CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

Waipa Post, Volume 36, Issue 2146, 19 April 1928, Page 5

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

MONTHLY MEETING. RAILWAY MATTERS DISCUSSED. The usual monthly meeting of the Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce was held in the office of the Waipa Post on Tuesday evening when the president, Mr W. Jeffery, was in the chair; and there were also present, Messrs R. A. Coyne, C. G. Downes, R. Laurie, J. Oliphant and the secretary, Mr G. O. Jourdain. The chairman of the Associated Banks notified the Chamber that the matter of the bank rate of interest on overdrafts was : receiving their close attention; and would be dealt with as soon as the factors governing the position would permit. The secretary reported that the A.A.A. were having signposts made showing the local camping site, and these would be erected as soon as they came to hand.—lt was decided to obtain the cost of putting up special signposts for Te Awamutu itself and adjacent roads. The secretary was instructed to convey the Chamber's thanks to Mr G. Parr of Hamilton, for his recent able address at the monthly luncheon. The chairman then read the following paper, by Mr A. G. Warburton, on railway matters:— Since the visit of the Railway Commercial agent to Te Awamutu a few months, ago, most of our members -will have given some thought to the question of the competition arising between railway and road transport. Mr Welstead's remarks followed generally the line that, having invested large sums in the railways, people were diverting traffic to the roads and such a question is certainly deserving of much thought. It came as a surprise, therefore, when I attended a function at Te Aroha the other day to hear two Ministers of the Crown and two private members of the House speak strongly in the advocacy of road transit. The suggestion made waa that Te Aroha should become a more popular holiday resort and the political speakers urged that good roads be formed to link with the districts of Waikato —notably Hamilton —from whence the holiday-seekers might come. Never once did they suggest the possibility of the railways carrying the traffic. It impressed me as political insincerity that these same politicians engaged salaried men to seek to popularise a State service whilst they themselves advocated a rival service. That, however, by the way. Involved in the question of road transportation is unquestionably the national policy of highways construction. Having sank large sums of money in railways to connect between given points our administrators have given priority in the expenditure of Highways Fund to,the construction of roads running, for most part, parallel with the railways and linking identical points. In this, no doubt, the politician has followed the line of least resistance and, yielding to pressure from the cities, has catered primarily for the joy-riders, whereas the national interest would have been better served had priority in the expenditure of available moneys been given to those roads,which, serving as feeders to the railways, Would have also served to open up and further develop lands from which the increased production would have enhanced the wealth of commerce of the Dominion. However, having embarked upon the policy of Highways construction the politician faces a new ■ problem. Traffic which hitherto belonged to the railway is being diverted to the road and if road transit along routes running parallel with our railways makes 1 the same headway in the next few years as it has made in the recent past it seems fairly evident that the Government in office will require to draw from ordinary revenue of the country to make good the deficits of the railways. • .-'(Therefore, on purely sentimental grounds—that of safeguarding thenown investment —Mr Wellstead had not the least difficulty in establishing a strong claim. But it Js said that sentiment does not largely enter into modern business. "Why," it can be asked, "do increasing numbers of people patronise the road services." Very certainly the improved road surfaces is not the only consideration. It it that the facility of the road is greater than that offered by the railway. It it, having regard for the terminal charges to connect with the railway, the road transit is cheaper. It it that many people remember the autocratic rule of past railway administrators.

It it that privately controlled services are more mobile and more speedily adjust themeslves to local requirements. Perhaps it could be said that all these factors contribute to a greater or lesser degree. Once the cause of the diversion of traffic can be definitely determined I believe the remedy will soon be found.

There would then appear to be degrees of competition. My observation suggests:— That the nigrht expresses are practically immune from road competition. From the point of view of speed and hours of travel the road can hardly, rival these services. ' That, taking speed into account, the majority of the day exp?:esses experience only partial competition. That the full blunt of competition falls on the ordinary day trains carrying both goods and passenger traffic. These latter would perhaps make up the bulk of the services and account for a considerable percentage of the train mileage run and the loss of passenger revenue to the Department must be considerable. If, however, my analysis is correct, there appears to me one wav in which the affected services can be made more attractive. That is bv the adoption of a system of graded passenger rates to suit the grade of service patronised. We have, at present, a uniform scale of passenger rates but by no means have we a uniform service. In this respect the railways are somewhat exceptional—few other business enterprises exact uniform fee for such a variety of service. I suggest a graduated scale of passenger rates in keeping with the grade of service patronised. Thus the

fast expresses would become the dearest form of travel; cheaper tickets would be issued for the lesser expresses and the slow mixed trains would have a cheaper ticket still. By no means can this be constructed as a desire for price-cutting. It simply means a charge consistent with the quality of service. If the present rate is a fair rate for the fast expresses—and I do not say that it is under a scheme of graduation—then it is manifestly an excessive rate for travel by slow trains. The adoption of such a system would be a radical change from present methods and against it I recognise there will be immediate difficulties. It encounters established customs from the long usage of a uniform ticket. There is the difficulty of break of journey or passengers requiring to travel to a given point by a slow train to connect with a express. There is a possibility of a more complicated and confusing ticket issue. But I believe the public will quickly adapt themselves to the new condition and that departmental officers will prove capable of simplifying a system to overcome internal difficulties. Just as" private iertfcerprise beset with competition on every hand has been forced to accept new standards, often in the face of apparent difficulties, so, I believe, can those who administer this State service adapt themselves to the demands which competition fs forcing upon them. And by this means I suggest the way opens to make a more adequate charge for the different' grades of service, particularly those services which are falling in popularity and which are most heavilv 'hit' by the competition of road transit. Mr R. Laurie, the local stationmaster, pointed out that many of the points suggested were not applicable and would be very hard to work satisfactorily; he gave particulars of the various kind of tickets that are now being issued by the Department, and concluded by stating that much as the Board deplored the cutting-in of the motor competition, they were doing all they could in their endeavour to meet the convenience of travellers. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded MrWarburton for his interesting paper.