The New Oil Tax: What It Means
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THE quickest and most accurate way to ascertain the full effect on operating costs of the additional tax on oil fuel is to take a copy of The Commercial Motor Tables of Operating Costs and proceed as follows:—
Take the standing charges for a petrol-engined vehicle, divide by the average weekly mileage, then take the running cost for an oiler of the same size and add 1 time the fuel cost given in the Tables. That calculation gives the new figure for running cost. Add the standing charges and the result is the total operating cost per mile.
Applying this method to three different sizes of vehicle, the first is a 3-tonner. The standing charge for a petrol vehicle is 1,242d. At 600 miles per week, that is equivalent to 2.07d. per mile. The fuel cost of a 3-ton oiler
is 0.38d. Multiply by 14 and the result is 0.44d. Add that to the existing running cost figure (3.01d.) ; the total is 3.45d. and the total operating cost 5.52d. per mile, comparing with 5.92d. for a petrol-engined vehicle and the present figure of 5.27d. for an oiler.
The standing charge for a petrolengined 7-tanner is 1,721d. At 600 miles per week that is equivalent to 2.87d. per mile. The fuel cost of a 7-ton oiler is 0.67d. Multiply. by 1i'c equals 0.78d. Add that to the existing running-cost figure (5.09d.). The total running cost becomes 5.87d. and the total operating cost 8.74d., comparing with 9.45d. of a petrol-engined vehicle, 9.30d. of a pneumatictyred steamer and 8.27d. of an oiler at present.
For a 12-ton petrol six-wheeler, the standing charge is 1,996d. At 600 miles per week, that is equivalent to 3.33d. per mile. The fuel cost of the equivalent oil-engined vehicle is 1.04d. Multiply by 1td. equals 1.21d., and add that to the existing running-cost figure of 7.56d. The total is 8.77d. and the total Cost of operation, 12,10d., comparing with 13.15d. for a petrolengined vehicle, 10.99d. for a steamer and 11.31d. for an oiler to-day.
In the case of a 56-seater bus operating 48 hours per week, the standing charges are 2,986d. At 600 miles per week, that is equivalent to 4.98d.
per mile. The fuel cost of an oilengined 56-seater is 0.56d. Multiply by 1i equals 0.65d. Add that to the existing running-cost figure, 6.84d. The total is 7.49d, and the total operating cost is 12.47d. per mile, comparing with 13.18d. for a petrol-engined vehicle and 12.37d. for the oil-engined vehicle of to-day.