Business Calls by Motorcab.
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The use of the motorcar in connection with the work that falls to the lot of the travelling representative of a large firm has been referred to in " Tux COMMERCIAL MOTOR " on several occasions. That much time can be saved, on cross-country journeys, and on visits to ordinarily inaccessible towns in the provinces, is a well-demonstrated fact, but it remained to be shown that a useful sphere of work was also open to the self-propelled vehicle in Metropolitan work. That this sphere is a large one has been amply proved by the experience of the business representative of this journal,.Mr. J. A. Jackson. Owing b0 an exceptional press of business, Mr. Jackson availed himself of the use of one of the " Unic " motorcabs, operated by the City and Suburban Motorcab Company, Limited, of Avonmore Road, Kensington. This neatly-designed and silent vehicle was found to be of immense service in getting quickly through the crowded streets, and the results show that the number of business calls made, during the ordinary day's work, was at least three times as large as would have been the case under ordinary travelling conditions; and, even, by the use of a horsed cab, which had been tried by our representative on a previous occasion, there was a balance of time in favour of the motorcab amounting to something like 40 per cent. Records of Mr. Jackson's journeys go to show that an average of 20 calls was made daily, over an aggregate distance of about 35 miles. The immensity of London's business area makes for severe work and much waste of time when the localities, in which business houses of a similar character are situated, are at wide distances apart, and in journeys such as those which arise in travelling from the West End of London to the far East End, few methods of conveyance are speedy, and, to avail oneself of those, necessitates frequent changes and loss of time at stations and stopping places en route. By means of the motorcab, the distance between such places is rapidly annihilated, and the business man reaches his destination without unnecessary fatigue and free from the worries of ordinary journeys through the congested traffic of the city. One of the most .noticeable features of the experiment was that, instead of the time occupied in travelling being the largest part of the day's work, this had been reduced to a minimum, and business transactions succeeded each other with lightning rapidity, several days' work being crowded into one.
In the event of a call upon a client, whose place of business is in the suburbs, resulting in the discovery that he could not be seen until a later hour, a return must be made to headquarters by the busy man, and, probably, days may elapse before a second attempt to reach the customer may be made. The motor vehicle, however, enables one, at very little cost in the matter of time, to pay the second Visit at the suitable hour, and, 90, to secure business which would, otherwise, have been, if not lost, at least, delayed for an indefinite period, For those who are not justified, by the extent of their business, in keeping a motor vehicle permanently at work, the occasional hiring of one of the many motorcabs which are now to be seen on our streets offers a ready solution for meeting the occasions which crop up in every business house, when a large number of successive visits have to be paid within a limited space of time.
The behaviour of the particular vehicle employed by our representative was in every way exemplary, notwithstanding the fact that greasy streets were encountered during the first two days travelling. No adjustments whatever had to be made to the engine, and Mr. Jackson's only complaint in connection with the motorcab was that progress between calls was so rapid that it barely allowed him time to enjoy a cigarette, or to make his notes! The " Unic " cab, which we illustrate, has a collapsible top, and is built on a Georges-Richard chassis, fitted with a to-12h.p. engine, and the terms for hiring at present in force are, within the radius, 6s., for the first hour, and 35., for each succeeding half-hour. Should a cab be taken outside the radius, it is understood that the hirer will pay 6d. for each mile the cab has to cover in returning to the radius line. For a day's work, not exceeding to hours, the charge is two guineas, within the radius; outside the radius, the price rises to ;,62 los., with a limit of 6o miles, 6d. per mile being chargeable for each additional mile above that figure. The use of a cab for half a day, not exceeding si hours, will
cost the hirer 25. 6d., whilst a vehicle can be secured for evening use, from 7 to 12.30, for 155. Cabs can be obtained by telephone from the rank at any time, and intending hirers need have no diffidence in engaging one, (Nen if the distance is considerable. The mileage tariffs mentioned will, of course, be governed by the taximeter on its enforced general advent to the streets of London, in July next,