H—4o

The Chairman of the former Goods-service Charges Tribunal, Judge Archer, has been appointed Transport Charges Appeal Authority. The Transport Charges Committee was set up in January, 1949, and by the end of the year dealt with 9 cases, including the revision of a rates schedule and the approval of 2 contracts. One appeal against a decision of the Committee was dealt with by the Transport Charges Appeal Authority, the decision resulting in an amendment of the fares approved by the Committee. Tables 38 to 41 in the Appendix set out all fare alterations made during the year ended 31st March, 1949. H. COMPARISON OF PRESENT-DAY WITH PRE-WAR COSTS In the table set out below a comparison has been made between the estimated costs of operating a Heavy Traffic Class I truck as at 31st March, 1939, 1948, and 1949. For the purposes of comparison it has been assumed that the vehicles run 14,600 miles a year and are identical in all respects save that the cost of a new truck (less tires) amounted to £306 in 1939 and £715 in 1948 and 1949.

Estimated Cost of Operating a Class I Truck as at 31st March, 1939, 1948, and 1949

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Estimated Costs as at 31st March, 1939. Estimated Costs as at 31st March, 1948. Estimated Costs as at 31st March, 1949. Item. Item Cost. Percentage of Total. Item Cost. Percentage of Total. Item Cost. Percentage of Total. Running-expenses— Petrol Oil .. Tires Repairs £ 168 10 61 82 21 13 1-27 7-67 10-31 £ 244 15 98 127 20-73 1-27 8-32 10-80 ' £ 233 15 91 127 20-10 1-29 7-86 10-96 Total, running-expenses .. 321 40-38 484 41-12 466 40-21 Standing charges— Licence fees Insurance Garage fees Wages Depreciation 37 9 13 279 30 4-65 1-13 1-64 35-09 3-77 37 13 13 424 70 3-14 1-10 1-10 36-02 5-96 37 13 13 424 70 3-19 1-12 1-12 36-59 6-04 Total, standing charges 368 46-28 557 47-32 557 48-06 Overhead charges— Management Office salaries Office rent Printing and stationery Postages Telephone and tolls Accounting, audit, and legal Trade subscriptions General expenses Contingencies Interest on capital 40 20 5 4 3 5 2 2 5 . 5 15 5-03 2-52 0-63 0-50 0-38 0-63 0-25 0-25 0-63 0-63 1-89 50 25 5 5 5 5 2 2 5 5 27 4-25 2-12 0-42 0-43 0-43 0-43 0-17 0-17 0-42 0-43 2-29 50 25 5 5 5 5 2 '2 5 5 27 4-32 2-16 0-43 0-43 0-43 0-43 0-17 0-17 0-43 0-43 2-33 Total, overhead charges .. 106 13-34 136 11-56 136 11-73 Total cost 795 100-00 1,177 100-00 1,159 100-00 Running-expenses, per mile Standing charges, per mile Overhead charges, per mile d. 5-28 6-05 1-74 d. 7-95 9-16 2-24 d. 7-66 9-16 2-24 Total expenses, per mile 13 07 19-35 1906