NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1926. BUSES AND TRAMS

Northern Advocate, 17 February 1926, Page 4

NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1926. BUSES AND TRAMS

Registered for transmission through the post as a newspaper.

Tlio question of trams versus motor ibuses has assumed serious j proportions in New Zealand, as it has in other parts of the ■ world. The motor bus is unquestionably a formidable competitor of the rail restricted tramear. Its competition has [become fierce in the principal cities. (The fact that the tramways in those cities are municipally owned makes the position complex. The buses, by reason of their mobility, are able to tap areas not served by the trams, but at the' same time, they arc able, by* the organisation which their mobility makes possible, to skim the cream of traffic ■which tramways might legitimately regard as their own. As a consequence, tramways have been operated at heavy loss, and, in some instances, the services have been drastically restricted. Repressive methods have been attempted by the authorities, but the public has made protest. That there is need for regulations to put-the trams and buses upon a fair competitive footing nobody will deny. At the same time, it is recognised that the day of the rail tram is passing, and that the era of the motor bus has opened. Cheap electricity, provided by hydro Sources, may give tramways a new lease of life, but nothing else can save them from extinction. That being the ease, the public may with reason protest against the attempted suppression of the motor bus. The authorities deny suppressive desires, but this denial carries little weight in the face of a proposal that, bus fares should be two- • pence above tram rates. To force the bus proprietors to charge higher fares would simply put them out of the running altogether. On the other hand, it must be remembered that some six millions of public money has been invested in. municipally-owned tramway services in the Dominion, and that unfair competition is an attack upon the ratepayers. In an endeavour to reduce chaos to order the Prime Minister called a conference of representatives of local bodies, motor interests and others concerned to discuss the proposed regulations .drawn up by an earlier conference of municipal authorities. The conference, which met last week, appears to have been inconclusive. The regulations, as drafted for

approval, while they have met the wishes of certain local bodies, whose chief concern has been to protect their interests as whole or part owners of tramway systems with which motor buses are in active competition, have naturally met with determined opposition on the part of the motor bus owners, and outside opinions have been divided on the subject, some bodies approving and. others disapproving of the powers that would be exercised over private enterprise, if the regulations are finally approved. The one point upon which full agreement appears to have been reached by the delegates, some sixty of whom were in attendance, was that “in the interesTs of the general public the regulation of motor buses is necessary,” a resolution to that effect being carried unanimously. The solution of the problem seems to lie in the installation of motor buses by municipalities which own tramways. This has been done by the Wanganui City Council, at the instigation of its very astute and progressive Mayor, Mr Hope Gibbons, and so far has proved a distinct success. The municipal buses were , put upon the roads to forestall a privately owned service, and buses and trams now run as associates, not as rivals.