SOUTH AFRICAN TRANSPORT.
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Sir William Hoy on the Problem Which Confronts the Administration.
IN THE ARTICLES on the transport problem in South Africa which have appeared in these pages, prominence has been given to the views of Sir William Hoy, general manager of the railways and harbours in that country, and extracts have been given from the various official reports which have, from time to time, been published over his signature. It may be recalled that Sir William Hoy has made no secret of his belief in the commercial motor as a powerful factor in the solution of the transport question in the great sub-continent : and we note that, in his latest report on the working of the big railway system under his charge—the -report is for the year ended March 3fst, 1919—he returns to the subject with characteristic directness. Inter alia, Sir William Hoy observes:—
" The position of the road motor as an auxiliary to the railway, as a collector of the products of the farm, and a distributor of traffic, to meet the needs anct develop the resources of the rural districts, has never been questioned. It one great advantaws is its flexibility. Railways cannot be brought to every farm and, in a country like South Africa, it will be many years before all farms are within even a reasonable distance of the railway—a distance that will make intensive cultivation possible, secure economic transport, and admit of produce being placed on competitive markets.
"But motor transport pre-supposes good roads. In fact, good roads are an essential preliminary, and good roads are absent in South Africa, except in the vicinity of large centres. , "Many districts in South Africa are capable of great development if they had ready means of transport ; but, even allowing for an extensive and continuous railway construction programme, it will be many years before some of them can be properly served. Some alternative and auxiliary means of transport is, therefore, more necessary in South Africa than in other countries. .
" Opinion is divided as to the best means of opening up outlying districts in which railway Construction still lies well ahead. The question of road construction and maintenance undoubtedly presents problems here which are absent elsewhere. Climatic conditions impose a serious handicap, especially in inland districts, where it is said the roads are washed away in summer and blown away in winter. "If, however, a network of goo dP roads is beyond the reach of attainment in South Africa, a thorough investigation is all the more necessary as to the best mearis of solving the transport problem. Until something is done to improve facilities, the genera/ development of which the country is capable, and towards the fulfilment of which there is every encouragement at present, cannot be attained." Coming to details of what has been done during the past year in the utilization of the commercial vehicle, Sir William Hoy says that cartage services have 'developed into an important branch of railway working. "At five large cartage centres," he states, "where the work is conducted departmentally, about 2,000,000 tons of goods are handled annually. . . . In the period 1909-12, petrol lorries were imported for parcel deliveries. In 1912 several 3-ton petrol lorries were placed in service, while in 1914 a number of, 31-ton electric lorries were obtained for cartage work. In 1915, a special rubber-tvred tractor was placed in service, and four years' working has demonstrated the suitability of this type of machine."
We note with interest that there has been a steady increase 'in the carted traffic in Johannesburg. In other large centres it was " severely handicapped during the influenza epidemic."