H—4o

1948 NEW ZEALAND

TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT (ANNUAL REPORT OF)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave

FOREWORD BY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT Mb. Speaker,— As Minister of Transport, responsible for the co-ordination of the different forms of transport, I propose to give the House a brief picture of our transport system. We stand on the threshold of a new era in transportation, and the present is an appropriate time to take a bird's eye view of the whole field. I have had prepared certain statistics relating to the transport industry as a whole. Complete accuracy cannot be claimed for these figures, but they are based on the most exact information available, and are sufficiently reliable for the purpose of general comparison. CAPITAL INVESTMENT Capital invested in the transport industry amounts to just over £350,000,000, the figures for each form of transport being as follows : Capital Investment Kind of (000,000 omitted). Transport. £ Roads and road transport* .. .. 240 Railways .. .. .. 76 Tramways .. .. .. .. 5 Shipping! .. .. .. 23 Air services .. .. .. .. 6 Total .. .. .. .. £350 * Includes value of roads, vehicles, garages, spare parts, &c. f Represents value of assets of Harbour Boards (excluding cash assets) as at 30th September, 1945, and estimated investment in coastal ships. This investment of £350,000,000 is equal to more than one and a half times the total value of all production in the Dominion for one year.