REFERRED BACK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26289, 22 October 1946, Page 4

REFERRED BACK

PASSENGER SERVICE FARES CONSIDERATION BY LICENSING AUTHORITY The question of passenger fares on certain South Island road services has been referred back to the Transport Licensing Authorities by a decision of the Transport Appeal Authority, Sir Francis Frazer, in an appeal by New Zealand Railways, Newman Bros., Ltd., and the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company, Ltd., against the decision of Nos. 4 and 5 Transport Licensing Authorities fixing these fares.

The appeals were lodged against decisions of the Transport Licensing Authority exercising jurisdiction in the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 transport licensing districts. The licensing authority fixed standard passenger service fares at li'd and 2d per mile respectively, the higher rate being applicable in cases in which road conditions were more difficult. Sir Francis said he agreed that the scales of fares should be revised from time to time, but, while' the fares decided upon by the licensing authority might represent reasonable average rates, it was impracticable to divide the South Island services, with all their multifarious conditions of operation, into two groups, and to adopt for every service in each of the groups a uniform scale of fares. The uniform adoption of two standard rates for the South Island might result in some services making a very handsome profit, and in others making a disastrous loss. A uniform rate, based on an average loading and an average cost of running. would work out fairly if all the South Island services were conducted by a single organisation, but that was not the case. It could be only by sheer chance that the application of uniform rates would work our fairly in the case of every individual service. The rates fixed for each service should be based not only on the actual conditions of operation, but on the costs of efficient operation. “ I have decided to refer these cases again to the Transport Licensing Authority, with an instruction that the circumstances of each service be separately investigated,” Sir Francis added. “In all cases. I reserve final decision until the licensing authority has reheard and reconsidered the respective applications and reviews. Where appellants have applied for oral hearings of their appeals, their requests will be dealt with after the licensing authority has further considered their cases."