CARTAGE CHARGES

Matamata Record, Volume XIX, Issue 1789, 7 December 1936, Page 5

CARTAGE CHARGES

FARMERS’ VIEWPOINT Meeting- With Carriers Reporting on the interview with the Matamata Carriers’ Association to the December meeting of the Matamata Farmers’ Union, during which a discussion on the new scale of charges took place, Mr. D. B. Higgins said that the meeting had been a most amicable one, and he felt that it had done good and a working- arrangement might be reached which was acceptable to farmers.

Explaining the points at issue, Mr. Higgins said that the Matamata carriers’ charges had been based on • regulation wages, plus 8d per mile and an allowance for depreciation of 25 per cent. Against this a dairy company in the King Country, which ran its own lorries over far worse roads than in the Matamata district, paid their first driver £5 and the second £4 10s. Yet their charge for running costs was only 6d per mile and a depreciation of only 15 per cent, was allowed. This plainly showed that local charges were based highly. Further, in the Te Awamutu district the areas were zoned and a fixed scale set out fox each mile. He believed something on those lines would be acceptable to the local carriers. A. point the deputation objected to was the arbitrary fixation of prices. They agreed Matamata carriers’ prices should be raised, say, approximately 25 per cent., but some had gone up 100 per cent. A carrier would not agree to an arbitrary fixation of prices when they went to buy a truck, and farmers claimed the same privilege. The figures he had given relating to the dairy company were from books kept by a chartered accountant. Mr. A. Carter remarked that the Carriers’ Association blamed fanners for patronising unlicensed carriers, but they had replied that it was not the farmer’s job to push into a carriers’ business and see if he was licensed. Mr. F. C. Bush added that a complaint made by the carriers was that the roads were under-classified.

Mr. Rollett pointed out that the charges were evidently set to carry such costs. . ■ • i

Higgins: Yes, they frankly admitted that they were trying to Recoup the fines inflicted from the charges to the farmers. Mr. Bush said it. appeared at the meeting that there was a fight between 1 the licensed and! unlicensed carriers. Mr. M. Gould commented that the carriers at Hinuera; had not put charges ,up. r; ;.A> -m, : ’v-i Mr. Higgins said he thought the new scale was being held in abeyance at the moment. Mr. Bush said the discussion throughout was quite friendly, and he thought the caiTiers felt that their prosperity was bound up with that of the farmers. They desired that a further meeting be held at a later date. . The discussion then ended.