WELLINGTON TRAMS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 November 1932, Page 3

WELLINGTON TRAMS

FEWER PASSENGERS CARRIED

WELLINGTON, October 31

The 'annual''report of the' Ciry turporation T'ramWiuys Department, for the year ended MarcH'li'i last, sets but in cold figures the difficilLy which-was experienced last year by the management in* endeavouring to maintain the services in face of falling revenue. The debit balance, £9633, was the -largest of the unfavourable balances to date, though Wellington's tramway position D much •brighter than that of certain other tramway towns. The report also shows that the proportion of expenses to revenue is being steadily bought iown.

A summary of tile information embodied in the report affords some interesting comparisons. Particularly outstanding is the decrease in the number of; passengers carried, 38,278,§§‘4, as compared}. With 44,285,509 in thd'pfpvious year, a figure /which remained approximately .steady since-’ 1926-27. The decrease is .almost wholly accounted for by lo s of tramway business, for the number of bus passengers, 1,04-9,501, was within one hundred thousand of the figure for the previous year.

It appears that Wellington people walked very much more -last year than in previous years, for Number 1 section cash fares fell by over ,a million, 7,067,990, as compared with 8,172,436 (a-.ii o,» m 19i6-27), and onesection concession riders, fell away from. 10,311,612 to 8,876,292. In 1926-27 arid the following year there were Tj, 590,000 one-section trips dipped from concession cards,,