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All About Motorcabs for the Provinces.

30th April 1908, Page 11
30th April 1908
Page 11
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Page 11, 30th April 1908 — All About Motorcabs for the Provinces.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Including Particulars of the Principal Models on the Market, Working Costs, the Leading Features in Provincial Conditions, Suggestions for Garage Equipment and Organisation, an Important Interview with a Provincial Owner, and Numerous Hints for the Guidance of Jobmasters and Hotel-Keepers.

A Lesson from London.

Two years ago, London cabdrivers were amongst the most jaunty and independent of men, and London cab proprietors were in possession of what they commonly regarded as a settled business. Six months ago, all this had been changed : thousands of the drivers had been reduced to the point of starvation, and many of the owners had already been confronted by financial ruin. It is to the motorcab and the taximeter that this extraordinary turn of events most be ascribed, and one mission of this issue is to sound a note of warning for the driver and the proprietor in the Provinces.

The first serious attempt to place motorcabs upon the streets of the Metropolis was initiated, little more than twelve months ago, by the General Motor Cab Company, Limited, and this company alone had 506 Renault cabs licensed by the 31st October last, at which date the total of licensed rimtorcabs, according to the official records of Scotland Yard, was 604. Since that date, we are officially informed, there has been an increase of 354 mechanical cabs, the total number, at the 31st March last, being, therefore, 958. Many ot our readers, both old and new, will be interested to know the divisions of the makes, and we quote them accordingly : Renault, 643; Unic, 212; Darracq, 5o; Ballot, 17; Rational, 12 ; Argyll, 12 ; Marples, 5; Simplex, 4 ; Humber, 2 ; and Thames, I. The low totals which appear against the names of some of the makes must not be accepted as any guide to the numbers of respective vehicles on order, as several companies are about to place others on the streets of the Metropolis at an early date.

A Vital Questior.

Every jobmaster in the country, whether in provincial cities, towns, or villages, has now to put to himself the straight question---" Do I intend to die without a kick? " Our own opinion is that a great number of them will, perforce, be squeezed out of existence, much as we regret to have to record that yiew, but it is within the power of ,many, and ,especially of those who are in a solvent conditioA, • to•grasp the situation before it is too late. London drivers and proprietors-are bitterly cursing the day when they scoffed at the motorcab, for they now are faced by the uphill, if not impossible; task of getting back into their own hands a trade which they, rightly or wrongly, regard as their own. Independent proprietors in the Provinces have more chance than their London brethren, as the securing of the necessary patronage by any new and lurg-e undertaking is not such a simple matter out of London, where custom is spontaneous in every. thoroughfare. The Object of this section is to show the jobm.aster and liveryman, as well as the proprietor of a country garage, that there is ample demand and scope for the motorcab in all parts of the country. Satan Beginhings.

(ompared' with the total of, approximately, ',coo Motorcabs in London, we find that the provincial total is, at the moment, less than 100. These are divided in accordance with the following list : Brighton, 33; Liverpool, 22; Eastbourne, 12; Bradford, 6; Portsmouth, 4; Birmingham, 4; Chester, 3; Edinburgh, 2; and Nottingham, The nonintroduction of mechanical hackney-carriages in a number of important provincial towns is, undoubtedly, due to the unwillingness of the authorities to grant licenses until they have exchanged views upon the regulations in respect of contructional details, tariffs and the like.

Favourable Regulations and Tariffs.

A Committee of the Association of Municipal Authorities, under the chairmanship of Mr. Edward R. Pickmere, the Town Clerk of Liverpool, is now practically ready to issue an approved set of conditions, and these ought to commend themselves, if care and forethought count for anything, to all who have studied the question of provincial service. We have good reason for saying that, whilst Scotland Yard's dimensions will be taken as the minima, latitude will be allowed in respect of wheel track and overall length. It will probably be found that, as the manufacturers have expressed no objection, the requirement that a cab shall turn in a circle of 25-foot diameter will be retained, but the permission to widen the wheel track will not call for a reduction of stability such as has been demonstrated in respect Of typical vehicles which are at work in both London and Paris. On the subject of the tariffs which are to obtain, it is interesting to note that Edinburgh is one of the few cities where special rates are already in force. These are on the basis of is. for any distance not exceeding one mile, or for a period of time not exceeding ten minutes, with an additional charge of 2d. for each additional quarter of a mile, or part thereof, or for an additional period of time not exceeding 2,+, minutes. Eastbourne has sanctioned is. per mile, with 6d. added for each further half-mile or part thereof, plus 6d. for each 71 minutes a cab is kept waiting. In some of the other towns named earlier, the horse-drawn tariffs are being tentatively used. It will very clearly be to the advantage of provincial owners, that hirers may be able to call a cab of the rank for a minimum fare of -6d., and, having regard to the deeprooted objection which many local councillors have to giving their consent to a tirrie charge, we believe that this concession will be enforced as a compensation for the approval of the scale of 4s. per hour for waiting. We might here point out that the London scale is 8d.. for the first mile, with an additional 2d, for each quarter of a mile, and with a time charge of 2d. for each 21 minutes, or 4s._ per hour. The clockwork of the London taximeters is arranged to turn the dial SO as to register a minimum earning of 4s. per hour, corresponding with a speed of six miles an hour on the road, and, when any cab falls below the speed named, the clockwork takes up the story and winds up the taximeter, the operation of the instrument from the rod and gear to one of the road wheels immediately over-running the clockwork when the minimum speed is exceeded. Accordingly, whereas a horse-drawn vehicle does not get paid for waiting until fifteen minutes is completed, and gets no payment in respect of traffic stoppages, the taximeter motorcab, during the period of hire, cannot earn less than 45. an hour; it fre quent] earns as much as ms hoar -h Ot occasions w en

the driver is able to go ahead on a straight bit of road.

Unremunerative Mileage.

The most important point in the problem of organisation is to keep down the distance which any cab runs without a fare. In London, with the scale of Sd. a mile, any driver is • liable to suspension if his revenue does not show 6d. per mile run (on the total mileage). In this reckoning, of course, the driver has the benefit of " extras " for passengers above two and for luggage. In consequence of this rule, the men are over-ready to go on to the ranks, where they frequently spend as much as five or six hours out of a total of 17 hours in a day, and thus fail to " tempt " fares as they might. London, too, is a unique case in respect of the chances which are presented for picking up return fares, so our provincial readers will appreciate the seriousness of this factor when they look at the London figures. It has to be recognised that a cab may be hired to go five or six miles into or beyond, the suburbs of a provincial city, and may then have to run back an equal distance without a fare, and it looks, at first sight, as though the percentage of unremunerative running might be as high as so per cent., compared with, say, only 25 per cent_ in London. So high a percentage as 5o may be reached in some cases, though it cannot be an average, hut it will be necessary for any provincial owner so to dispose his cabs, at. different standing points, and to control them by telephonic direction from the head office, that he cuts down the light running to the utmost. The large owner can easily arrange. this system for his own 20 or so cabs, and smaller ownersmust co-operate with one another, if they are to survive.

Ca-operation.

It is probably in the direction of co-operation that salvation will be found by many jobmasters. We should seriously doubt whether even ten per cent, of them are strong enough to rely on their own resources, because of the repair and maintenance difficulty. On the one hand, each may enter into his own bargain with a local garage or other engineering shop ; alternatively, several proprietors of existing livery stables can readily club together and support a central depot for the adjustment and maintenance of any vehicles they may buy. Let them beware of slavish adherence to a cherished belief in secrecy of action : the man with one or two cars, unless he takes exceptional pains to command success, is bound to be at a disadvantage. Economy lies in the joint establishment of a repair shop along the lineswhich we outline on pages 243 and 244. A consideration of the information there given, in conjunction with the set of costs put down upon page 233, will at least put any prospective buyer in a position to ask the Editor for further advice.

Earnings.

The average jobmaster refuses to believe that he can earn anything from LI to ;1,5 a day with a motorcab. He, only too often, if we may use an expression which conveys our meaning, " does not see beyond his own nose." Since our announcement of this issue, on the 20th February last, a number of letters have fully satisfied us on this point, and we cannot too strongly urge—upon every such reader and correspondent—that proof exists already, in various districts, that the motorcab completely changes hirers' demands. The old idea of a three-mile journey gives place to normal trips of to and 20 miles, with the 50-mile run as a not infrequent commission. Here, indeed, is the key to the problem these straight-away hiring-s, upon each of which a handsome profit is shown, more than counterbalance the losses which occur when the same cab is killing time, for want of better occupation, in standing for hire on the rank. It is a question of averages.

We select one of these letters, at random, because all are in the same strain. It comes from Leeds, and it reads : " I have been a regular reader of your paper for some time past, and I am looking forward to ' The Motorcah Number' this week. As you are aware, working in the Provinces is quite different to working in London. The earnings of a cab are not so large, and we have severe competition with the municipal tramcars, which run to all parts of the city at a charge of is. per two miles. Therefore, you will see that we have something to work against. The fare here.is is. per mile, and 6d. per mile for the return journey, providing they do not•walt more than is minutes ; but return fares, from the stations and other stands, do not come very often—about one in five or six. From private .yards, we may get rather more, and, of course, we get is. for mile, and is. 6d. for it mile, and so on; but I do not think you could count on more than 7d. per car-mile earnings. The distance to and from the stations to the yards are covered without any fare at all, so that the mileage is added to without any increase in the takings. I am greatly in terested in the future of motorcabs, although I have had no

• experience with them vet!"

fhis is evidence of the lack of appreciation to which we have referred. The automatic merging of the cab hire into the long-distance work of motor touring infallibly brings the bright side to the problem. One shilling a mile, for a 50mile run in the country, to see a friend, or to visit a building, or what not, makes, with the bad day, in the town, at only 20S., the needed average of 355.

Income and Expenditure.

We give, herewith, a set of figures which should prove of ,considerable value to all who are studying this question. We do not say that they are not capable of improvement under any of the various heads, but they are a fair average of what can be achieved with the exercise of reasonable care in all directions. Above everything, we have been careful not to put too rosy a complexion upon the project, or to yield to the temptation unduly to prune the working expenses. Of course, an average earning of 35s, per cab per day cannot be maintained unless buyers cultivate a certain amount of jobbing and private-hiring work. It will be observed that the working cost comes out at 6.67d. per mile, on the basis of the total mileage estimated to be .covered-99,000 per annum for the six vehicles.

Privacy and Speed Combined.

The idea that the electric tramcar will harm motorcab prospects is absurd. Nice people have been forced to use tramcars much against their wills and inclinations, because they were unable to bring themselves to endure the anachronistic horse, with its irregular and slow progression. For the same reason, in London, the superior speed of the motorbus caused many patrons to abandon the hansom, and to become " Vanguarders." That action was due to the .greater speed alone, and not to any desire to save money, as was promptly demonstrated when the motorcab came along, as it did within .i8 months. Then was it rendered amply .clear that privacy and speed combined were able to command the pick of London's travelling public, and we are -confident that like factors will tell in the Provinces.

Motive Power.

The petrol engine is unassailable in the cab world. Electricity is inadmissible, by reason of the uncertainty as to the mileage. The distance run on any day depends upon the idiosyncrasies of hirers, which preclude the use of accumulators. Steam, at least so far, has not even been put forward by its most strenuous advocates, and we fear that it cannot 'compete with the internal-combustion engine. Probably the chief disadvantages are those which would assert themselves during the long periods of waiting for fares, and while ' crawling." Fuel for the motorcab will continue to be petroleum spirit, as paraffin has so many undesirable -qualities. It " creeps " everywhere.

Conclusion.

In concluding this brief introduction to our cab section, we desire to give an open invitation to new supporters of this journal in respect of further and specific information. Any particular case will be considered on its merits, and an impartial opinion given, equally in respect of the prospects of successful application, as in relation to the right class of vehicle. As to the weight and power of the cab for any district, no hard-and-fast rule can be laid down,

except that the light types of machines are more suitable for well-paved streets. Hilly districts and country runs demand higher power, and therefore more weight in the chassisif a satisfactory life is to be obtained under service conditions. On the other hand, we are opposed to the view that the cab weighing above one ton unladen is a really economical machine. Its excessive weight means slow speed and undue wear upon the tires, whilst travelling is nothing like so pleasant as in the case of a lighter and more "lively " vehicle. Although the latter may be more expensive in upkeep, it is bound to be more attractive, and generally more serviceable, except where the road surfaces are exceptionally bad. Income must be studied as much as that of outgo, and there is plenty of room for the exercise of ingenuity and brain power to work up orders of the right kind. One shilling per mile is a paying basis, and none lower than this should be entertained.


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