MOTUHORA LINE

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11491, 19 November 1931, Page 7

MOTUHORA LINE

DANCER OF - CLOSURE. SETTLE RS' S UPPORT 'IKSSLNTTA L fVTFRF,STING FACTS A'NI) FIGURES. ■ A DPR ESS BY MR. A. MoNEiTL. • ‘lt, behoves every individual to conserve his owrr interest and j,vino; traffic to the railway. If, however', the people prefer road, transport they can have it, but should not be overlooked that, even if the line is closed, the capita) cost will remain.” In these words, Mr. A. McNeil, business’, agent, for the Railways Department', .voiced a warning, to settlers of the'-danger they run. of losing Gisborno.'s, only railway, when iuiGisborne Chamber of Commerce!•' yesterday afternoon. The visitor giive some very interesting particulars/ regarding the local line and also if great- deal of information regarding/the policy of the Railways '”As indicated in a pronouncement .made ; recently by the Government Railways .Board,” said Mr. McNeil, “the brittle# lines and isolated sections of railways were to be review- > r( j. ip ; is' mijAdutv to inform you that ' vlie Government Railways Board has reviewed; the position of the branch lines addV isolated sections of raliwiays add The financial results of some of these lines are not at all encouraging., notwithstanding that reductionsof expenditure .have been obtained h\v the economic .arrangements which , the department; has already brought, into operation. Tim position hgsVgiven the Railways Board much concern, as it recognises that the taxpayers of the Dominion can. not be expected indefinitely to carry the large, financial burden that is mow resulting from these branch lines and; ‘isolated sections. The board id-‘'ltowPver, loth to close lines and would much prefer keeping them open, -if the financial results justify that course-, .. In order to afford further opportunities, by seeing whether an improvement ean be effected, the hoard, has decided to defer final action in the meantime and to review the. various lines after the lapso of a. reasonable period, when a. de. finite decision . .will be made. It is considered that the best -, results can be achieved-by'-placing, the position before such bodies : as Chambers of Commerce and - similar prggnisbtions. 1 would . like to make itCperfectly clear that.' my mission igLso]syV to place before: you the position lit 'so far as the opened line is concerned, I would ask. you' to disassociate other railway aspects affecting this area, “I desire , to impress .-upon you the importance of the railway system in thitf district,” the continued. ”1 think-., you will agree. , that the- railwav has ..been responsible largely for the development. of the district- and enhanced the value of the land through -■ wh-ispih, it operates. The prosperity of the town depends largely Upon the prosperity of the country districts. It is unfortunate, however, that, this'aspect is often Overlooked. It is expected that- the pe.opte are interested in the railwavs will accord them patronage, 4t this patronage is nob forthcoming, then they cannot complain if the' line is closed. The justification for the railway lino is the use made of it and continued lack of support can only be taken as an indication that the service is not wanted. “With regard to the Gisborne section,” proceeded, Mr. McNieil, _ “I am instructed by the Government Railways Board to inform you that the people in this district must accord the railways services, operating their full support, as it is only by so doing , that they can expect those services to bo continued. In other words the final decision rests W ] tn the people of this district, and not, as i s commonly supposed, with those who for the time being may be controlling the railways. In this district motor competition has become progressively intensive, to such an extent that' ,the Indications are that tho railway is used only when -tne mad services do not or cannot ca ex for the traffic. The fact, that the railways are a State utility appears.' in many cases, to have been overlooked.” . , Mr. McNeil then referred to tlio huge drop in traffic, irom 1921 wards, pointing out that the totrevenue per mile of line during t neriod mentioned had been .us lows: 1921, £788; 1925, £63-5; . 926, £659 ; 1927, £605; 1928, £5/3 ; 1929, £591; 1930, £536; 1931. £436. Stating th.it the years of depression 1930 and 1931, had best- ho left out of ac* ount, the speaker stressed ifallirt)r off in revenue had beenf™m .•CTH'A'in 1921 to £591 in 1929, a drop .of 25 per cent.. “ft is not the policy of the Radwavs. Board to have the railways run soldiv for financial profit m a c.nmmerraal .sertse,” continued Mr. -VicNeil. “In a community sueh as tl _ 'Gisborne one. I think you win ng " , with me that the farmers have boon i well entered for in the conveyancing A of live stock, manures wool ■ etc. The frozen meat industry also ieceived the licnefit of cheap rates m the conveyance of meat tallow , pel •, rfinnl and ‘ other commodities. MOTOR COM PETITION. ‘•'The.- road hauler may offer_at" tractive rates for /the convey of certain commodities,” he P r ° ce , e d' cd, '‘but he sidesteps many or t , lines-of traffic wbich tho department conveys at specially- cheap , Wor/iho Took operator, oomp«M • to pay their proper share of roa i t costs and'bad to conform to restrip ted hours fpnd wage J" Jijf_ position to-day would be totally d i’prent. It 'may' he of interest to you to know exactly IfQW the roa - _ bill is met. The people of the Dominion do not .appear in T s is going' oh and what xan miormous cost to the, country os'involved £ this multiplication .of rran p •. vices,, and in order to put » Tacts before , you, I wdl o b extracts from official, a. , . Tlio ' speaker went .on to mentipn that, according to the annual P _, •of the Transport Department,- approximately only 20 per .cent, of mnnual expenditure- on iroacls, is \ Trom special motor taxation - - and •remaining road - expenditure is 4 fa ,™ .Trom the general taxpayer and tne Ilooal -ratepayer. Duping th© ■ y ßar 'ended ,31st March, 1930, more than

-/£8,000,000 was expended in connection with roads, streets, and hrid■Kes> Gio source of <ho money being as follows: Amount p.c. of f. £ total General taxpayer 1,1-16,618 13.i8 Local ratepayer 3,130,172 35.96 Spocial moTor % taxation ~ 1,866,647 21.47 Lcmn . ?.\ 2,557,638 29.39 Total £8,107,075 ' • Last ’September, stated Mr. 'McNeil, the Minister for Transport, the Hon. W. A. Vouch,' had the -following to say : “One did not have to look back very far "into tho history of the Dominion to find a point' when there were mo 'motor transport charges, .hut to-day motors .were costing £32000,000 a year, and if present conditions were allowed to continue, the host would. Increase /-rapidly, and oven to-day, the loss was much greater than the country oonkl afford. There had been a' groat deal of public anxiety because the annual loss, on the railways was £1,500,000. Such a loss was a serious one, but •the annual loss, caused by road transport was infinitely greater.” And again: “Furthermore, by lessening tho volume of transport on tho roads ? they would relieve the burden of rates, and, again, tho farmer would benefit. There was no doubt that many of the roads were cam-ying excessive traffic iaiy.l the consequent wear and tear was a big item for. the ratepayer. The condition of the, Dominion at flic present time justified every measure of economy. Between 1914 and 1929 the population of tho Dominion had increased by 29 per cent; production had increased by 102 per cent.; but transport, charges had increased by 147 per cent. In the same period tho. capital charges of transport had increased bv 128 per cent. There was now one motor vehicle for every 6.8 persons. In 1914 the annual ’ cost of land transport was £17,700,000 and in 1929 it had risen to £43,750,000.” Mr McNeil pointed out that, at the present time, the motors registered in, the. Miatakaoa, , Waisapu, Uawa, Cook and Waikohu counties totalled 4496, made up as follows: Mo tot cars 3499, motor trucks 500, moto* buses 33, motor cycles 483, and other (motor .vehicles 31. The total population of the same counties is 32,515, so that for every 7.23 of population there was on e motor vehicle. Competitive services with railways were as Passenger vehicles: Gisborne-Whatatu'tn, Gisborne-Motuhora, Gisborne-Te Kar. aka, and Gisbornc-Waipaoa. Goods vehicles: Gishorne-Te Karaka, Gu-borne-Matawni and intermediate townsships. UNSOUND ECONOMY. . ,/Mr. McNeil recalled that, as far hack as 1923, the. Minister for Public Works said in his annual statement: “It becomes a question ol very serious consideration as to whether we are not paying- too high a price for the convenience of having the motor carrier calling at our doors.” 4 In the Speech : from the Throne in 1930, reference was made ion-“'legislative proposals which it is Confidently .’expected up 11 minimise tho wasteful competition which now greatly increase’s the burden of the people.” “Is it sound ' economy to render yoar railways inoperative and pay eight- per cent, of the -road costs of the lorry?” asked Air. McNeil. “Business concerns pay both freight rates and taxes, and if freight rates are reduced at the. cost of a greater increase in taxes, the combined burden of freight rates and taxes paid l>y business-concerns is increased. If business concerns pass the burden 3long to the public by higher prices, then tho total burden of freight rates and taxes borne by tho public is increased and becomes an unnecessary brake upon, prosperity and the means of deepening and protracting depression. Business men can ascertain accurately the amount they pay in freight rates for transportation, and it is consequently impossible to get many of them to consider the certain effect of increasing ta'-tles ho subsidise transportation. They know the effect upon iho net earnings of increase in taxes in general, and I have endeavored to show that, increases of taxes to subsidise transportation have exactly the same effect upon their net earnings.”

FIGURES REGARDING GISBORNE. The speaker commented that, during the past -six years, the loss on the Gisborne section was as follows: A*ear Working Loss Total Loss £ £

The total loss shown above includes interest. Between 192-1 and 1931 passenger traffic has decreased 64 per cent., general goods 37 per cent., and the total decrease in revenue was by 46 per cent., from £47,305 in 1923 to £25,077 in 1931. Tho capital cost of the opened lines on the Gisborne section was a s fol?,ows: Lines find works £775,324 ; rolling stock £72,960; total. £848,234. ,

By request, added Arr. McNeil, he had" taken out figures which showed approximately the value per. annum of the traffic lost on account of tho closing of tho Waipaoa freezing works? These were given as follows: Frozen meat (6000 tons) £2,623; tallow, hides and skins', (920 tons) £531; wool (400 hales) £27, and coal (2600 tons) £460. ““In. placing before you the views of tho Railway Board,” concluded the visitor, "I have endeavored to give you figures which I trust will impress on y|on tho necessity for taking the necessary action to conservo your own interests. If, however, the people prefer road transport,. they may have it, but it should nqt ho overlooked that, even if the line is closed, the capital cost will remain. It.is. not the intention of the Department to relax the efforts of the . past- to secure the fullest possible measure of traffic, . but it behoves every individual to do his hit to bring traffic to the railways. If* I ..or the Department can assist in any scheme to increase the traffic, we will do so with the greatest pleasure.” : ’

Mr. F. R. Ball remarked that, "t it was not so serious, it would bo amusing. Here were the railways under the Transport Board and everyone was pushing for better roads, yet now came the request that patronage he removed from the road to the rail. Personally, he considered, it a hopeles-s outlook to expect- i armors to leave the conveniences of flip road and take on tho rail'. „ . To a question, Air. McNeil said that-when lines in the south were Threatened with closure there was an immediate loud outcry ior their retention. Air. R. W. ,1. Edwards comnicnteu that tho crux of. tho. position appeared to be that the road transport had to pay only 20 per cent, oi cost, whereas the railways were expected to pay 100 per cent. Air.' V. E. Sanders remarked that the main part- of the decrease in rer cent years was the result of the closing down oi saw-milling and the freezing works. Air.'McNeil replied that both sheep and wool traffic showed decreases, alter lull allowance luut been made for the existing depressed conditions.

Air. C. G. Rloore contended that the ,solution lay with the Government, which need merely prohibit heavy traffic on roads paralleling the railways. Mr. T. G. Lawless stressed that, should life railway he abandoned, the very heavy class of goods, now left by the lorries to tho railway, would* have to be carried on the roads, which would soon deteriorate seriously ,under the extra strain Moreover, the cost- of transport of such heavy goods would advance enormously when lorries were used in ~their transport. The chairman, Mr. F. R. Ball, moved as follows: ‘‘That the Chamber extends to Air. McNeil its sincere thanks for his explanation of the position regarding tile- GisborneMotii railway, and accords to lus Department its support in the endeavor to assure patronage for tho railway; at the same time, the Chamber deplores the failure of the Gov* ernment to co-ordinate the rail and motor services, or satisfactorily deal with motor competition in the Trans, port Bill.”

Air. Ate Neil addresses a meeting of settlors at Matawai this evening and at Alotuhora to-morrow night.

1926 7J9 36,394 J 927 0,014 41,717 1928 9,027 45,162 1929 9,538 44,772 1920 ,8,610' 45,501 1931 11,145 47,924