LICENSING OF BUSES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19328, 15 May 1926, Page 10

LICENSING OF BUSES.

The licensing of all bus services in the district from the northern boundary of Waitemata County to the southern boundary of Franklin County is to be undertaken by the Auckland City Council. The regulations permit the appointment of more than one licensing authority for one bus district, but the only division of responsibility in the Auckland area has been made by the constitution of the Borough of Takapuna as a separate district. What pwrpose will be served by its exclusion is not apparent. Bus ser vices competing with the Takapuna trams run from Dcvonport, and unless route restrictions arc imposed by the City Council they will only be required to charge tram fares, since the additional twopence will obviously not apply to passengers to or from Dcvonport. Thus the Takapuna Borough Council will be a licensing authority with no more control than a spectator. Either Takapuna or some other body in the district might have been entrusted with the control of services on the north side of the harbour. As it is, the City Council is confronted with a concrete illustration of the fact that valuable privileges—in this case, the power to prevent competition with its tramways—involve heavy responsibilities for the conduct of passenger services in which the city is not directly interested. Among the points overlooked in the

drafting of the regulations is the cost of administration ; *no provision has been made for either' the licensing authorities or the appeal boards, so that the council will have to defray all the expenses of enforcing the regulations, probably including inspectors, in a large district far beyond the city's boun daries. It may feel quite competent to regulate bus services within the urban area, but neither the council nor its officers can pretend to have any practical knowledge of transport requirements and facilities in the rural areas. In these circumstances, it may be suggested that the council should, by co-opting advisory members, constitute an executive committee similar to the transport board which has been generally advocated. The council has not only to deal with problems of intrinsic difficulty, but it has also to disarm the popular suspicion that its administration will necessarily be partial. By inviting the cooperation of other local authorities the council may more easily discover a solution of both difficulties. The regulations are in force, and amendments must await the Government's acquiescence in critical representations. In the meantime, it is desirable that efforts should be made to secure agreement among the various interests upon the application of the restrictions.