11 1 e evidence given by Dr. K. G. Fenelon, a prominent English transport economist before the Royal Commission on Transport in Great Britain.

“In view of the conditions in New Zealand,” Mr Hunter continued, “it

would appear that regulation could best he secured through a system of licensing all motor transport services running to timetable on defined routes, the licenses to he under the control of special licensing- authorities set up for the purpose, on the lines of those provided for in the English Road Traffic Act, 1930. “This principle of regulation is not new in connection with transport. It has been in operation in most of the States of the United States of America for some years. It is now in operation in Great Britain, most of the Australian States and many European countries. Experience indicates that it is the most efficacious method of ensuring that the best use is made of transport facilities.

, “The licensing authorities would, as in Britain, constitute the chief link in the necessary administrative machinery,” he said. “The following principal factors should he taken into account in connection with each license:—(a) The financial ability of the applicant; (b) the transport requirements of the area; and (c) the existing transport facilities already provided. In addition to these two main steps, Mr Hunter suggested for the coordination of road, rail and shipping facilities the establishment of a supreme transport authority lo keep in touch with developments and report and make recommendations to Parliament.. With regard to the cost scheme of road classification with the of roads, he suggested a national additional requirement, that traffic regulations should be strictly enforced.