XN000022-1976-05-08 — Page 2

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 1976

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MORE PEOPLE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT

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MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT WHILE THE NUMBER OF PRIVATE CARS CONTINUES TO DECLINE.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SAID THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS CARRIED BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT LAST YEAR INCREASED BY MORE THAN 90 MILLION.

DURING THE YEAR, IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT 5,352,000 PASSENGERS WERE CARRIED BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT EACH DAY.

TRANSPORT EACH DAY. OF THIS NUMBER, 51 PER CENT USED FRANCHISED BUSES AND TRAMS, 27 PER CENT PUBLIC LIGHT BUSES, 11 PER CENT TAXIS AND PUBLIC HIRE CARS, 10 PER CENT FERRIES AND THE REMAINING ONE PER CENT USED TRAINS.

HE POINTED OUT THAT THE FRANCHISED BUS COMPANIES LAST YEAR ENJOYED A 14 PER CENT INCREASE IN PATRONAGE, CARRYING AN AVERAGE OF MORE THAN 2,300,000 PASSENGERS EACH DAY,

THIS, HE ADDED, WAS A RESULT OF INCREASED VEHICLE ALLOCATION, NEW SERVICES AND IMPROVED OPERATING SPEEDS.

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VEHICLES CONTINUED TO DROP. AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, THERE WERE 188,018 VEHICLES REGISTERED, COMPARED WITH 193,439 IN 1974, A DROP OF THREE PER CENT,

THE NUMBER OF PRIVATE CARS ALSO FELL FROM 119,273 TO 114,260 AT THE END OF 1975, SHOWING A DROP OF JUST OVER FOUR PER CENT.

DESPITE THE HIGH FEES CHARGED, THE SPOKESMAN SAID, THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR DRIVING LICENCES AND TESTS CONTINUED TO INCREASE. THE DEPARTMENT ISSUED SOME 57,000 PROVISIONAL LICENCES LAST YEAR WHILE THE NUMBER OF LICENCED DRIVERS NEALY REACHED 500,000 AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

HE SAID THAT THE GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF DRIVING LICENCES ISSUED WAS MAINLY FOR GOODS VEHICLES AND TAXIS, PUBLIC CARS AND MOTORCYCLES.

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