SAVE
PUBLIC
TRANSPORT
COMMITTEE

• First Policy Workshop NATIONAL POLICY FOR 1976 (to prepare for National Meeting, see below)

• ALL WELCOME - We cannot subsidise fares or meals but hope to provide billets. Would all those wanting to attend please contact us as soon as possible for details.

• HAWTHORNE PARADE HABERFIELD (Nr. Lilyfield Rd. Bridge over Hawthorne Canal). $1.50 single - we supply bread salad and live music (we hope to have the Maitland Bush Band and another band as well). Max Ruddock and Peter Cox have been invited but there won't be speeches! A non-heavy good time!

On the agenda are
• NSW State Election
• Matters raised by the National Meeting
• Campaign Priorities for 1976 ... and others

Please note these events now as this will be the only notice of them. They are part of a program to step up our activity and bring all aspects of the public transport issue before the public.

NEWS ITEMS

Your Management Committee has drawn up a short list of marginal electorates to be campaigned in. They are ASHFIELD, COOGEE, CRONULLA, DRUMMOYNE, FULLER, GEORGES RIVER, GOSFORD, HURSTVILLE, MIRANDA and NEPEAN. If you live in or near these electorates and can help in the campaign please ring us and leave details as soon as possible. Further details of our election campaign will be discussed and decided on at the next General Meeting (Mon 2 Feb).

Rousing Mr. Ruddock We hope that the promise of publicity will inspire Mr. Ruddock to treat the questions seriously as he still hasn't replied to our major submission made to him on the 4th November, 1975. There has been further correspondence since then from us to him. The "BUS ONLY" Precinct in Pitt and Castlereagh Sts in the C. B. D. has interested the press and was publicised in Column 8 on 8/1/76.

UPPED AGAIN! The Convenor, Allan Sorrensen, was widely reported on January when we bitterly condemned the latest fare increases. He said the rises in rail fares by 5% and bus and ferry fares by 5¢ a journey was the second in six months and part of Government plan to soften the blow by smaller increases at much more frequent intervals.

"Mr Ruddock has indicated this method by refusing to promise that he will not increase fares again this year, the expected $20 million revenue will be nullified by falls in passenger journeys. Last year alone they amounted to $13 million".

DOES THIS COMPUTE? The NSW Computer Club President, Mr D. Tow, has congratulated Save Public Transport policies relating to passenger services. He said the Club had adapted a U.S. computer programming system for trial in Australia. Several Sydney Councils have shown interest in the system and Mr. Tow is hopeful that it will soon be adopted.

"Basically the system organises pickup points and departure times for workers", he said. This eliminates the number of cars on the road by at least one half. Several large car companies have introduced the system among their employees 0ver the past few years in the US. Your policies are right in line with our programmes."

THE USER PAYS, BUT . . . Preferential freight rates for commercial and industrial users condemn the Public Transport Commission's policies. The Commission has tried to reduce its deficit by increasing fares and freight rates, but not adequately for commercial and industrial users. Commercial rates last year were $6.01 a tonne compared with potential $16.19, had the Commission included 16 per cent inflation. "The P.T.C. has carefully saved commercial users $6.1 million by avoiding the inflation index which is built into all other business prices. Imagine the difference $6.1 million might have made to N.S.W. public transport."