BRITISH TRANSPORT EXPERTS RECOMMEND BUSES FOR SYDNEY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27078, 12 May 1949, Page 7

BRITISH TRANSPORT EXPERTS RECOMMEND BUSES FOR SYDNEY

SYDNEY, May 11. • Three British transport experts, who were invited here to examine the New South Wales bus and tram services, have recommended to the State Government the replacement of trams by buses in Sydney by 1960 and in Newcastle this year. They also advise the establishment of a New South Wales Transport Commission under the Director of Transport and Highways. The function of the commission would be to control State, transport departments and coordinate every form of transport, including private services. It would be responsible to Parliament through the Minister of Transport. The experts are Messrs G. F. Sinclair, A. F Andrews, and E. R. Ellen, all of the London Passenger Transport Board. Main Recommendations The main recommendations include: 1. The replacement of all footboard trams by the end of 1954 and corridor trams in 1960 or earlier. 2. The cancellation of the existing order for 250 new corridor trams. 3. The discontinuation of work on the conversion of footboard trams to corridor cars.

4* The withdrawal of the present week-night surcharge on fares. 5. The withdrawal of the week-end surcharge if and when the financial position of the department permits. 6/The institution of a publicity cam-r paign to inform the public of costs and; H |Hg , . ||pjg| | staggered working n w 8. The promotion : rather than The footboard - tratris are'bld > rrrf)dels * divided into compartments, which are accessible to the'' conductor Qnly by means of a'footboard running around the outside of the tram. They have been condemned by many authorities as dangerous. The estimated loss of revenue through uncollected fares now totals £400,000 a year. Last financial year the department’s accounts showed an accumulated deficiency of £1,776,709. The capital debt at that time was £6,803.110. Experts said that the Road Transport and Tramways Department estimated there would be a deficiency in revenue this financial year of £707.000. Capital Costs of Buses The report by the experts stated that the capital cost of about 1060 buses required to replace the footboard trams in Sydney would be about £4,750.000, as against £8.000,000 for a similar number of corridor trams. Bus operation at this level should be better than that of corridor trams by £850.000 a year. The cancellation of the order for 250 corridor trams would involve the saving of £2,016,000. Footboard cars, which were being converted to the corridor type at a cost of £3725 each, average 25 years old.