FREE BUS SERVICES

Grey River Argus, 11 June 1935, Page 5

FREE BUS SERVICES

At Auckland AUCKLAND, June 9. Licences to operate free passenger bus services between Pitt Street and the premises of the Farmers’ Trading Company. Limited, in Hobson S’roet, supplementary to the service aow run by the company, have been issued to three private bus operators by th*Auckland Transport Board, sitting as the Metropolitan Licensing Authority. The applications were for licenses for 12 months, but as the present board wil] shortly go out of office it was decided to grant the .licences for only three months leaving it to the new board to say whether they should continue. The applicants were Mr. J Rimmer. AFosrs: AV. J. Wheeler and Sons, and Mr. G. Carter. Ft was reported that the services would bp run in accordance with a contract entered into between the applicants and the Farmers’ Trading Company, Limited, and were designed for the carriage of customers to the firm’s store. The applications were supported by Mr. R. A. Laidlaw, genearl manager of the Farmers*’ Trading Company, who said these men had been running supplementary services for the company on busy days for several years. They had proved satisfactory. the buses* conformed to the regulations and by-laws di nd the company took out insurance policies of £5OOO for the protection of passengers. Hitherto it had not been considered necessary to take cut licences for these vehicles', but a recent decision of the Courts had pointed to this necessity. He explained that it was not necessary to license the vehicles owned and operated by the company. If these applications were refused it would mean that the company would put on more of its own buses, which would bp lying idle for the greater part of the week as the supplementary buses were required only for busy days, while the applicants would lose a monthly cheque of about £53. At first it had been proposed to ask for licences for three months to enable the company to acquire more buses, but they would like them for 12 months. POSITION OF AUTHORITY. Bus transjtort was developing rapidly and they would like an opportunity to investigate the latest equipment, such as rhe Diesel engine and the fluid fly-wheel which was silent, and if applicable to the amount of hill climbing the buses were compelled to do would appear to be very suitable. Failing that thov would be prepared to go to the expense of fitting thp new buses with silent gears. He mentioned that this bus service was vital to their business. The chairman. Mr. J. A. C. Allum. said the authority could not grant licences that went beyond February 29. 1936. An amendment by Mr. E. H. Potter that the licences be granted for the period asked failedxto find a seconder. Hon. T. Bloodworth. M.L.C., thought the applications might very well be adjourned. Until Parliament amended the present : aw. said Mr. G. Grey Campbell, nothing that the authority could do would alter the position. If the licences were not the service would be run by the company’s own buses. The chairman explained that under the original Act there was no provision to deal with free services, but an amendment in 1933 empowered the Minister of Transport to bring these free services within the general provisions of the legisaltion, So far this had not been done.

The chairman’s motion to grant the licences for three months was carried.