H.—4o

A study of the above figures and the position which obtained in the industry before the Act came into operation indicates that the Transport Licensing Act is producing order and something on the' lines of a planned system of transport where, under unregulated competition, the employment of the two great forces of capital and labour in this industry were on a most precarious basis, and where the community paid the price in the direction of higher charges due to overcapitalization and uncertainty in the operation of its transport services. (h) Appeals. Up to the end of September, 1933, 172 appeals were lodged against decisions by Transport Licensing Authorities, in connection with passenger-service licenses, and were dealt, with as follows by the Transport Appeal Board : — Number of Appeals. Appeal allowed .. .. .. .. .. .. .69 Appeal disallowed .. .. .. .. .. .. 51 Appeal withdrawn .. .. .. .. .. .. 42 Appeal struck out .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 Appeal awaiting hearing .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 Appeal referred back to Licensing Authority .. .. .. .. 3 Total .. .. .. .. ..172 (i) Savings in Vehicle-mileage. A detailed examination of the figures for each operator reveals a saving of approximately 9,250,000 vehicle-miles per annum for the year ended 31st March, 1933, as compared with the year ended 31st March, 1931, which marked the period before the Transport Licensing Act came into operation. A small portion of this saving is probably due to certain services being forced off the road on account of the falling-ofl in business, but the major part of it is due to the operation of the Transport Licensing Act. A substantial part of the savings in vehicle-mileage due to the operation of ih< Act followed upon the voluntary co-ordination of services by mutual agreement amongst the operators, subject to the approval of the schemes by the appropriate Licensing Authorities. Assuming that the saving in vehicle-mileage would mean economy of the full running-costs and a partial Saving in standing and overhead charges, the full annual monetary saving due to the operation of tluß Ad may be set down at approximately £275,000. These savings are real, and are represented at present by greater financial stability in the industry and the avoidance of any increase in fares to offset the heavy f;i ili 11 u - off in traffic. There is every indication that these savings will enable substantial reductions in fares and/or improved services to be made available to the travelling public as soon as the volumo of passenger traffic regains its normal level. The reduction in vehicle-mileage would result in a decrease of approximately £38,000 per annum in the revenue from the petrol-tax at 10d. per gallon, but it is considered that this would l><> offset by a corresponding fall in the expenditure necessary on the maintenance of the roads. (j) Passenger-service-vehicle Inspections. An outline of the obligations and requirements under the Transport Licensing Act, 1931, in regard to the passenger-service vehicle was given in the Department's report for last year, and as the Act has now been in force lor eighteen months every operator carrying passengers for hire or reward should now be aware of the essentials of a legal service. It is known, however, that some operators have not yet lodged applications for examination of their vehicles, and in fairness to other operators such cases are being investigated. The majority of the applications for certificates of fitness were, of course, received as renewals in the early months of the licensing year, but since then fresh applications have been, and are being , ) received daily. A summary of the position throughout the Dominion on the 21st August, 1933, shows that, in all, 2,207 applications had been lodged for the year but fees had not been paid in regard to 18 of these, thus 2,189 applications were dealt with. Of this number, 819 were for temporary permits covering 374 separate vehicles (some of which were used under temporary licenses as often as ten times). Only six vehicles were condemned outright during the year, compared with forty-four last year, while the owners of seventeen others have been advised that permission to use such vehicles will not be forthcoming after the date of expiry shown on the respective permits or certificates of fitness. Again, several owners have, of course, voluntarily replaced old vehicles by new ones, while some operators have substituted either second-hand vehicles or have purchased a new chassis for an existing body, or vice versa, to maintain their respective standard of service. The total number of " active " vehicles for the period of this report is therefore 1,738, and these are distributed throughout the Dominion as under:— 1. No. 2 District .. ..413 7. No. 10 District.. .. 119 2. No. 4 District .. .. 272 8. No. 8 District .. .. 116 3. No. 6 District .. .. 254 9. No. 1 District .. .. 102 4. No. 5 District .. .. 178 5. No. 7 District .. ..157 Total .. .. 1^738 6. No. 9 District .. .. 127 . Note. —In June last the No. 3 Licensing District (Waikato and Bay of Plenty areas) was abolished, and consequently the boundaries of Districts Nos. 2 and 4 were altered to embrace the No. 3 territory.

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