TRANSPORT ACT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22708, 22 October 1935, Page 10

TRANSPORT ACT

THE LICENSING PROVISIONS A SETTLING DOWN PROCESS (From Ook Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 21. Recent criticism of the transport licensing legislation in connection with prosecutions for breaches of the Transport Licensing Act, 1931, were the subject of comment to-day by the Minister of Transport, Mr Coates. The Minister stated that in order to remove any misapprehension it was desirable that attention should be drawn to the nature of the legislation. “ The regulatory system provided in the legislation came into existence for four main reasons,” Mr Coates said. “It was necessary to prevent the waste which was arising from excessive competition and also, after considering all aspects of the question, to provide an adequate service for the public at the lowest possible cost. Other considerations were the public safety and the protection and preservation of the roads.” Summarised, the results of the legislation in operation, the Minister continued, spoke for themselves. In passenger services there had been a saving of approximately 10,000,000 vehicle miles annually as compared with the figures for the year before the licensing system came into existence. This had resulted in a saving of about £300,000 a year in vehicle-operating expenses, and a substantial saving in wear and tear on roads. Approximately £500,000 of the capital invested in the industry was freed for use in other avenues of investment. Other benefits .were more regular services, an improvement in the standard of the vehicles in use with greater comfort and safety for the travelling public, reduced fares in numerous instances, and a more healthy financial position in the industry generally. With regard to goods services, there was an increase of approximately 500 miles annually in the average annual mileage per truck, accompanied by an increased average pay-load per truck. Those factors indicated a considerable improvement in the utilisation of trucks covered by the licensing system and would be followed by lower unit costa to operators and lower unit charges to the public. “The licensing of passenger services came into operation as from March 1, 1932,” Mr Coates continued, “and provision was made for the granting of automatic licences for one year to all operators already in existence. At the end of the first year the full provisions became applicable to all services, and operators were required to show that their services were necessary and desirable in the public interest. Doubts regarding the interpretation of the legislation arose in a number of cases and resort was made to an appeal board and the Supreme Court. The period of doubt was eventually ended and for the last two years the licensing of passenger services lias proceeded smoothly. A period of doubt in the licensing of goods services occurred last year when the automatic licences expired and a few cases have still lingered. These will be clarified in the near future and licensing will then settle down smoothly as in the case of passenger services.”