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The Taxation of Heavy Motor Vehicles.

30th July 1914, Page 3
30th July 1914
Page 3
Page 4
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Page 3, 30th July 1914 — The Taxation of Heavy Motor Vehicles.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

By a Provincial Owner.

As one who has been identified with the running of provincial services of passenger vehicles for six years, .1 feel very anxious that any additional tax should operate fairly on all parties alike. As a matter of fact, all the proposed forms of tax I have heard suggested would operate most unfairly. There are reasons for this, and I should like to show a few of them, dealing more especially with the passengervehicle owner's point of view.

Why is the L.G.O.C. Position Dominant?

Ti commence with, it appears to the. observer that in the making of legislation hitherto there has been an inclination to base it upon conditions prevalent in and facts obtained from large users in great cities and their suburbs. The London General Omnibus Co. eeeins in a most urtforunate way to influence the judgment of everyone dealing with this matter. But it must be. remembered that the operation of cars in provincial districts is as different as darkness from light, not only in cost of running, hut also in gross receipts, from what is possible and what actually happens in London. Although it is true that there are very large numbers of vehicles in London, the total operated in the Provinces is already growing rapidly ; the latter must in years to come be much larger than for the Metropolis. Any legislation ought., therefore, to give a fair hearing to the case of the provincial user. It is stated that in London the buses run an average of 120 miles per day, and earn some £42 per vehicle per week. The running costs, through having a perfected organization and being able to make advantageous contracts, are the lowest of any company in the country. With the majority of small fleets of passenger ears in country districts, the average mileage per vehicle per day is about 60. The receipts per week, taking the year through, are less than half the London vehicle.; often there is no Sunday running. The running costs, in spite of assertions of what ought, or should, or could be, I have found in most eases, where a proper allowance for depreciation is inside, are about Ls. per mile. The man in the Provinces makes less than half the money made in London, and he spends more in maintenance per mile run. I do not mean to infer that country services are necessarily run at a loss, for such is riot the case, but they certainly cannot make money so fast as their friends in London. In imposing legislation, these facts ought not to be lost sight of.

The Mileage Tax Tor Use of the Roads.

Probably the most unfair way of taxing motor vehicles lies in the mileage tax of d. or other similar sum per mile run, which is now levied with Parliamentary sanction in certain cases. The origin of the tax lay in the laudable. desire of certain local authorities constituted by Parliament to provide much-needed travel facilities outside their own boundaries. This could not be done without an Act of Parliament, and to get their Acts they were obliged to meet the very ill-timed opposition of jealous neighbouring authorities by conceding terms, which to an outsider almost look lil

Discrimination Against Passenger Vehicles. The curious thing about this proposal lies in the fact that the applications have only hitherto included passenger-carrying vehicles in their scope. There are many instances where at least IO heavy lorries run over certain roads to a single passenger vehicle, yet they do not suggest that the lorries should pay a single penny tax, although they might damage the road considerably more than the buses. Again, at the present time, a private individual or company may run passenger ears neck and neck with the others without paying any tax at all. At one town within my knowledge a motor company runs certain buses to the surrounding country districts three or four times a day. At the same place a large firm of motor manufacturers run their heavy chassis on test to at least three or four times the extent that the buses are run. Yet, according to some suggestions, the buses, which are admitted to be a great public convenience, would be tamed, and the other vehicles, which are doing no useful work, would get off scot free. One other ease. At a certain town, a company runs two or three passenger vehicles in the surrounding countryside. In the same town, a brewer runs two heavy lorries and two or three firms use heavy vehicles for delivery purposes. The mileage of the passenger vehicles about equals that of the goods vehicles. Ts it fair that the one should be taxed and not the other? If one kind of vehicle runs over a road, every other vehicle of a. B9 similar nature, running over the same road, whether carrying pig iron or passengers, must be treated similarly.

On What Basis?

Nobody knows why such an arbitrary figure as Id. per mile should find general acceptance at present among the road people. It would apparently be levied regardless of the carrying capacity of the vehicles. My own company possesses some cars licensed (I hope to have an opportunity later to say something concerning the extraordinary chaos the licensing laws, or the absence of them, causes) to carry 18 passengers, and also vehicles licensed to carry 40. The weights of the two vehicles happen to be much about the same unladen, because they have been built for different purposes, the one, a single-deck bus, for use in hilly districts, the other, a double-deck bus, for use on level roads. Naturally the earning capacity of the one is more than double that of the. other. Should both be arbitrarily taxed the same amount ? Such a proposition is ridiculous. Even were some means devised for classification of vehicles to make a mileage tax more equitable, unless the whole were paid in one lump sum to a central body such as the Road Board, I foresee an almost insuperable difficulty in allocating the mileage to each district passed through. Many pleasure-trip cars now run through 20 to 30 such districts in the course of a day, and even omnibus services may run through six or seven. Who is going to allocate the mileage? Again, when a car is used on service. work one day and private-party work another day, is the car going to be taxed only when it conveys a certain kind of passen. gess ? How, I ask, are such vehicles as hotel and railway buses to be taxed? Some of these are even run on pnuernatic tires. What is needed is a more exact definition of the expression" omnibus services "to be given to the Committee about to be appointed. Say :—

" vehicles constructed to carry passengers from point to point picking up and setting down en route, and running over the same roads at intervals of 10 minutes or less."

One more question. When an omnibus has been overhauled it has to be run on test for, say, not less than 50 miles. This mileage and other light mileage could surely not he taxed, yet it would be run over the same roads as the taxed cars, which would be a peculiar state of affairs.

And what about those routes only run over on Saturday or Sunday, or -where a man plays " pirate " with a bus on various routes ? To get mileage returns for taxation purposes from some of the illiterate owners in the North of England would be next to impossible. Many of these men have plenty of money and own cars, but they keep no records of any kind.

The QuestionVol Weight.

To tax vehicles according to their registered weights is also just as unfair a-, making a fixed charge per mile without, reference to capacity. It is well known that a particular type of chassis and body has been evolved for the good and level roads prevalent in -London and district. Such vehicles carry 34 persons, and weigh empty, by police regulation, not more than 3 tons 10 cwt. But such vehicles cannot he used economically for country-service work. A heavier-built chassis is required. The body also cannot accommodate passengers on top, on account of the trees and hills ; consequently, a long single-deck body, which carries fewer passengers (our latest carry 23) and weighs, in consequence of the different design, quite 50 per cent. more, has to he fitted. The London vehicles weigh : Comparative Effects of 100 mm. Tires and 120 mm. Tires.

For provincial service, the same factory (Associated Equipment Co. at the London General Omnibus Co. works) has found it necessary to increase the strength of the chassis very considerably, and it now turns out vehicles as follow

Yet, in spite of the difference in weights, I am convinced that the heavier vehicles do much less damage to the roads than the lighter ones. This has been proved conclusively in my own experience, and is, I think, capable of demonstration. The vehicle built for country service has a longer wheelbase ; this makes for easy riding, and consequently less road damage. It also has larger wheels and bigger tires—at least 120 mm., as against the 100 mm. fitted in London. This, too, makes for easy riding and less road damage with the country vehicle. The big wheels and big tires ride right over the road holes, where the smaller wheels and smaller tires drop in and scatter the surface with disastrous results. The application of 40 h.p. to the road surface through the contact of four tires 120 mm. wide as compared with tires only 100 mm. wide III1124 make a great difference in the pressure per sq. in., and the consequent disintegrating effects. So much for theory. In practice, I had certain vehicles with 32 in. front and 34 in. rear wheels tired with 100 mm. tires running over a route two years ago. I admit at once that these vehicles exercised a bad effect on the road surface ; they were withdrawn from the route after 'three months running. The next year we ran double the mileage over the same road, but with vehicles with 32 in. wheels and 120 mm. tires, the vehicles weighing quite 30 cwt. more, yet the road damage was not anything like so great. My impression has been confirmed by the fact that we have run an hourly service during the last six months over a certain country road which has an ordinary loose surface and is 1111tarred. The vehicles have big wheels and 120 mm. tires. So far as I can see, this road is as good to-day as it was on the day we started to run.

Taxation by Weight Unfair.

To tax a vehicle according to its registered weight without reference to the damage it is likely to cause the road surface by its construction would appear to be quite out of place. The London bus taking 34 passengers with weekly earnings of about £42 would actually be charged less than the country car taking fewer passengers and earning not. more than £20 per week, of which revenue a larger proportion goes to running expenses. [The local authorities are solely concerned with wear and tear ; they are not concerned with the earnings of the motorbus proprietor.—En.] To Impose a Tax on Registered Weight Alone Would be Unreasonable and Unfair.

Of all the road authorities who seem so anxious to tax heavy cars, how many can give a reason for their complaints ? Experience goes to show that damage is done by having too small wheels, by using too small tires, by excessive weight, by undue speed, and by bad springing. I quite believe that the wear and tear of certain roads around London, presumably chiefly by the London General Omnibus Co.,'s buses, are caused largely through using much too small tires for the driving wheels. Increase the size of the tires, and the ill effects to the road surface will be greatly lessened.at once, But why should modern vehicles, which are so constructed as to do very little road damage, be put in the same class as others not so satisfactorily designed ? Differentiation at least ought to be shown. The Petrol Tax.

Although I quite appreciate that the intentions of those who imposed the petrol tax was to be quite fair to all users, yet the present arrangement of a tax of J.,-(/. per gallon used presses very hardly upon those least able to bear it, and is in this respect about as unsatisfactory as it can possibly be. I think it will be admitted that, if the idea were to impose an equitable tax upon all alike, some very drastic changes will have to be made. In London, with its level roads and well-made streets, users state that a gallon of petrol carries a 3-ton or 34-seater car about nine miles—say, 11.1 gallons per 100 miles. Tax paid, say, Is. id., or . Ind. per mile run. rThe average for the whole L.G.O.O. fleet is 7.75 m.p.g.-ED.] For work outside London, or in similar centres, heavy cars require to be geared lower ; and, owing to the gradients and indifferent road surfaces, a gallon of petrol carries a similar car only about 7.5 miles—say, 13.3 galltais per 100 miles. Tax paid, say, it.. Sti., or .2d. per mile run. in hilly districts my company and others can only get 5 miles for each gallon of petrol — say, 18.1 gallons per 100 miles. Tax paid 2s. 3d., or .27d. per mile run. For every 100.000 miles run, therefore, the folowing approximate payments are made :—

PER 100,000 MTLES.

The small man, therefore, running in a hilly district, and a great part of Great Britain is such, probably sparsely populated, has to pay £46 more for every 100,000 miles run than his more lucky friends who live in another part of the country. It is an unfair anomaly which presses most hardly where it should by rights press least, and the sooner the authorities appreciate this fact and alter the existing arrangements the better for the industry. [The consequences of running and stopping in congested traffic have been overlooked.—En.j I say nothing at all of the most glaring anomaly of all in connection with the petrol tax, i.e., the fact that no tax at all of this nature is collected front those who happen to use steam-operated vehicles, because this is a situation which it has been admitted must be altered.

The Only Fair Method of Taxation.

In taxing any article, the first necessity is that the fax should be equally imposed on all alike, and a second point of equal importance is that the article should be capable of standing the amount of impost. You must not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. You must not overburden the country carrier who runs much less mileage and works for less profit than the London buses. Tn many cases, to make a mileage (large of anything like id. per mile would mean exactly the difference between profit and loss on the year's work in the Provinces. The tax that could be borne easily by a bus working in the midst of the stream of traffic of the London streets would probably ruin many a country-service man.

The fairest way to tax, if extra tax there must be. Nvould appear to be on the carrying capacity—either passengers or goods. A differentiation ought to be allowed between Metropolitan and country-service \rot* : otherwise, the Government's ideas concerning the provision of rural transit facilities are likely to be of no effect. A differentiation in favour or large wheels and tires ought to be made, as it is only reasonable that some preference should be given to those whose cars are least likely to damage the public highway. Then, again, it would be desirable that those who cater purely for pleasure traffic and seaside char-a-banes trips in the summer should pay more than those who are attending to the provision of rural

travel facilities between town and village. The one who is doing work useful and even necessary to the community, running day in and day out regardless of loss in the winter, should benefit rather than the other who takes a great deal more profit per car-mile, and only runs when it pleases him.

Can Local Councils be Trusted to Act Judicially in the Absence of a Right of Appeal ?

In coming to any arrangement for imposing a new tax, the central authorities ought to be very careful not to put too much power into the hands of local authorities who as yet are generally extremely prejudiced against motors. The members of county and rural councils in very many cases own horses themselves, and they do not appreciate the vehicles which are slowly displacing them. Then, again, many local authorities are interested in or own electric-traction concerns. One can be perfectly certain that they will not treat motors running in their areas in a fair way, whether competing or not. Also, in certain districts, various councillors are large owners of motor charsh-bancs, and they can be trusted, if any local powers are granted, to use them for their own ends. If any local powers are given, they ought only to be very small, and always with some form of appeal elsewhere.

The Benefits Conferred..

In closing, I may be permitted to revert once more to the country service, running among the villages or along the coastline or valley road, or over the hills where no train can go. Services such as these, and there are a lot now running, and many more are being opened, are a wonderful boon both to the countryside and also to the town into which they bring the people. Many a time I have been told that the advent of the motor has made life much more pleasant for the villages ; were these services to be discontinued for any reason, the shopkeepers in the country towns would be up in arms. I can point to more than one small town where the advent of the motor, bringing people in for shopping and amusements, has altered the very appearance of the streets, not to speak of the profits of the tradesmen, which are increased many thousands of pounds yearly. This form of motor transport is bringing new life to the country districts of England, it is making the villages more habitable, it enables the farmers and market-gardeners to send their produce to the market quickly and cheaply, and is proving an incalculable boon to whole districts. The profits, of course, are small. it is to be hoped that taxation proposals will not be such as will prevent the running of these most-useful vehicles in the areas where they alone can provide means of quick transit and are badly needed, and that is in the Provinces.

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