BUSES TO ST. HELIERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20713, 5 November 1930, Page 12

BUSES TO ST. HELIERS.

iWATERFtioNT ROAD ROUTE. LICENCE TO L. J. KEYS, LTD. TRANSPORT BOARD DECISION. b , SHARP DIVISION OF OPINION. ] 'J'he provision of transport along the : new waterfront road was determined upon by the Transport Board yesterday, / when it was decided to grant a licence "-to L. J. Keys, Limited, to run a bus ■'- service between tho city and St. Heners "•'Bay for a period of five years, commenc- • ing on January 1. Several residents of - St. Heliers ahd Kohimarama attended the ■i• meeting to register objections and tho re- <- solution by which tho board agreed to tissue a licence/ was carried by five votes : to four. .An important condition will bo attached to the licence prohibiting the company s buses from picking up passengers within a distance of 15 chains of the Parnell Baths, and five chains of the Strand. It was decided'to insert this clause in order to protect tho Transport Board's own services to Brighton Road and Point Re- ' solution. Tli issue of the licence is also dependent on the company "maintaining a ' service between St. Heliers, Kohimarama and tho Meadowbank Road tramway terminus to tho satisfaction of tho board." ? 1 A resolution, passed the previous even- ? Zing at a meeting convened by the Tainaki Ratepayers and Residents' Association, asked tho board to consider the feasibility of taking over the service itself. Com- / plaint was made concerning the proposed - eca l o of far" 0 ; which was considered too •high, and it was submitted that a feeder *.' bus service t'o the tram terminus at -''Meadowbank Road was unwarranted, and that the needs of the residents near the main St. Heliers Road could be adequately met by feeder buses linking up with tho waterfront road. . Complaint Concerning Fares. (. Mr. K. E. Fawcett, on behalf of tho Association, s&d tho company's proposed .{ares compared unfavourably with those charged by ot.her companies operating in . the Auckland-district, and were too high . in comparison with the present faies 1 charged on tho longer routo to St. Heliers. ~;;His suggestion was that no feeder buses .should be run to Meadowbank Road, but .' that feeder buses should travel between ihe ruins of St. Thomas' Lhurch and St. Heliers. No injustice would be done to residents in the upper portions of the district as the Purewa and Glen Innes railway stations would servo their needs. J*'. The chairman, Mr. J. A. C. Allum, I"'claimed that the company's fares wore treasonable it* comparison _ witli those charged by other companies. JNo one r> could quarrel seriously with the workeia 4 .-'weekly ticket of 4s 3d to St. Heliers. It -\i it should be found that increasing traihe a lower fare in tho futuro the '-■ board possessed the power to see that -ifthe charges woro set within reason, so ".that .in that respect the public was thor--•oughly protected. The idea that bus }~fares should ,be comparable with tram fares was bised on an erroneous belief. • 'Buses operated only in districts where trams were /not warranted. The selfrespect of the people of St. Heliers would /-.surely demand, that they pay a fare sufh- ' cient to protect the licensee against finan* ..Vcial loss. Company's Perpetual Right. Mr. Allum added that the company was given a perpetual right to the '/ •service to St. Heliers by the _ No. 1 Licensing Authority, whose functions the Transport Board assumed. As the board -.could not therefore withdraw tho present did the residents desire it to operate its own service of buses and run - ■•'the company/off the road? - - Mr: Fawcett: We do not want to see Mr. Keys run off the road, but he should r be' paid a fair price in compensation. Mr; E. aJ Potter: You do not want -'Bs to run in competition with him? ■ ■ *'.■ Mr-. Fawcett: No; I have already said ■v 5 you should buy him out. The chairman said that to take over '-' the vehicles it would be necessary for the board to obtain loan authority from the ratepayers. - -Mr. Keys, replying to Mr. fawcett, 'ii'said he would be quite willing for the "'Transport Board to lake over his serVice. "Nothing would please me better," he declared, "and I will treat them very leniently with regard to the purchase of the plant. And if the Transport -Board will not, what is wrong with ;. some of the residents taking it over. am anxious to get out of it, and am only applying for this licenco because* I keep tho plant idle. = - ? .Replying to Mr. J. Wood, who asked how the people at Glendowie and Glen Jnnes would 'bo catered for, Mr. Keys said f 4hero was not sufficient population in. ,ST£either district to-warrant a service for *>i eome time. I Objections to the Licence. "f: 'Hie objections to the licorice were dis- ' cussed in committee, after which the chairman that a licence be granted "•-lor five years, subject to the conditions mentioned. The motion stipulated that ic-the intersection of Plumer Street and Drive, near Luna Park, be tne i last point a( which passengers be picked t.-'np on the inward trip and the first point ..'-.at which they be set down on the outf: ward trip. ■ o Mr. M- J- Goylo said that as it was •"•<-ithc board's last year of office it would •-'be-unwise to tie the incoming board down to a five-yej4ir, licence. He moved that the licence be for three years. •' Mr. E. J. Phelan said tli'o service should '--W run' by the board. Approximately, " £250,000 of public moiiey had been spent " ; on the Waterfront road and now it was "•'-'viroposcd in effect to hand it over to • '""a private company. Iri any case, he considered the proposed fares were too high. Several Amendments Defeated. * - The amendment was defeated, wherev'ftpori Mr. A. J. Entrican suggested that 1 sub-coinmitteo consult with the coni-'-party to obtain an understanding with regard to the/service to be maintained in .-•<iihe upper portions of the Tamaki "district. "L am going to oppose any "licence until wc know what is going to vbe' done for the people in that part of ' the district," he said. Mr. : L. E. Rhodes said it would be a 'breach of faith with the ratepayers to fjhand the service over to a private licen--'see. Any profits made on the water--front road should be reserved for tho ' .ratepayers. It' the board was not prei. pared to purchase the company's undertaking now it/ would be much more difficult in five years, when the service had ..grown immensely. A further amendment to defer deci.gion for a week was defeated, as was also 'lan amendment by Mr. Phelan proposing that the board should take over 7-the service, giving due regard to the purchase of the company's plant or the purchase of an up-to-date plant to operate on crude oil or, alternatively, the introduction of trackless trolleys. The chairman's motion was carried, the J .' mover and Messrs. E. H. Potter, G. G. 'Ashley, J. Wood and E. Morton voting 'for it and Messrs. Phelan, Entrican, Coyle and Rhodes against.