Openings for the Middleman.
Page 7
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{Concluded from page 77.) It is in this branch of commercial automobilism that the four-cylinder petrol engine takes the lead, although considerable success has attended the employment of the steam omnibuses which are built by Clarkson, Limited, of Chelmsford. It is possible to arrange with some manufacturers for the loan of a motor omnibus on hire terms for a few weeks, in order to test the traffic upon any particular road, and this method can be recommended where any uncertainty exists, although some of the best makers are too busy to spare a machine for the purpose. As a matter of fact, the absence of any capital expenditure upon the roadway admits the transference of the motor omnibus from any non-paying route without difficulty or loss—a feature peculiar to the system and one which will carry very great weight with all who are considering the financial side of passenger traffic in any part of the country.
No credence should be given by the general public to rumours of a sensational nature which appear, from time to time, in the daily Press in reference to motor omnibuses. Statements are put in circulation that thousands of vehicles are ready to go upon the streets alternatively, it is periodically reported that the whole of the existing services are working at a loss. The motor omnibus of to-day is not put forward, even by its most strenuous advocates, as the Last word in motor vehiele construction, and nobody is more aware that improvements will be effected than those who are in closest touch with the operation of various systems. The earnings which were given on page 77 last week were stated in order to avoid disappointment for anybody who elects to take up this question of passenger transport by means of self-propelled vehicles, and, although they are admittedly in excess of what would pay under certain conditions, we prefer not to give lower estimates until possessed of all the facts concerning a particular scheme. After the Middleman's Issue went to press last week, we received the following interesting letter from the deputy general manager of the North Eastern Railway, in reference to the thh.p. four-cylinder Durkopp van which was illustrated on page 74 :—" We have two of these vehicles, which were supplied by the Motor Car Emporium, Limited, at present working at Newcastle on the ordinary parcels delivery service, and they have up to the present given every satisfaction. They are, as far as possible, employed on the longer runs, such as Newcastle to Gosforth, a distance of three miles. and other outlying suburbs, and do not deliver and take up house to house traffic until they arrive, as we do not consider that vehicles of this kind and size can be profitably employed on short-distance delivery and collection. We have found that these vehicles, if the traffic is there for them to deal with, can do the work of about four of our ordinary horsed vans, and they are particularly useful at the busy times of the year."
There is one point—judging from the number of enquiries that have been addressed to us—which calls for further reference. It is the matter of a trade directory. It appears to us that little satisfaction can be given to our readers, from the standpoint of really useful information, by the mere publication of a long list of manufacturers and importers in the shape of a directory. The offer we made, on page 73, to supply a concise directory on application in writing, means more than may be appreciated at first sight. It is, as a matter of fact, a slight extension of our already considerable correspondence with users and prospective users of motor vehicles who regularly address series of questions to us on different points upon which they desire to be advised. If such an applicant receives nothing beyond a printed trade list, he is not in any advantageous position compared with the man who gets hold of a trade directory on his own account. Our intention is to guide such, enquirers by reducing the length of a trade list to the limits which have special reference to the contemplated uses and the particular work in hand, so as to eliminate the risk of anybody's purchasing unsuitable types. It is for this reason that those of, our readers who have already applied to us on this subject have received in return letters explanatory of the course we have now adopted. A number of garage owners and machinery agents in various parts of the country, to whom our section of last week was especially addressed, will doubtless now revolve in their minds the steps that are necessary to enable them to take advantage of the openings presented by the commercial motor movement. Correspondence with manufacturers on important questions such as agency areas and terms of commission often occupies several weeks before the bases of an agreement are arrived at, and this interval will bring us to the date of the Olympia Exhibition.