CO129-555-1 Hong Kong Tramways Ltd.- petition 10-7-1935 - 4-10-1935 — Page 5

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latter, we have only Appendix Q to the

O.A.G.

Betition, which the Governor does not regard

as establishing the Company's case. The

O·A·G

Governor is satisfied that recent extensions

of bus routes are not uneconomic and are in

the public interest, and whilst on all

occasions willing to consider the views of the

Tramway Company on proposed traffic develop-

ments in the Colony, he cannot agree to accept

them as final arbiters. He does not recommend

reference of the dispute to the Ministry of

Transport, but has under consideration the

erection of a small Commission or Board to

deal with bus fares and similar problems, when

the former come to be fixed by the Governor in

Council upon the completion of the first

three years of the bus concession.

8. It appears therefore that though

the Hong Kong Tramway Company naturally

regret that the coming of the motorbus has

disturbed their previous monopoly of public

passenger transport in Victoria, they cannot

be allowed to cramp the development of bus

services in the Colony when such development

is in the public interest. I think the

Tramway Company have failed to show that the

public interest is as yet being adversely

affected by what they term uneconomic

competition.

In fact the requirement that

new bus services and alterations in bus fares

need the consent of Government is itself a

safeguard both of public interest and of the

legitimate