1969 VICTORIA TRANSPORT REGULATION BOARD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 1969 PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF PARI.IAMENT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE TRANSPORT REGULATION ACT By AU!hority: A. C. BROOKS, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, MELBOURNE. No. 13.-PRICE 60 cents.-8471/69. .J ' TRANSPORT REGULATION ACT 1958 (No. 6400). Section 19. " (1) A commercial passenger vehicle shall not operate on any public highway unless it is licensed in accordance with this . (Act) .. (2) Subject to this .• (Act) .. on the application of­ (a) the owner ; or (b) a person who intends to become the owner of a commercial passenger vehicle the Board may in respect of such vehicle grant that owner or intending owner a commercial passenger vehicle licence." COMMERCIAL GOODS VEHICLES ACT 1958 (No. 6222). Section 6. "(1) A commercial goods vehicle shall not operate on any public highway unless such vehicle is licensed in accordance with this •. (Act) .. (2) Subject to this . (Act) .. on the application of the owner or any person who intends to become the owner of a commercial goods vehicle the Board may in respect of such vehicle grant to that owner or intending owner a commercial goods vehicle licence." Cnr. Lygon and Princes Streets, Carlton, 3053, 30th November, 1969. The Honourable Vernon Wilcox M.P., Minister of Transport, Melbourne, 3000 SIR, The Board has the honour to submit for presentation to Parliament in compliance with the provisions of Section 14 of the Transport Regulation Act 1958, a Report upon its proceedings for the year ended 30th June, 1969. We have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servants, (Sgd.) E. V. FIELD, Chairman. (Sgd.) J. 0. MACTIER, Member. (Sgd.) J. R. BOLSTER, Member. (Sgd.) B. P. KA Y, Secretary. THE BOARD'S MELBOURNE OFFICE. INDEX OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTORY 7 COMMERCIAL GOODS TRANSPORT 9 " As of Right " Licences 9 Discretionary Goods Licences 10 Licence Fees for Commercial Goods Vehicles 15 Permits 15 Natural Gas and Oil 17 Heathcote Area-Provision of Goods Road Services 18 Mallacoota Goods Services 18 Asbestos Cement Pipes 18 Goods to Fire Devastated Areas 18 Specialized Cargo Handling 18 Containerization 20 COMMERCIAL PASSENGER VEHICLES 21 Metropolitan Passenger Transport­ Metropolitan Omnibus Services 22 Metropolitan Taxi-Cabs 24 Metropolitan Hire-Cars and Zone Hire-Cars 24 Urban Passenger Transport- Urban Taxi-Cabs and Hire-Cars 26 Urban Omnibus Services .. 26 Country Passenger Transport­ Country Omnibus Services 27 Country Taxi-Cabs and Hire-Cars .. 28 School Bus Services 28 Billy Graham Crusade 28 2nd Australian Senior Scout Venture 28 Drivers' Certificates- Commercial Passenger Vehicles 30 Tow Trucks 31 Vehicle Standards and Inspections 32 Metropolitan Inspections 32 Country Inspections 33 Taxi Radio .. 33 Bus Lighting 33 Distribution of Bus Licence Fees 33 ROAD MAINTENANCE CHARGES 35 Enforcement 35 Financial Difficulties of Small Carriers .. 36 MOTOR BOATING AcT 1961 38 ENFORCEMENT 41 Carriage of Dangerous Cargoes 42 INDEX-continued. PAGE Insecure Loads 43 FINANCE •• 44 Revenue 44 Expenditure 44 ADMINISTRATION 46 TRAINING 46 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 47 APPENDICES 48 INTRODUCTORY During the year 1968-69, no major change in legislation occurred. There were 123,647 commercial goods vehicles and 6,769 commercial passenger vehicles holding licences from the Board. The Board's total revenue amounted to $10,161,603, of which $7,841,354 was passed direct to the Country Roads Board for road maintenance purposes and $233,149 to the Tourist Development Authority from motor boat registration fees. Regulatory policy on the goods side remained unchanged. Considerable road freedoms exist in Victoria for the carriage of goods-statutory, under permits issued by the Board, and under the protection or cover of Section 92 of the Constitution. The Board's adjudication is largely confined to marginal traffics on long haul, for which the alternatives of road and rail are examined and factors such as handling, safe transit and delivery time taken into consideration. There is still a high volume of genuine interstate road transport, particularly inter-capital city and between Victoria and the Riverina district of New South Wales. Most of the road movement is carried out by small hire and reward carriers who operate as sub-contractors to forwarding agents and big cartage companies. Features of interstate road transport today are freedom of entry-there is no bar to any individual engaging in such work ; low cartage rates paid to sub-contractors ; tendency for many of these small carriers to drive for long periods with insufficient rest, contrary to law ; and evasion of road maintenance charges by a proportion of these truck owners. The Board considers that the real economics of road transport in small units on long interstate hauls warrants close study and that, while freight rates are low and there is admittedly good service available to transport users, there is prima facie evidence of over-capacity between the three main modes-sea, rail and road, and therefore of waste in transport for which the community and not the user has to pay. Generally, enforcement of the provisions of the Motor Car Act on hours of driving and rest periods continues to present difficulties to the Board and to the Police of Victoria and New South Wales. Evasion of the requirements, principally by sub-contract owners and drivers on interstate hauls working on incentive payments, is on a large scale, with consequent risks to other road users when the drivers of these heavy vehicles lose concentration or become fatigued. Withdrawal of rail service on the branch line Heathcote Junction-Heathcote led to the licensing of road carrying services to and from Melbourne. Transport requirements of the new Natural Gas and Oil industry, with headquarters at Longford and Barry Beach in Gippsland, continued to be satisfactorily met by a balanced combination of rail and road haulage. Rail is employed as the principal medium for heavy goods, and road for indivisible loads and urgent or fragile requirements. Lack of any rules to govern identification and transport of dangerous cargoes by road continues to concern the Board. There is some prospect that a Commonwealth Committee, the Australian Dangerous Goods Transport Committee, set up under the aegis of the Australian Transport Advisory Council, will have completed its task of drawing up rules and specifications covering dangerous goods by early next year, for transmission to the various States. On the passenger side, the Board was a participant in the setting up of a Transport Information Centre at the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau, and is a contributor to the cost of running the Centre. It is also represented on a Co-ordination Committee set up by the Minister to examine passenger transport problems. Public passenger transport provided by private enterprise bus operators continued at satisfactory standards of vehicles and service, although an increase in fares on metropolitan and urban routes became necessary during the year to provide operators with adequate revenue. Private bus fares still compare favorably with those charged on rail and tram services. The private enterprise system is carrying out an important function in providing bus transport to meet travel demands particularly in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. It is estimated that 22 per cent. of all passenger journeys within the metropolitan area-by rail, tram and bus-are on private bus routes licensed by the Board. Re-organizational changes in metropolitan taxi operation were introduced on a trial basis, and a public hearing in October, 1969 will give all parties the opportunity of advising the Board the results of these changes. In general terms, the old division between metropolitan taxis and what were previously black suburban hire-cars has been narrowed considerably with, in the Board's view, advantage to the travelling public. The Board is primarily responsible for the safe operation and vehicle standards of licensed commercial passenger vehicles-buses and taxis. It is planning to step up its inspection of vehicles in the Port Phillip region by establishment of additional metropolitan inspection centres, and in the country by appointment of qualified vehicle examiners and provision of better facilities and equipment for inspection. Maintenance performance of QWp,~r§ will also come under <;;lQser scrutiny, and vehicle replacements stepped up, 8 The Chairman and Secretary of the Board have been directly involved in the compilation of the Report, now reaching finality, of the Metropolitan Transportation Committee, the Chairman being a Statutory Member of this Committee, and the Secretary a Member of the Technical Committee and of the Editorial Committee. The Annual Conference of State Road Transport Authorities was held in Melbourne in April, 1969, with the Board acting as host to the other Authorities. For the first time, by invitation, the New Zealand Ministry of Transport was represented by its Secretary, Mr. R. Polaschek, and it seems that New Zealand representation will continue at future conferences. The Board considers this exchange of views by Authorities concerned with similar problems in the road transport field is of considerable value. The Board was greatly honored by a visit from His Excellency the Governor, Sir Rohan Delacombe, during the year. Sir Rohan met staff and inspected the Board's offices, and later lunched with the Board and senior executives. TRANSPORT REGULATION BOARD Annual Report for the Year Ended the 30th June, 1969 SECTION 1. COMMERCIAL GOODS TRANSPORT. Any motor vehicle in Victoria used or intended to be used for carrying goods for hire or reward, for any consideration or in the course of trade or business (excluding a vehicle that does not exceed 2 tons carrying capacity and owned by a primary producer) is required to be licensed by the Board, pursuant to the provisions of the Commercial Goods Vehicles Act 1958. Licences.-Under the provisions of the Act, two distinctive groups of licence are available­ the "as of right" group, available on application and within which there are eight types of licence; and discretionary licences which may be issued by the Board.