MAIL CONTRACTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22197, 26 February 1934, Page 10

MAIL CONTRACTS

NORTH ISLAND SERVICES LARGE SAVING ON RENEWALS (Special to Daily Times.) WELLINGTON, February 24. Every alternate year the contracts for the performance of the principal mail services and rural deliveries are subjected to tender, and this process . vas applied recently to the North Island services, which have been renewed as from January I at a very substantial saving to the department. “The savings on the renewals are over f 13,000,” stated the Postmaster-general (Mr A. Hamilton) to-day. “ This reduction is equal to 16 per cent., the highest savings ever effected. To show the contrast between the new figures and those for the subsidies paid on the contracts which expired on December 31 last, the following figures are illuminating:— Contracts expired December, 1933 £82,881 Subsidies on contracts made from January 1 £69,793 Savings this year .. . £13,088 “A saving of only £8430 would have been effected if the tenders had been accepted as originally submitted,” added iho Minister, “ but by negotiating with tenderers a further reduction of £4658 as made. On the occasion of this re-letting, which is for a two-year period, the department had more information at its disposal than formerly, and consequently intensive eiforts were made towards reducing costs, which were considered still too high having regard to present-dav conditions. “Many of the services were keenly competed for, but the large increase in tfie number of ‘block’ tenders for groups of services was particularly noticeable. The greatest reductions were achieved in this connection. The Transport Licensing Act, 1931, had in some instances a great bearing on the tendering, as it limited the tenderers to one or two persons who alone had licenses. But except in a few noticeable cases the tenderers refrained from taking advantage of the situation by stipulating high prices. In, the few cases which did occur they were referred to the Licensing Authority for decision, when the department received very fair treatment, and, generally speaking,, was> satisfied with the decisions given.’” South Island mail tenders are subject to re-letting at the end of the current year.