TRANSPORT INQUIRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19956, 26 May 1928, Page 13

TRANSPORT INQUIRY.

SITTING OF COMMISSION. BUS COMPANY'S COSTS. LOW FIGURE DEFENDED. SIZE OF THE VEHICLES. The chairman of the Passenger Transport Company, Mr. N, B. Spencer, whose evidence before the Auckland Transport Commission occupied much of yesterday's sitting, assured the commissioners that after running for a year under a guarantee of Is 6d a bus-mile from a local body, his company would he in a position to make the locdl body a gift of its entire present plant, free of any encumbrance, so enormous would the profit be. Mr. Spencer, cross-examined by Mr. Stanton, for the Auckland City Council, stated his company wished to have an independent licensing authority, preferably one elected by popular vote over the whole transport area. Questioned upon the mode of calculating daily mileages, upon which the company had based its estimate of 10.7 d a bus-mile as the running cost for November to March inclusive, the witness said the figures had been compiled by the company's manager, Mr. Dunderdale, who was now in England. Trains and Peak-loads. Witness said depreciation was allowed for at 25 per cent, a year. Assuming that a bus were kept continuously on the longest run six days a week it would have covered 280,000 miles by the end of four years. So far the company had not discarded any of the buses wilh which it had started in 1925. Mr. Stanton suggested that the trains carried a large amount- of the peak-load which the company's buses would have to carry it it had sole responsibility for conveying passengers, and that even the disparity between the company's traffic at peak hours and that in slack hours, would be much greater. The witness would not admit this, but said that at slack hours the company could carry all the passengers offering with only half its peak-hour fleet, and could reduce its expenses accordingly. The witness said the company had not •written off any buses which it- had purchased new. "It had acquired certain buses from a competitor who failed, and after selling the chassis had written off the loss upon them. Twenty-eight drivers were employed, with two inspectors. The drivers were not uniformed, and their wayis were regulated by award. As the schedules showed, the running costs given did not include interest on capital. item, "office and general expenses," included the manager's salary. Buses In Sydney. In reply to Mr. Edward, a member of the commission, the witness said he was not prepared to state publicly the average takinps per bus-mile. Mr. Edward: In Sydney the average takings of buses total 3|d per passenger per mile. I mention that to show you what they need to keep going. Witness: Our fare averages .9d a mile. Speaking as a layman, I should say that the Is 6d a bus-mile which the City Council speaks of is quite impossible. Our buses are 20-seaters. To earn Is 6d a mile we should have to have every seat fu'l for the whole of every journey. Have you any single-deck buses in this country with 36 or 40 seats? —No. We should not lie aide to get them past the Public Works Department. The <yverliang at the back would be too great. There are 400 of them in Sydney. Do you employ any conductors? —No. Mr. Edward' remarked that no buses were allowed to run in Sydney without conductors. He asked whether the company would employ them if large buses were allowed. The witness said it would. It considered its largest buses should be allowed more than 30 seats, but the Public Works Department woulri not agree. Refusal of Licence. Askeu about the service to Favona Road, Mangere, the witness said his company had carried it on temporarily last year because the Manukau County Council and the residents had asked for it. The licensing authority stopped it by refusing a licence on the ground that it could not be run except at a loss, and that the district was too thinly populated to warrant a service. The company, bad presented figures showing that takings balanced the expenses, but their accuracy was challenged. The company did not expect a profit at that stage, but was willing to run the service. Mr. Northcroft: What would you say to the Is 6d a bus-mile that the City Council considers essential ? Witness: If a local body would £uarantee us Is 6d a bus-mile wo would be prepared to hand over the whole of our plant at the end of a year as a gift, free of all encumbrances, except the mortgage on our garage, and we should be very glad to do it. Our running cost is 10-4 d a bus-mile, and we run 170,000 or 180,000 bus-miles a year, so it is easy to see how enormous the profit would be at Is 6d. Mr. Northcroft : Yet that is the figure ■the City Council says it needs to keep it afloat. The chairman remarked, as the witness left the box, that the company's records seemed to have been well kept. Mr. L. A. Eady, a member of the City Council, whose evidence had been interrupted on Wednesday, was recalled for further cross-examination by Mr. Stanton. He was of opinion the control of transport should be vested in the Auckland Power Board. The financial resources of the latter might be used for the development of transport services, on the ground that both utilities would be for the good of the whole district served. Mr. Stanton: If, as we have been told tihey may, motor-buses become the chief means of transport ten years hence, do you think transport and electric power should still lie under the same authority? Witness: I do. Replying to the chairman, the witness paid it would be desirable to transfer Henderson, Glen Eden and New from the W'aitemata to the Auckland Power Board. Traffic Changes. The next witness was Henry Joseph Wuigate Bransgrove, truilic inspector to the Borough oi Mount Eden. All. Biansgrove staled he had been for yoais a member of the London Metropolitan Police, rising to the rank of inspectoi. Throughout that time he had been concerned with the control of traffic, inspection of vehicles and licensing of drivers. Before taking up his duties at Mount Eden he had observed rush-hour conditions in Queen Street. Sometimes he had to wait an hour before lie cou.d board a tramcar. People leaving business had to fight to get aboard, traffic officials became angry and conductors were verv discourteous, even insulting. Having uai long experience of traffic in London, lie vas a mazed at the. careless and apathetic manner in which the travelling community was handled. , , ~ Later, so far as Mount Ldcn and Dominion Roads were concerned, private motor-buses, about 20 in numbei, P 1 "* vided a very frequent service m rush hours and a sufficient one at other times. It. appeared satisfactory to the people oi the district. Since the passing of the Motor-Omnibus Traffic Act the position had changed materially. There were only four feeder buses to supplement the trams and these had proved inconvenient and totally inadequate. In his opinion, fhe district would be best served by a fleet of light buses, carrying passengers right into the city. The sittings will be resumed on Monday.