• TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
IN THESE days the small trader finds it very difficult to keep alive in competition with much larger and more comprehensive stores. Even people living far out in the country tend to go to the big stores in the great shopping centres, and undoubtedly they do so not merely on the grounds of better value for money, but also because they find, as a rule, that they get better and prompter service.
The Small Trader's Chance.
• The coming of the motorvan has in a way complicated the situation. The small trader, the volume of whose business does not suffice to keep a van reasonably busy, must either conduct his deliveries at great cost or else must adhere to obsolete methods. These are the alternatives unless he resorts to co-operation, but it certainly ought „not to be impossible for a group of traders in a small town or large village to get together sufficiently to enable them to run one or more motorvans in their common interests, and so to give service comparable to that offered by larger competitors. In country 'districts the drivers of such vans could take orders for any of the co-operative group of traders, so that, in effect, the customer would be able to place a variety of orders just as though he were dealing with a large central store, and he would be assured of equally prompt delivery of his goods.
The same argument applies rather further up the scale. Half a dozen traders, each of whom have only about enough business fot one van; could give far more frequent deliveries in all directions if they could arrange to pool their fleet so that all the vehicles worked in the service of all of them. The big store is, in a sense, a combination of businesses, and the next thing to combination is co-operation. It more or less follows that ihdividuals fighting a, combination have very little chance of success, unless they go as far as they can and put themselves on an equality, without necessarily merging their individuality.
What Advice to Seek and Accept.
Many tradesmen are somewhat chary of commencing the use of motor vehicles, owing to the fact that they have difficulty in obtaining the necessary advice as to what make of vehicles to use, the capacities of the vehicles to be employed, and the advantages, if any, which may accrue from the use of mechanical transport, as compared with the use of horaes. • The tradesman is somewhat apt to feel that if he applies to the manufacturer he may be given Advice which may very naturally be biased, particularly if be goes to a manufacturer who has not a very good reputation to uphold. On the other hand, if he goes for advice to other users, their requirements may differ so radically from his that, even if they were fully satisfied with the results achieved with certain makes of vehicles, it is quite possible that the conditions under which he would employ them would not ensure the same 'success. One user might recommend him to use a 3 ton vehicle, whereas his requirements call only for a latonner.
The trader is also apt to fight shy of the so-called " expert" Many of these gentlemen will give absoultely unbiased opinions, but there are black sheep in every fold, and it is not always advisable to follow exactly what any particular man may say. Valuable advice can often be obtained by applica tion to technical journals dealing with mechanical traction, but if help is solicited, from any of these the case must be very 'fully stated, otherwise it is almost impossible for them to give an opinion which will prove of any considerable value. The beat policy to follow is to obtain advice from everywhere possible and to boil down this advice. The'result thus achieved is far more likely to prove to be of value.
While searching for outside advice, the tradesman should not forget that, to a great extent, he can be his own adviser. He, better than anybody else, should know what loads, he is likely to want to carry and as to whether the use of a motor vehicle or vehicles will so increase his radius of action as to necessitate the use of vehicles which will carry bigger loads than the horse vehicles which they are replacing. He should remember that efficiency is not obtained by running a large vehicle with a light load. At the sanae time,'he should never adopt the bad method of overloading a light vehicle, as, even if this be done on one occasion only, the vehicle may be so stressed as to reduce its useful life very considerably.
Light Trade Carriers.
Viewed as a commercial proposition, purely from the point of view of the cheap delivery of goods, the light trade carrier has not very much to recommend it. Its -carrying capacity is strictly limited not only by the size of the receptacle provided, but also by the nature of the whole structure. The commonest motorcycle 'combination nowadays is that which comprises a sidecar' and it is certainly not desirable or safe to carry really heavy loads in a vehicle which, strictly speaking, is somewhat unmeohanical, having its power unit and its brakes all on one side.
Despite its theoretical disadvantages, however, the sidecar combination is quite a useful and practical method of conveying light loads at considerable speed. Commercially, its great speed capabilities are perhaps a disadvantage. As a rule, the sidecar combination is put into the charge of a youth in order to keep wages down to a reasonable limit, but, in practice, a very young man will, as a rule, take undue advantage of the possibility of travelling at an extremely high speed. In many respects the type of three-wheeler which has its goods-carrying receptacle mounted between two front wheels and is specifically designed for goods work, and, therefore, possessed of only moderate speed capabilities, is preferable. Nevertheless, the sidecar combination is very handy for traders who on occasion rnay;find it well worth their while to oblige good customers by giving absolutely immediate delivery of goods urgently needed. This kind of thing is not so much a question of what it costs to give the service as of the goodwill obtained, if the service is run' or lost if a firm is unable to give facilities equal to those offered by its competitors. The actual cost of operation per mile covered with the sidecar combination of moderate power can he kept very low, though, of course, if we work out the cost per ton-mile and compare it with the results obtained by a substantial. delivery van, the comparison is all in favour of the
latter.