NEW TAXICAB "WAR."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20958, 22 August 1931, Page 12

NEW TAXICAB "WAR."

CHARGES STILL LOWER. /-. A. - -■■■■• ■ FIVE MILES FOR 1S 6D. - CHEAPER THAN TRAM FARES. COMPANIES ' IN COMPETITION. A new taxicab "war" is launched with the sweeping reduction in rates announced by Black and White Cabs, Limited, to take effect from 6 a.m. to-day. The new scale, which provides the cheapest taxi- £ cab travel ever afforded to A.ucklanders, is as follows First mile, Is; over one mile and up to five miles, Is 6d. The rates formerly in force were:—First mile, Is; two miles, 2s; three miles, 2s 6d; four and five miles, 3s. Chess Taxicabs also announce to-day a in fares. ,--The now tariff of Black and White cars will operate 24 hours a day f and seven days a week, as N no extra X" charge will be made for night service or , Sunday work, The rates are irrespective of the number of passengers carried. • Since each cab has provision for five pas- • congers, five people will be able to travel five miles nt a total cost of Is 6d. The scale of fares beyond the five-mile boundary remains unaltered, although the management of the company states that it is hoped at a later date to reduce these fares also. Bid for Tramway Patrons. At present a charge of fid is made for every half-mile over five miles as far as the 20-mile' boundary. For more than .20 miles the rate is 9d a mile return to the 20-mile boundary, passengers being brought back from there to the five-mile y boundary free/ Waiting time will be for at the old rate, namely, 6s an hour, or 6d for every five minutes or "portion of five minutes. It is anticipated that a groatcr patronage of the company's cabs will result from parties of people who normally would patronise the trams. The case is quoted of four people who, riding four sections on a tramcar, would pay a total cash fare of Is Bd. One of the company's cabs would take them the same distance for Is 6d. The manager., of the company, Mr. C. 'A. Turner, stated yesterday that the decision had been made in an endeavour to meet the lower purchasing power of the public, consequent on the 10 per cent, wages cut and the general economy, and . to provide cheaper transport in line with the demand for cheaper living costs. Taking" the average of the fares charged, it was estimated that a reduction of 50 per cent, bad been made. » Lower Price ol Petrol. A factor which had assisted toward Inaking the reduction possible, said Mr. ■ Turner, was tbe recent decrease in the /price of petrol. It was felt that the decision was in accordance with the company's traditions. As patronage increased the rates decreased. This was a .•••■* principle and > practice which worked almost automatically. A series of price-cutting campaigns by taxicab companies in Auckland in the past few years has resulted in an astonishing reduction in the fares the public at one time was accustomed to pay. In /June, 1928, four companies plunged into a vigorous faro "war" and prices were reduced by 30 per cent, on the rates which then ruled. The fare from the low>}r part of Queen Street to the Remuera post office, was accordingly reduced from 7s to 4s Bd, which seemed a considerable concession. To-day, however, after alternate increases and decreases in fares, it is possible 'to make that journey for Is (kl. , / Truce and Fresh "Warfare." .. • The "war" of June, 1928, lasted until . the following October, when a truce was declared and rates were restored to almost "the former level. In February, 1929, however, Black and White Cabs, Limited, introduced a flat-rate system, under .. which five persons could travel any distance up to five miles for a total cost of 2s 6d. A month later Checker Cabs re- •/ plied by charging Is for the first mile and-2S for any distance over a mile and up to five miles. For a year this keen competition con« tinned and, as further price-cutting threatened, a conference was beld be- • tween three leading companies, Black and White, Checker and Chess. An agreement was reached and in April, 1930, fares were increased to Is a mile for the first two miles, 2s 6d for three miles, and 3s for four and five miles. In August lastyear, following the increase in the petrol tax, these companies/ together with Red Top Cabs, Limited, adopted the scale of fares from which the Black and White Company has now departed.