FARES ON TRAMWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19068, 13 July 1925, Page 10

FARES ON TRAMWAYS.

CHANGE IN WELLINGTON. MAXIMUM OF THREEPENCE. Anywhere from the city for threepence upon a concession ticket is to be the rule for tram travellers in Wellington, for the City Council, after a full discussion in committee, adopted the principle of the universal fare for over three, four and five sections, that fare to bo paid with a twelve-trip concession ticket. The cash fares will remain as at present, and white one-section tickets and blue twosection tickets will also be issued. Strictly, the new* policy is_ not one of universal fares, as they are known in America, for instance. There a universal five or six cents fare is charged for all trips, whether of one, two, or any number of sections; the American universal faro system, in fact, wipes out sections as sections, and concerns itself with Crips, whether long or short. The Wellington " universal faro " will be universal only over three, four and five sections, and is a more favourable system of charging, from the point of view of the passenger, than the true universal faro system, as the benefit of" charges of less than the " universal fare " is still to be giveu for one and two section trips. " The council has adopted the principle of the universal faro upon concession tickets for two reasons," stated the Mayor, Mr. C. J. B. Norwood. " One is that the moit may be made out of the tramway system if 1 the means are provided for taking the people out of the ' congested areas to live in the suburbs, and the other is that of the bus competition. " I think it is the wish of the councillors to use the tramway service as far as it is commercially possible 'for the benefit of the long-distance riders. In the city land is too expensive for the ordinary workman to buy for the purpose of building a home, while the cheaper lands of the suburbs are neutralised by the increased cost of transit. " This means in reality that the bonafido residents travelling daily will be able to take advantage of thifi concession, whilo the visitor to Wellington who is merely travelling for sight-seeing will have to pay the standard cash fares as at present. In a like manner, those . who are travelling to football matches will have to pay the present fares. "So far as tho bus competition is concerned, I cannot think that any regular rider of three of more sections could do anything under the conditions but patronise the trams. The adoption of this new policy means that anyone looking for a house can take one anywhere in the suburbs knowing that each district is on a level with the next, as regards the weekly allowance which must be made for the cost of travel to and from the city. Each suburb has equal standing in that regard, and that is going to mean a very big thing to residents of tho outer districts and to the districts also, as their development will naturally be more rapid. " The Tramway Committee, in recommending this ne\V system, has carefully considered -the financial aspect, and from the figures before them, assuming only tho same number of peoplo travel as before, estimate there will be a drop of £15,000 per year in revenue. This, however, really means a loss of profit, and it is a service to the public for the development of the city. It is hoped, however, that it will induce increased travelling in the slack times, as the smaller cost will encourage families living in the suburbs to visit more frequently the city for the purpose of shopping."