HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21734, 27 August 1932, Page 11

HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES

METHOD OF ALLOCATION PROPORTIONATE TO EXPENDI- - ' ■' ' TURK. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, August 26. In order to avoid expensive litigation in cases where local bodies having control of roads in a heavy traffic, district dispute the allocation of the license fees, amendments to the heavy motor vehicle regulations were gazetted last night. The Transport Department explains that the correct allocation of these fees should' be based on the use of roads by vehicles which pay the fees, and it is therefore only necessary to -ascertain some reasonable measure of . use. The most correct method would be a traffic census, but this method would be costly and would show very little saving on the original method. In the circumstances, therefore, it has been decided to adopt maintenance expenditure as the basis f6r the allocation of fees, and this expenditure would represent a reasonably close measure of use by motor traffic. ‘' • ,

Assuming that the damage-' due to climatic conditions is relatively the same in each heavy traffic district,"the new amendment provides that when local authorities in any heavy traffic district fail to come to an amicable arrangement as to the allocation of the fees the Minister of Transport shall determine the allocation on the basis of relative maintenance expenditure, together with interest and sinking fund charges on paving loans. - ■ 1