How Road and Rail Rates Compare
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I T is not possible, in a short article, to enter into the complex problem of what rates should be charged for road transport, because of the great variety of vehicles now on the roads and the still greater variety of traffic being carried, and the conditions under which the work is done. I do, however, suggest that a fair rate is that sum which is represented by standing charges, plus running costs and profit, drawn up with meticulous care upon the facts and not upon hope, or ambition, or despair :
The accompanying graph illustrates the respective levels of rail and road
rates for the carriage of 12 tons of wire ropes for various distances.
Therailway rate has been based upon the charges authorized under the Railways Act, 1921. It is common knowledge that the railways have power to reduce their conveyance rates by a sum not exceeding, 40 per cent., and to illustrate the position, were the companies to avail themselves of this facility, f have shown in the graph the points at which the reduced rate appears. The road transport figures apply to a 12-ton six-wheeled petroldriven lorry, operating under modern conditions.
The graph does not illustrate the railway's total charge, but only the net conveyance charge. In addition to the
wire ropes—this charge would. be 2s. 5d. per ton for the use of the station at each end, 9d. each in respect of the loading and unloading, and 2.5d. each for covering and uncovering respectively. It should be noticed that if this 12-tort load be sent into a railway station for conveyance by rail, the sender will pay 29s. for the use of the station ; the amount accrues even before the railway company accepts the load from him This, to my mind, is the railway companies' chief disability.
With regard to the margin of profit, it is difficult to estimate, in terms of a single load, the return earned by the railway rate under notice, but in the case of road transport, the financial return is more readily ascertainable.