Appeal For Passenger, Goods Service

Northern Advocate, 18 December 1942, Page 2

Appeal For Passenger, Goods Service

Clarification of the position of a passenger and goods service license was sought by E. V. Ralls, Ltd., of Towai, in an appeal to the No. 1 Transport Licensing Authority (Mr. E. J. Phelan) in Whangarei today.

Mr. E. S. Ralls said that he had received a notification from the Whangarei Goods Transport Control Committee that goods could not be carried for more than seven miles alongside a railway line. If this were so, the service from Whangarei would be affected, and it was against this decision the firm was appealing. Children were being carried to the Whangarei High School, and the bus was also being used for army personnel. As far as goods were concerned, everything possible was being put on the railway, and only light freight such as meat, bread, urgent machinery replacement and medicines were being carried. The secretary of the committee (Mi\ Harris) said he did not think the committee iwould object to these goods. The committee had not known how far its jurisdiction extended, and it had not really arrived at a decision in Ralls Ltd.’s case. If Ralls Ltd. had applied to the committee the application would have been viewed favourably. It appeared that the committee had had no objection to Ralls Ltd. continuing as at present, said the authority. The committee had a difficult work to do, and deserved the sympathy of operators and the public in its efforts to conserve tyres.

To effect savings, however, it was possible to go to the extreme, and if production or cost was going to be increased the question of whether this was worth the sacrifice asked of the people had to be considered. Committees, therefore, had to take considerable care.