CO-ORDINATION OF TRANSPORT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19665, 6 December 1933, Page 6

CO-ORDINATION OF TRANSPORT

A BOARD TO BE SET UP EXPLANATION OF ITS FUNCTIONS By Telegraph— Prea Association WELLINGTON. December 5 When the Transport Amendment Bill was introduced in the House to-night, Mr E. J. Howard (Lab. Christchurch South), inquired whether it had anything to do with the Christchurch trams. The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates: No there is nothing suspicious about it. Mr Howard: What we have we’ll hold. Mr Coates said that the main feature of the Bill was that it proposed to replace the Appeal Board with a transport co-ordination board. The new board would have considerably wider duties than the present one, which was purely an appeal board. The co-ordin-ation board, in addition to hearing appeals. would make recommendations to the Government as to various phases and general di?velopments of transport and what, in its opinion, would be necessary, or an improvement, in the control of transport. The Government would consider these recommendations with a view to adopting the most workable system for New Zealand. Power was given for the central licensing authority to consist of one person. The general tendency would be for existing local authorities to carry on the licensing of transport in their district, but so far as the general authority was concerned the spade work had been finished and it was now’ necessary for only one person to carry out the duties of the central licensing authority. Appeals against his recommendations would go to the co-ordination board. The effect would be to reduce overhead costs. The Rev. Clyde Carr ‘ Lab Timaru): Is a member of a transport company eligible for membership of the board? Mr Coates. I think that the constitution will remain very much as at present. The co-ordination board will consist of three members, the same number as at present on the appeal board. Membership of Board. The Board is to consist of three members appointed by the Minister of Transport, of whom one will be appointed chairman. Each appointment will be for a term not exceeding three years, and each member shall be eligible for reappointment. No person is to be an officer or member of the Board who is an officer or sen-ant of any Department of State or who, otherwise than as a member of an incorporated company in which there are more than 20 members, is flnanciallv Interested, directly or indirectly, in the business of carrying passengers or goods, or who is a representative officer or servant of any person, company or public authority engaged in the business of carrying passengers or goods. Pending the determination of any appeal duly lodged by a person carrying on a passenger service against the decision of the licensing authority, the appellant may carry on such service to the full extent to which he was lawfully carrying it on at the time the decision of the authority was given. Transfer of Licensee. Notwithstanding anything in the principal Act, any service license under that Act may. subject to the provision* of the Bill, be transferred to any person. The licensing authority is empowered to grant or refuse the transfer of a license, but shall not In any case grant a transfer unless it is satisfied that the proposed transferee is financially able to carry on the service and is likely to carry it on satisfactorily.

Any licensing authority may delegate to anv person its power to grant temporary licenses, but every such license shall be subject to ratification by the licensing authority The licensing authority may prescribe the localities to be served on the route or routes to be traversed and the time tables or frequency of the service to be observed. It may also prescribe the fares to ! >e charged for the carriage of passengers, and the charges to be made for the carriage of goods, including mails. The Oovernor-GeneraJ-in-Council may exempt passenger service vehicles or any passenger service vehicles of a particular type or class from the requirement of the main Act as to a certificate of fitness being in force while the same are used in connection with a passenger service. The licensing authority may license goods service vehicles to carry passengers in certain cases where, from a comparison of the goods traffic and passenger traffic respectively and the revenue derived from each by the service for the carriage of both goods and passenger*, this course is considered desirable.