SUBURBAN BUS SERVICE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 145999, 4 December 1917, Page 2

SUBURBAN BUS SERVICE.

QUESTION AGAIN BEFORE THE COUNCIL. At the New Plymouth Borough Council meeting on Monday night the executivo committee recommended ‘‘that the loan proposals for the electric bus service be increased from £1650 to £IBOO in order to make provision for the erection of a building to house the bus. The estimated cost of the building was £l5O. Messrs. A'. It.'Harris and Co. wrote placing under offer to tho council an option on a two-ton electric chassis at £I2OO and £25 for extra- cells conditional upon the council placing a firm order subject to the poll being carried. The Mayor moved that the report oi the executive committee be adopted. Councillor Browne said ho thought tho council .could undertake to place a firm offer if the poll was"favourable. ' Councillor Collis referred to tho proposal to increase the loan to £IBO6, and asked where .it was proposed to erect tho building The Mayor intimated that the idea was to erect it at the back of the sub-station buildings. Coup ci 1 lor'Hayden seconded the Mayor’s motion.

Councillor Griffiths asked if_ when tiie question of the bus was previously discussed they were in open council or in committee.

The Mayor said it wa<j a council meeting, but that the question was discussed in committee. “However, Councillor Griffiths, got straight at what yon want to say, I know what is coming,” ho added. Councillor Griffiths said he could only make an explanation, and wanted to know just how they stood; whether they were to treat last Monday’s meeting as a meeting of the council or of the works committee.

The Mayor: It was a council meeting and cannot bo treated as anything else.

Councillor Griffiths ; Then supposing that we wish to alter what was done on Monday night la'st, we can only do so by rescinding the previous resolution.

The Mayor ; That is so. Councillor Griffiths said he wanted to have moved in such a way as to enable the council to purchase the bus that was required outright without going to a poll at all. On Monday night last he had voted in favour of the poll because at the time he had not had an opportunity of considering the engineer’s report. The first he had seen of it was when he came to the meeting, but on giving the matter more mature consideration he had come to the conclusion that it would be better to purchase the bus now and thus avoid a lot of unnecessary delay. That being the ease ho hardly knew how ho stood in regard to the previous resolution. The Mayor: It can only be rescinded by notice of motion. Councillor Collis said it would make no difference whether a poll was taken or not, in view of the letter from Messrs Harris. They would not be able to get a bus any sooner if they did not take a noil. Councillor Griffiths said the letter, he understood, applied to a bus which had not been shipped, and in view of the general disorganisation of shipping, the point was that there was no certainty when it would be shipped, whereas if the council decided to purchase immediately they would probably got a chassis that was now on the water.

Eventually the report of the committee was adopted, and Councillor Browne then moved that an order be placed for the bus in terms of Messrs. Harris’ letter. The Mayor seconded, and the motion was carried.

Councillor Hill subsequently gave notice of motion to rescind previous resolutions to permit of the bus being purchased outright.