The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1919. TRAMWAYS EXTENSIONS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16547, 23 September 1919, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1919. TRAMWAYS EXTENSIONS.

In view of the fact that to lay a mile of new tramway would now cost about £l-4,000,. compared with approximately £SBOO per mile, which was the cost of the present system, it would, we think, be wise of the Borough Council to postpone for a time the extension of the Morley Street line in the direction of West-own. No doubt residents in that local-' itv wil be disappointed if the extension is long deferred, but it is the most prudent course to follow. It is impossible to say how long the present high prices of material, such as rails and wire, will be maintained; by this time next year there may be a marked decdiue in price, and by waiting it may be possible to extend the line almost two miles for the present cost of one mile. The alternative suggested by the town clerk of a much improved electric omnibus service has more to- recommend it. The capital outlay involved in the purchase of two or three additional omnibuses would be small in comparison and. the running expenses would be correspondingly light. In the light of the experience gained with the present service it would pay to extend it not only by means of more frequent running on the established lines, but also by taking in other routes, such as the Erankley and Avenue Hoads, thus encouraging and building up a traffic for tramway extensions in a few years’ time. The present electric ’bus pays well and there is no reason to doubt that payable traffic could be found for two or three more. Even when the tramways are extended to Westown there will still he plenty of work in other directions for the ’buses. Then there is another consideration. If the attempt to clip the wings of the borough council in respect to its hydroelectric extension scheme fails, a large sum of money will require to be borrowed to carry it out, and we believe it would be a sound policy to proceed at once with the development of all the power the Waiwakaiho will give. That is of more importance at present than tramways extensions in any direction, and its success would help the tramways. ; That it will succeed may be taken as assured. If ]S T ew Plymouth is able in four or five years to supply from 6000 to 8000 horse-power, there need be no fear that customers will not he found for the whole of it, and it would be wise to get on with the development of the power as quickly as possible. The demand for power and light is already very great, and the supplier who is first able to meet it can he assured of a profitable market. Then there is the £lO,000,loan for providing houses for workers. This also is a matter oc considerable urgency. Under these circumstances it would he better to defer the extension of the tramways, at any rate until a better idea is gained of the probable movement of prices of the materials required. At present there is much uncertainty on that question, and it is difficult to form an opinion as to what the position will he a year hence. At any rate it is not at all likely to grow worse and the chances are that it will he much better.