VICTORIA AVENUE TRAMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21806, 22 May 1934, Page 12

VICTORIA AVENUE TRAMS

REMOVAL OPPOSED RESIDENTS VOICE PROTEST BUSES NOT FAVOURED Resolutions protesting against the suggestion of the Auckland Transport Board that the tram service in Victoria Avenue should ho abolished were passed at a meeting held last evening in the hall of the Remuera Library. The meeting also placed on record the view that the returns from the Victoria Avenue section would compare favourably with those from any last section in the Auckland tramway system, and opposed the substitution of buses for the trains. Mr. J. P. Patterson presided, and the attendance of residents of the area numbered about 200. It wjs submitted that the board's electors did not look to it to make every section a payablo unit, and two residents present were elected to lead a delegation, which will place the resolutions before the meeting of the Transport Board thjs morning. Mr. J. J. Kingston read the report to the board dealing with the situation. "If the Victoria Avenue trams are removed because they do not pay," said Mr. Dawson Donaldson, "people can rightly ask that all other tram services that do not pay be abolished. The existence of the Victoria Avenue trams played a great part in inducing citizens to purchase property in that area. The suggestion that residents in the area are all motor-car owners is a fallacy that might be applied to any other part of tho system., The trams in Victoria Avenue are used by a creat number of other people." ' Cost of Relaying Tracks

Dealing with tho estimated cost of relaying the tracks, Mr. Donaldson said the bulk of this cost would be for labour, as most of the existing material would be available. Tho difference in the cost of repairing the route and pulling up the track amounted to about £lB2 and the board would then be faced with the added expense of establishing somo other form of service.

It was not feasible that every public utility should, be expected to pay, treated as a unit. As examples of this Mr. Donaldson mentioned the waterfront road, the cost of which worked out to one shilling for every vehicle using it, the public parks, which cost many thousands of pounds a year, and the Auckland railway station. "The convenience of the community should be the first concern of the transport authority," said Mr. A. L. Spence. "The problem of Victoria Avenue is the problem of every last section. The 10-minute service to Onehunga would, treated on its last section, be far from a paying proposition. Motor Service Competition

"Ten years aco the transport system had to be protected the competition of motor services," added Mr. Spence, "and, good as these may be. ; we cannot tolerate the wastage ofr public money to support new transport that may destroy the existing system before it is perfect itself. If the lastsection services are abandoned, who is going to pay the transport debt? There is a further cause for objection, and that is that for every mile of track removed, 12 men will be put out of employment." As a parallel the case of back-countrv post offices that did not pay was mentioned by Mr. H. J. D. Mahon, who maintained that the Transport Board had an equal duty to maintain a public service. The board, he said, was overlooking the fact that there were many elderly people and children using the Victoria Avenue trams and, under any other arrangement, they would, have to board vehicles already crowded. The removal of the trams would have a decided effect on the rateable value of property in the district, with a consequent Joss of revenue to the City Council.

The resolutions were carried unanimously and Mr. Donaldson and Mr. Spence were appointed to submit them to the Transport Board. An appeal was made to those present to form the strongest possible delegation.