CITY COUNCIL BUSES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 109, 8 April 1936, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL BUSES

TERRACE END PROPOSALS. Cll. W. B. CAMERON’S REPLY. “It must be realised by Progressive Associations that the motor-bus service is a community one and fcannot serve only one part of the city,” said Ci. W. B. Cameron, in commenting, at a meeting of the Palmerston North City Council on Monday, as the chairman of the transit committee, on statements made in regard to municipal bus service matters in a published report of a recent meeting of the Terrace End Progressive Association. February of this year had been a particularly good month for the whole bus service, said Cr. Cameron; it bad been one of the best months experienced for several years. In the mornings there had been 15 runs made from Terrace End to the city and eight runs outward, aiid in 360 trips the revenue from that route had amounted to £23 Os 10d, and each trip had thus averaged Is 3d —“not the cost of a taxi.” These trips had been made between 8.15 and 11.50 a.m., and in urging that more frequent trips be made the association had failed to realise that the council was now running its morning buses on that route at a considerable loss, particularly when there were areas in the city not provided with any municipal transport- service. Those places, Keith Street and Wood Street, for example, stood first when consideration was to be given to extending the service. Secondly, there had been statements made as to reductions in fares. Refrence had been made to Mr Gray Campbell's report on the transportservice of the city and it had been termed out of date.- How that statement could be substantiated when an opportunity of reading the report had not been taken, he failed to recognise. The report was not out of date. In ft consideration had been given to the competition with the ' service by bicycles and it had traversed the former reduction in fares. Mr Campbell had not been in favour of the latter, and had stated that the only effect of the reduction from 4d to 3d had been that approximately 6000 4d rides had become 6000 3d rides with a .reduction in revenue of £25 a month, or £3OO a year. IV hat would be the effect of a further reduction in fares? The only reduction that could reasonably be made was that of Id, and on the Hospital run it would mean a diminution of revenue to the extent of £644 19s lid. on the lerrace End run a reduction bv £439 lbs 4d, and over all a drop ol £1834 Is 6d. One of those present at the meeting had said that it was harder to secure a bus than a railway train. He would point out, said Cr. Cameron, that the Railway Department required a guarantee of a certain number of passengers before they provided a train, and if a guarantee was provided for a bus as for a train a bus would be provided just as readily as the department would put on a train, Or. Cameron then remarked on the number of concessions available on the municipal service in the way of workers’ tickets, children’s tickets and others. He then addressed himself to the extra mileage being run by the service, due to the increasing service provided in the afternoons. The figures were as follow : —1933, 100,-32 miles; 1934, 107,666; 1935, 117,217. That rise was accounted for by the fact that the department,' seeing the demand for an increase in the afternoon service from 2 p.m., had made it a 20-minute instead of a half-hour-ly one. The department had had a hard uphill fight. In 1930 it had had no new vehicles and the revenue had been £16900. The revenue for the following years had been: 1931, £6278; 1932, £5357; 1933, £3oo8; 1934, £3886; 1935, £4255. It was hoped there would be a further increase this year and indications pointed that way. To-day the transit department had five modern buses running as full a mileage as they possibly could. Some of the new buses has run up to about 100,000 miles already, and they were only» about three years old. AFTER-THEATRE SERVICE. Dealing with the after-theatre service, Cr. Cameron said that with the co-opeTation of Mr H. E. Townshend, of the Terrace End Progressive Association, an arrangements had been come with the theatre executives that' a bus- would wait until 10.30 p.m. If there was a long picture showing for a week or so, and a definite time of conclusion could be given, then a bus could wait till later. However, the council bad to pay overtime after 11 p.m. and that had been a matter for consideration when -costs were being studied. The shifting of bus shelters on to the edges of the footpaths had been suggested, but ‘that was a matter entirely for the council. Observation buses had also been mentioned. They had not “taken on” some years ago, but the running of such buses could lie considered again when the time came. It had also been said that the running of the buses had nothing to do with the Transport Licensing Authority, and it had been hinted that the council was trying to hide behind that. But the council had not the power to make any alteration in their services, or in the fares charged, without the consent of the Authority. At the last sitting of the Authority at which the council had had business, the traffic manager (Mr H. J. Smith) had been told by the Authority that if the returns did npt improve " a rise in fares would have to be considered. Time-tables could always be obtained by storekeepers on application to the traffic manager. There had been a suggestion made to change the run of one bus between Terrace End, the Hospital and the city, and that would be given every consideration. It had to be realised that the service, was a community one and could not serve onlv a part of the city. Also, the losses made had to be borne by the ratepayers of the city, not by all who resided in the city. It had been suggested that there might be a reduction ui the fares to Terrace End. On every trip now, on the average, there was a loss of 8.281 J. The Hospital route was the only one showing a profit, and that paid ,489 d per trip. The losses fell not on the general public, and lie had found that those people who made such suggestions were not the ones who had “to pay the piper.” The great need of the service now was the addition to the fleet of two large Diesel-engined vehicles for the Hospital and Terrace End runs, so that tlie smaller buses could be used in serving other parts of the city now witliout such transport, proceeded Cr Cameron. By providing good buses the popularity of the service had been increased and the time had now arrived when consideration would have to lie given to providing vehicles which would eliminate some of the need of extra buses on some runs.