Management Matters
Page 90
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Neely was far from convinced that the bus company with 20,000 vehicles operating at an average fare of 10p and with a host of imponderables, could justify elaborate analysis.
But he qualified this view by hinting that it would be possible to produce data supporting, in one bus undertaking, a 10-year vehicle life and in another, a 20year life. This would seem a huge tolerance, and it is a warning to any transport manager with a platoon of accountants in his hair to treat their advice with great caution.
The vitally important matter for vehicle operators is to devise a sensible rhythm of vehicle replacement, bearing in mind that identical replacements seldom occur. Tankers and lorries, for example, tend to get bigger and faster. Given adequate roads and depot infrastructures, maximum capacity vehicles are much more productive in ton-miles or revenue than a larger host of, say, 12ton artics.