1t.—40.

(2) Number of Licenses in Force. At the end of tlie year there were 4,654 licenses in force, against 3,161 at the end of the previous year. The total number of vehicle authorities authorized under the licenses rose from 5,790 in 1938-39 to 8,965. (3) Inspection of Operators' Accounts and Records. During the year the accountant inspectors attached to the district offices of the Department inspected the accounts and records of 308 licensees. Generally it was found that the standard of the accounting was showing improvement. (4) Reviews of Licenses. Apart from the general review made each year of all operators' finances, &c., the licenses of 161 goods-service operators were reviewed by the Licensing Authorities. (5) Rates-fixation. At the end of March, 1939, cartage rates had been fixed in seven different afeas. During the past year a further six more schedules of rates have been fixed by the Licensing Authorities. In addition to these, rates have been fixed in three North Island towns, while several amendments have been made to existing schedules as occasion demanded. (6) Goods-service Finances and Statistics, 1938-39. To form an estimate of the total figures for the industry, average figures per vehicle derived from the summary of the returns tabulated have been used. These figures are shown in Table 7 for the five years 1935-39. Although they are not strictly comparable from year to year, they afford a reasonably accurate guide to the progress of the industry. The steady growth in the numbers of licenses and vehicles is due largely to the changes in the legislation which have widened the scope of the Transport Licensing Act, 1931. In 1933-34 only those operators running over five miles or more of main highway outside urban areas were licensed, but in .1938-39 the Act covered all carriers operating outside the exempted areas around the four main centres, and outside a radius of six miles from the chief post-office in fifteen main towns. Furthermore, within the last two years, public-works and local-body contractors have also been brought under license. The figures covering the average mileage per vehicle have been affected by the inclusion of small operators engaged part time in transport, who have eome under license with the changes in legislation. This factor has largely contributed to the steady fall in the average mileage from the peak in 1936-37 of 15,725 miles to 13,828 miles in 1938-39. The figures for the operators engaged full time in transport show an average mileage per vehicle of 14,638 miles. In passing it might be mentioned that this last figure would probably have equalled the average mileage for the peak year had a full year's figures been available for the route services taken over by the New Zealand Railways. Although operating costs per vehicle-mile have increased by 6-9 per cent, on 1937-38, revenue has been sufficiently buoyant to maintain the net profit per vehicle-mile at l-sd. This represents a net return per vehicle of nearly £88, compared with £87 in the previous year. It is also interesting to note that the average " wage " for employee and owner-driver has remained constant at approximately £240. The increase in the average capital investment in each business is to be expected in view of the tendency towards larger-scale organizations —through the amalgamation of competing concerns. The average capital investment per operating unit is 12 per cent, above the figure for the previous year. The proportion of operator's own capital to the total investment has been maintained at the same figure as for 1937-38 —viz., 68 per cent. The North Island services account for nearly 69 per cent, of the 5,790 vehicle authorities authorized under the 3,161 goods services licensed under the Transport Licensing Act and 70 per cent, of the 80,000,000 miles run by the vehicles operating under the vehicle authorities. The average mileage per vehicle for the North Island services (14,177 miles) is 8 per cent, higher than the South Island average (13,064 miles), and the vehicles used in the southern services are over 5 per cent, larger than those used in the north. This last fact accounts to some extent for the operatingcost figure for the South Island vehicles being 0-96 d. above the North Island figure of 1147 d. Of the total revenue for the goods services in the Dominion (£4,425,000), the North Island accounted for £3,013,000, or 68 per cent, of the total, while of the net profit figure (£504,000), £321,000, or 64 per cent., accrued to the northern services. The rate of profit for the South Island of I-85d. per vehiclemile was much higher than the North Island figure of l-37d. C. TAXICAB AND RENTAL-CAR SERVICES. On the 7th March, 1939, the Transport (Rental Vehicles) Notice 1939 was issued to bring all rental cars under the Transport Licensing Act. During the year ended 31st March, 1940, the four district transport Licensing Authorities dealt with 140 applications for rental-car licenses, of which 125 were granted, 12 refused or withdrawn, and 3 adjourned. Forty-seven applications for amendments to licenses were also considered, as well as 2 applications for transfers of licenses. The passing of the Transport Law Amendment Act, 1939, brought all taxi-services in the Dominion under the Transport Act.

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