Dual -purpose Plus !
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earn a living in transport while operating solely 1 within the confines of a. sparsely .populated area has always presented a difficult problem. Today it has become even more difficult as other means for transport become more readily available. The Private car, in particular, has abstracted passenger traffic, already meagre, from established bus. routes, and in some instances the residue of traffic remaining after. the closing of a railway branch line has been insufficient to justify the operation of a new bus service. Though not to the same extent, light goods traffic which
formerly was carried by the professional haulier has also been abstracted by private transport. This is particularly the case on market days at many country towns. Whereas the jobbing carrier who invariably attended these markets once had a busy local round delivering . the farmers' purchases, the vehicle-owning farmer of today is often self-sufficient.
Nevertheless, there remains a need for both a passenger and goods service in many agricultural areas, but on a reduced scale. For those living in such areaswithout their. own means for transport, the closing of railway.. branch lines or curtailment of regular bus services is a matter . of serious concern.
It is an equally serious matter for the road transport operator. Simultaneously with soaring costs cansed by current inflation, revenue is decreasing as traffic is lost to the private motorist.
In small areas, at least, a compromise solution of this intractable problem may be found in the use of the dualpurpose vehicle. By grouping both passenger and goods operation, sufficient work may be found to justify, commercially, the operation of such a vehicle.
Much ingenuity has been exercised by designers • and . manufacturers in recent years in producing dual-purpose vehicles, and no less perplexity has arisen among prospec •
Private Use
A reader recently inquired, for example, whether the shooting brake which he was already using to carry goods, and was licensed also for his own private use, could, in addition, be licensed to carry passengers on private-hire parties. (I am avoiding use of the term "triple-purpose vehicle" lest a new spate of regulations be encouraged-even more involved than at present!) When considering the commercial possibilities of operating a comparatively small vehicle for the carriage of both goods and passengers the question of purchase tax will arise. Briefly, the present rate of tax on private cars is 60 per cent., and 30 per cent. on the chassis of commercial vehicles, whilst vehicles constructed to carry 12 passengers or more are exempt. The small shooting brake ranks for the higher rate of tax, which amounts to nearly £300 for the vehicle specified by the reader, making a total ofapprokimately 1860 for a vehicle which will carry either six or seven passengers or 10 cwt. of goods.
The next expenditure to consider would be the first item of standing costs, namely, the licence duty. Unfortunately, as with purchase tax, the same hard principle applies—the operator must pay the highest amount appropriate to any of his operations. hi this instance, the duty payable if used as a private car would be £12 10s., as a hackney carriage of four to eight seats £12, or as a goods vehicle, £17 10s., the vehicle being in the 1-1i-ton unladenweight category. If it were to carry goods for hire or _ reward—whether or not this was only one of its functions-. the annual excise duty would be £17 10s. If the goods rate ' were paid and' the vehicle were used for both goods and hackney purposes, it would be classified as "goods and • hackney."
In addition to the excise duty, there would also be payable the public service vehicle licence fee (£6 a year), the road Service licence fee if the vehicle were to be used as an express OF stage cariage (£1 a year) and a carrier's licence. fee, assuming that such licences could be obtained. The cost of the carrier's licence would be at the rate of £2 a year for an A licence (£10 for the period of currency of five
• years) or £2 10s. a year for a B: licence (£5 per two-year currency). It is extreinely unlikely that an A licence would ever be granted.
Onerous Conditions Avoided • Fortunately •for the prosPective operator, he would not require a certificate of fitness, as the vehicle does not seat eight or more passengers, otherwise a further £5 10s. would have been payable. Moreover, onerous conditions of construction would have to be fulfilled.
Total licence duty and fees payable annually would amount to £27, or approximately 10s. 10d. per week. Wages are arbitrarily assessed at £5 per week, on the assumption that operation would be only part-time work. Operating in a rural area, ad in conjunction with another business,yent and rates, as well as insurance, should be lower than average and each of theSe two items is put ,at 10s. per week.
The last of the five items of standing costs—interest—is based on an outlay of £860, whilst the rate has been assumed to be 5 per cent. (bearing in mind the changed bank rate), making the charge per week 17s. 2d. Total. weekly standing costs are therefore £7 8s., or 5.92d. per mile, assuming that 300 miles are operated each week.
The largest of the five items of running costs is fuel, and in this instance it is assumed that a petrol-engined vehicle would average 25 m.p.g., which at 4s. 6d. per gallon gives a fuel cost per mile of 2.I6d. Lubricants would cost 0.14d. per mile.
Four 6.00-16 tYres cost approximately 140, and assuming a life of 20,000 miles the cost per mile would be 0.48d. Maintenance is estimated to cost a further 0.93d. per mile.
A 10-year Life
Depreciation is based on a life of 10 years, or double the period normally allowed for this class of vehicle. This has been done because of the comparatively low estimated annual mileage-15,000—and the less stringent demands on the appearance of a vehicle operating under these conditions. Allowing for the cost of a set of tyres, to be deducted from the initial cost of the vehicle, the cost of depreciation per mile would be 1.31d., making the total running costs 5.02d., or £6 5s. 6d. per week of 300 miles.
Establishment costs have also to be added, but on a reduced scale because of the part-time operation of the vehicle. This will be assumed to be £2 10s. per week, which, added to the operating cost of the vehicle, gives a total of £16 3s. 6d.
Assessment of a fair margin of profit can only be arbitrary without first knowing the proportion of the cost incurred in working on the operator's own behalf. It will here be assumed to be half, and a further £1 12s. is therefore added for profit, giving a total of £17 15s. 6d. a week, or 14.2d. per mile, for a vehicle conveying six to seven passengers, or 10 cwt. of foods, or a combination of the two.—S.B.