Licensing Authorities' Reports Return B ECAUSE of the need for economy
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in. paper and printing, the first post-war volume of annual reports by the Licensing Authorities for Public Service Vehicles (covering the year ended March 31, 1948) is on a much reduced scale. It presents a highly compressed mass of statistical information, but the comments of individual Licensing Authorities, which often made interesting and instructive reading in the pre-war reports, are confined to summaries of statistics Of the licensing of drivers and conductors. To those who have the patience to analyse the figures, a remarkable story of achievement is unfolded. In 10 years, the number of passengers carried by the road passenger transport industry has almost doubled and mileage has shown a marked upward trend. These increases have been accompanied by sharp rises in receipts and expenditure, and net revenue has more than trebled. Nevertheless, fares are on substantially the same level as before the war. The Licensing Authorities pay tribute to the efforts of operators to meet the many demands for new and improved services, despite an acute shortage of vehicles. Few industries can show such unflagging devotion to the public service under such difficulties, some of which have been caused by the public itself. Without the utmost efficiency in management, expenditure would undoubtedly have soared far higher than it has, and the present fares structuro would have been endangered. The prospect of nationalization is a poor reward for an industry that has set an example to all others in enterprise, ingenuity and good faith. ""