Passenger Vehicle Operation
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Aspects of Running Buses Are Discussed Here and Average Costing Given for 31and 41-seater Single-deckers
AILED costings relative to the operation of a l4ater bus averaging 600 miles a week, were given M is series on November 17. Requests have now been for similar information concerning larger vehicles, still limited to single-deckers.
of the difficult period through which the road industry is passing, the opportunities for successful , particularly by a newcomer with limited resources, oubtedly be few. Nevertheless, would-be operators :sire to run their own businesses still exist and, with iary ability and perseverance, can still continue to successful businesses, as was shown in the story on December 8 of a private operator based in the lands.
ir to that operator's success is revealed in the following Passenger operators are in business to provide a If the travelling public are prepared to pay the fare a right to be carried, no matter how inconvenient -."ular requirement may be to the operator,
ted into day-to-day working, the execution :of such a ill inevitably entail long and irregular hours of work perator. In addition to whatever technical experience ies he may have in passenger operation, he must have r dealing with the travelling public, no matter how ing any particular emergency may seem to be. And tor 'should also he capable of instilling into his staff unruffled approach to their daily work.
iffieulties which at present are being experienced in rig bus services in rural areas are under review by the ant following the report of. a committee set up for ose. Whilst this particular problem is considered to 'oduct of it }3 timber of factors, the chief -of these is d to be the increase in private transport. Moreover, le estimates indicate that the growth of private will continue.
crease in private transport, however, could be conbe comparatively uniform throughout the country and liar to rural areas. But because of the already amber of passengers travelling, the adverse effect on services is both more immediate strous in relation to overall ty.
insoluble the present problem aintaining of rural bus services to be, without the introduction problems inherent in subsidizaortunities for successful operaher areas still exist as revealed ations for new licences to the ommissioners.
the fact that this country is highly industrialized, new and residential areas continue t up and developed, with an need for the provision of transport services from the ; briefly with the legal aspects service vehicle operation, for purposes such operation is nto three groups. These are lage carriage, express carriage act carriage. Stage carriage is, in fact, what is commonly referred to as a bus service, with a public service vehicle conveying passengers at separate fares.
If none of the separate fares is less than Is. for such greater sum as may be prescribed) it is legally termed an express carriage, and more commonly referred to as an express or ,limited stop service. Contract carriage is the legal terminology for private hire work where a contract is implied for the hire and use of a complete bus .or coach, in contrast to the carriage of passengers at separate fares.
N exercise of the control of public service vehicles vested in the Traffic Commissioners, it is a prerequisite that a public service vehicle licence must he obtained for the vehicle no matter which of the three types of operation—stage, express or contract—is undertaken. The driver, and conductor if carried, must also hold a licence. If the Traffic Commissioners consider that the applicant is not a fit person to hold a p.s.v, licence, having regard to his conduct, they may refuse his application. But before a p,s.v. licence can be granted a certificate of fitness must be in force in respect of the particular vehicle. (This requirement, however, does not apply to vehicles with less than eight seats).
The varying fees and periods of validity for licences in connection with passenger operation are as follows: Certificate of fitness, f5 10s. for from 1-7 years (as determined by the Certifying Officer); public service vehicle licence, £6 for one year, and road service licence, £1, normally for three years.
Typical operating costs for a 3I-seater bus are now given. It will be assumed that it is fitted with a petrol engine, and that the initial outlay is 12,900, inclusive of both chassis and body.
Adopting the same basic principles employed throughout this series and in The Commercial Motor Tables of .Operating Costs, the ten items of costs will be segregated into two groups standing costs and running costs—each consisting of five items.
The five standing costs are shown as a cost per week derived from a division of the annual cost for each particular item by 50, and not 52, so as to allow for two weeks per annum when the vehicle may be off the road, either for major overhaul or drivers holidays. It will be appreciated that in the case of a vehicle being employed on a bus service, i.e., a stage carriage, the operator will be bound by his licence to maintain the service throughout the year, so that in practice a replacement vehicle would be required for the period the original vehicle was off the road.
In addition to the annual duty of £17 10s. payable on hackney carriages of this seating capacity, an annual proportion of .p.s.v. licence duty fees would have to be met. 'The total licence duty payable would then amount to £25 6s. a year, the equivalent of 10s. ld per week.
IN contrast to the national wage rates, as laid down by the Road Haulage Wages Council, which must be paid as a statutory minimum to all drivers of A and B licence goods vehicles, there is no comparable overall national rate for drivers and conductors of passenger vehicles. In this instance it will therefore be arbitrarily assumed that this particular bus is operated on single shift, as would probably apply with the small operator, and that the combined cost of wages paid to driver and conductor for a basic week is £21 18s. 4d.
The accommodation provided by small bus operators for their vehicles can vary substantially from being left out in the open to 'being housed in a heated garage. It will be nominally assumed here that the respective cost of rent and rates will be the equivalent of 15s. 9d. per week.
The annual premium for insuring this 31-seater is reckoned at £89 10s., made up of a basic premium with appropriate additions relative to seating capacity and excess value. The equivalent standing cost per week in respect of insurance is therefore £2 3s. Interest charged at a nominal rate of five per cent, on the initial outlay of £2,900 would add the equivalent of £2 18s. Id. per week.
The total for these five items of standing costs, on the assumption of single-shift working, would therefore be £28 5s. 3d. per week.
Dealing now with running costs, it will be assumed that the average rate of fuel consumption for this 3I-seater, when fitted with petrol engine, is 8 m.p.g. With fuel purchased in bulk at 3s. 10d, per gallon, the resulting fuel cost per mile would be 5.75d. Lubricants are reckoned to add 0.22d. per mile.
With a set of tyres costing £170, tyre cost per mile would be 1.02d., allowing for an average mileage per set of 40,000. Maintenance adds 3.26d. per mile, assuming that the average weekly mileage operated by the bus is 600.
To obtain the balance of the initial outlay which eventually has to be written off as depreciation, it is first necessary to deduct the equivalent cost of the original set of tyres from the price of the vehicle. A further deduction is then made in respect of the anticipated residual value, which is here allowed for at the rate of 10 per cent, of the initial price. In this instance the resulting balance of £2,445 will be divided by 200,000 (being the anticipated vehicle mileage life during the original operator's possession). The resulting depreciation cost per mile is thus 2.94d., giving a total running cost per mile for these five items of 13.19d. at 600 miles The addition of standing costs and running cosh total operating cost. But because standing costs are as a cost per week and running costs as a cost per first necessary to know the likely average mileage before an operating cost per mile can be determim already been assumed that the average weekly m be 600, and the division of the standing cost pc £28 5s. 3d. by this .figure gives a standing cost 11.31d. Added to the running cost per mile of 13.1 priate to this weekly Mileage, the total operating en: is therefore 24.50d. The corresponding cost per week In order to afford a more ready comparison, thi selected for the purpose of this example of probabh costs will be of similar quality to the 31-seater, and with petrol engine. The initial outlay this time will order of 13,085_ Because of the higher seating capacity the annul carriage duty will be appropriately higher at £22 10: appropriate proportion of p.s.v. licence fees will same as with the 31-seater, so giving a total licenc year of £30 6s., the equivalent of 12s. id. per wee Wages in respect of driver and conductor remair at a total of 121 18s. 4d. Incidentally, as with all ( vehicles, the relationship between the wages conti total operating cost and the vehicle capacity, whethei or goods, is one of the most significant factors in operation
BECAUSE the overall dimensions of both 31ant will be similar, rent and rates in respect of garaging vehicle remain the same at 15s, 9d. per week. insurance premium, however, is increased to E115 it of the higher initial outlay and seating capacity. The cost per week is therefore £2 6s. 4d.
Similarly, interest on the initial outlay is incrat equivalent of £3 Is. 8d., giving a total for these fiv standing costs of £28 14s. 2d., still assuming, of coo shift working.
The average rate of fuel consumption for this 41 is reckoned at 7 m.p.g. with a resulting fuel cost p 6.57d. Lubricants add 0.23d. and tyres 1.11d. per lated on the same estimated mileage per set of 4 with the cost per set increased to £185. Main reckoned a little higher at 3.50d. per mile.
Adopting the same procedure as before, the bah written off as depreciation on this 41-seater is £2,5 resulting depreciation cost per mile of 3.11d„ still vehicle mileage life of 200,000.
To facilitate comparison, it will again be assume average weekly mileage is 600. The total for the of running costs is 14.52d. and, at this weekly mileag cost per mile is 11.48d., giving a total operating co; of 26.00d. Correspondingly, the total cost of ope 41-seater 600 miles per week would therefore be £65