Retail Delivery Service
Page 83
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A merchant in the Eastern Counties is contemplating operating a delivery service for local traders, involving the delivery of goods sold by shopkeepers to their customers, and writes asking for initial advice.
If this proposal were proceeded with, the obtaining of the necessary carrier's licence would be the first major problem. As an initial step a copy of leaflet G5/7 describing the procedure in applying for a licence should be obtained from the local Licensing Authority, whose address in this instance would be Sussex House, Hobson Street, Cambridge.
This reader mentions the likelihood of using small delivery vans and an indication of the cost of running these could be obtained from the COMMERCIAL MOTOR "Tables of Operating Costs". A point to be borne in mind in the selection of the most economic size of van will be the extent of congestion in the shopping areas in which goods will be collected as well as the amount of traffic to be conveyed.
In determining charges to be raised after ascertaining operating costs, adequate allowance will have to be made for the difference in the time necessary to effect delivery in such widely differing residential areas as afforded by terraced suburban houses or isolated properties in rural districts.