MORE TRANSPORT PURCHASES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23020, 23 April 1938, Page 12

MORE TRANSPORT PURCHASES

Further extensive purchases of privately-owned motor services, to be operated by the Railway Department, have just been announced. In Canterbury three of the principal passenger organisations have been taken over, while in Auckland an important section of the goods transport operating from the city has been bought. Progress toward single, monopolistic ownership by the State of all inland transport is becoming more rapid. In some instances the services acquired have been in direct competition with the railways, but this has not been true of them all. There does not seem to be any limiting of the objective to competitive services. Either the entire socialisation of land transport is the policy, or there is no policy at all behind the purchases. Assuming, as must be done, that a State monopoly is the aim, it is not difficult to see what the result will be. The railways have gone back steadily in their net return during the past two years. In 1936-37 the grqss revenue was £786,000 greater than in the preceding year, but the net return was £147,600 less, lor 48 weeks of 1937-38 gross revenue was £937,000 higher than in the same portion of the year before, but the net return Traffic is increasing, but profits are shrinking rapidly. Under such conditions an increase in fares and freight rates may be considered inevitable; the Minister of Railways showed, by something he said recently, that his mind was turning that way. Obviously the Government means to remove not only competition, but any basis of comparison with what the transport it provides costs the public. So it is buying right and left, without having any mandate to nationalise all transport, and without telling the people, who are entitled to know, the prices that are being paid for the enterprises purchased. It may or may not be good business, but it certainly is not a democratic practice.