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TRANSPORT WASTE AT TERMINALS.

13th January 1920
Page 16
Page 16, 13th January 1920 — TRANSPORT WASTE AT TERMINALS.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The Need for Introducing Better Systems of Utilizing Transport and for Studying Causes of Terminal Delays.

THE PRIME MINISTER has recently been emphasizing the amount of time which is absorbed and the quantity of transport equipment which is withdrawn from useful service by terminal delays.

The writer believes that there is More opportunity of rapidly improving the transport facilities of the country by a close study of the underlying causes of terminal delays than by any other means.

There are very .special reasons why the subject should receive attention.

The country is, at present, enjoying a false sense of -prosperity ; money appears to be plentiful and the general panacea for all our ills is to increase our machinery, to surround ourselves with unlimited equipment for performing our work in the certain knowledge that, if we only carry the process far enough, we must eventually produce the goods we require in sufficient quantity.

For the time being this policy may avail our purpose, but not in all cases.

Transport may not be so treated.

When we speak of transport most people think only in teians of vehicles, trucks, engines, these, of course, can be more or less rapidly increased, , but they are dependent for effective use upon the provision of adequate accommodation, and this cannot be duplicated with like rapidity ; we cannot, for instance, widen our bridges, increase our stations and warehouse accommodation, or extend our docks in a short space of time.

Transport is a first cost on our foodstuffs and our exports, and there is, therefore, every reason why it should only, be increased after every other means has been adogted to meet the needs of the country.

It is here that the Ministry of Transport has a golden opportunity of rendering valuable service to the country, and of winning the respect of the tradi ing community, as well as the confidence of the transport industry.

An Investigation into Wasteful Methods Necessary.

The Ministry is apparently aware of the tremendous waste of transport due to delays in collection and 4Ielivery. Is it prepared to investigate this matter at close quarters? Quite recently the railways issued a circular inviting traders to economize, as far as possible, the time taken in loading and unloading railway lorries. The traders replied by inviting the railway companies to set their own house in order in respect to traders' lorries collecting from. railways.

There appears, on the surface, to be room for improvement all round. Will the Ministry investigate with a view to taking the necessary action'?

Let us consider a typical case in road transport. Supposing a cotton manufacturer requires a motor lorry to collect five tons of cloth for conveyance from Accrington to Manchester. A date and time for col„ lection is arranged, and the lorry is loaded promptly, in one hour or less. .

On arrival at Manchester, two hours later, the lorry may have to wait one, two, or even three hours before receiving attention, owing to other vehicles being in the way. This journey may be repeated daily for weeks, with very similar results, c30 the .delivery in Manchester frequently occupying as long as the whole of the time taken in loading and making the journey.

Now, if the manufacturer in Accrington can make proper arrangements for the collection of this load, hew is it that the consignee at Manchester cannot make similar arrangements for its acceptance? As a matter of practice, he generally refuses to try.

The general reply is that the Manchester man is receiving goods all day long from various sources, and as he makes no arrangement in regard to any of them, he does not know what to expect in the course of the day. This is very true ; but can the country afford to conduct its transport work in this wasteful, unbusinesslike manner'?

Can anything be done to improve matters? In this case, which is typical of hundreds, the consignee is receiving a certain number of regular deliveries daily, either by road or rail, and should be prepared to I arrange for their prompt acceptance at stated times. Such an arrangement would prove an incentive to the transport workers to cultivate the habit of punctuality, enable the consignee to organize his work at the warehouse, and save the country a substantial quantity of transport.

Liverpool's Faults of Organization.

Similarly. in Liverpool, transport has grown accustomed to the absence of organization, and quite a substantial amount of transport merely gropes its way from one. warehouse to another, hoping to collect goods, but frequently being doomed to disap pointment. It is no uncommon occurrence to receive an order to collect goods, only to find at the point of collection that they are still in mid-Atlantic.

Now all this, and a great deal more of a similar character, is a very serious loss to the country and adds considerably to the total cost of living. It is the result of a huge transport system growing up, over the course of generations, without any guiding hand to mould and to direct its development. It is a gigantic task, fit for a superman to tackle, to at tempt to create a system now out of the prevailing chaos.

The attempt, however, should be made ; it must be gradual and the outcome of close personal experience of existing methods, or lack of the same.

It may take years to complete, but the start should not .be longer delayed.

Transport workers are determined to share in the better conditions of life which are generally recognized as being due to their fellow workers. One of the conditions necessary for this is that transport workers must receive reasonable assistance, from the public they serve, in carrying out their work.

Without that assistance, they cannot give a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. Putting up transport charges is no remedy—that will not deliver the goods. Increased transport charges, moreover, have an unfortunate habit of reappearing in an augmented form in the prices of the necessities of life.

The only remedy is to remove the scotches from the wheels of transport and to keep them revolving for the maximum period possible of the day. Goods -will then become more plentiful where they. are most required and prices will cease to rise.

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Organisations: Ministry of Transport

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