LOSING PROPOSITION

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12455, 25 May 1926, Page 9

LOSING PROPOSITION

OPOSITION BY ’BUSES TAKAPUNA TRAIN AND FERRY NO ROOM FOR TWO SYSTEMS (By Telegraph—Special to “Times.”) AUCKLAND, Alay 24. “This loss is wholly attributable to the opposition of motor-’buses via Devonport.” Thus do directors of the Takapuna Tramways and Ferry Company explain the deficiency that has occurred over the operations of the twelve months ended Afarch 31st. The profit and loss account, shows a debit of £1999 7a 3d, and to this is added depreciation £2640 19s lid, making a total of £4640 2s 2d. After reciting the reasons for abandoning the scheme to electrify the trains the report proceeds to explain why the decision to electrify has been re-affirmed as follows: “Now, however, motor-’bus regulations have been issued the company is advised that where adequate facilities for transport exist the licensing authorities are oound to refuse licenses to competing motor omnibuses. Yoon- directors havo therefore decided that if the Takapuna Borough Council (as in tlieir opinion it is bound to do) refuses licenses for the Devonport service thecompany will, subject to finance, immediately proceed to electrify the service. To do thiE the shareholders must be prepared to subscribe largely to the 7i per cent, debenture issue which is to be made to provide the necessary capital. MUTUALLY DESTRUCTIVE “It is necessary that city and suburban residents should recognise that, while it is always pleasant to have two strings to one’s bow, motor-’buses and electric cars running on the same route or catering for the same public are mutually destructive and cannot exist side by side. It does not take much consideration to appreciate the fact that the conception of tramway undertakings with their very large capital outlay was originally based on the assumption that they would handle the whole of the traffic offering. Unless the plant, which is under penalty, is bound to take the burden of the peak traffic, which other systems will not attempt and cannot hope to cope with, is to be flillv patronised at other times it simply has no justification for its existence. Electrification must be undertaken by your directors in a spirit that being assured of tho whole traffic we must to the utmost of our power give tho public the best possible service. Realising that the goodwill of the public is absolutely essential to the working of a transport system the alternative to electric traction is to put on a number of motor-’buses and out steam traction to a bare minimum. In tho meantime the substitution of mo-tor-buses for steam trams on light trips has largely reduced the losses" which were being incurred. Lost year’s report showed a, profit of £579, which, however, did not permit of the payment of a dividend for the half-year ended Alarcli 31st. On that occasion it was mentioned that the infantile paralysis epidemic had resulted in a ioss of revenue amounting to £4OOO.