Were Fuel Costs Too High?
Page 65
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THE table of costs on page 390 of your October 7 issue shows the problems of obtaining adequate rates that face transport contractors. • However, to present the case in its best light, accurate figures should be used, and that of 4s. Id, per gallon for fuel is at least 6d. too high. The operator in Consett, Co. Durham, should be buying diesel fuel in bulk for around 3s. 64-d. or commercial-grade spirit for id. per gallon less than that These prices are those obtainable from major oil companies.
As fuel costs are next only to depreciation, and in some cases wages, it is important to be accurate. If this is agreed, the total costs of the various round trips shown should be reduced accordingly.,
Birmingham,3. N. H. GOODHEAD.
[There is no such thing as an " accurate" price of fuel. One of the problems of most long-distance operators is the virtual impossibility of checking fuel invoices returned by their drivers, because of the wide variety of prices per gallon, dependent upon a combination of zoning and agency discounts. Although Mr. Goodhead is apparently buying diesel fuel in bulk at 3s. 6id. a gallon, The Petroleum Times gives the bulk wholesale price per gallon for standard spirit (in minimum 200-gallon loads) and dery (in minimum 500gallon loads) as follows: Standard spirit, 3s. 10d. in inner zone: 3s. 10/d. in outer zone; 3s. I id. in general zone. Derv, 3s. 102d, in inner zone; 3s. 111d. in outer zone; 3s. I lid. in general zone. Siddle C. Cook, Ltd., inform me that they have bought dery in bulk at 3s. 64d., but, because they have no depots elsewhere, many long-distance vehicles refuel away from base, with the result that average costs are much above that figure. One of the difficulties in assessing •rates is this very quegtion of differing costs. A company with depots in various parts of the country has the advantage of being able to refuel from its own supplies to much greater extent than one with only one base.—G. DUNCAN JEWELL.]
Plate To Double Unladen Weights
ikAUCH has been said lately about plating goods vehicles. In my opinion, it would benefit all concerned in the transport industry if th.e manufacturers were to plate to a payload of double the unladen weight.
Many present-day vehicles (I think) carry much more, without the tyres, brakes, springs or other equipment to carry the load with safety.
Biggar, Lanarkshire. JAMES L. REID.
Tougher Time Getting C.o.F.
IAM very anxious to get in touch with: other coach I operators in the East Midland traffic area who are finding the demands of the new certifying officers and some of the examiners to be far, in excess of the standards required for recertification and periodical examination of public service vehicles, compared with what has been required in the past.
Many of the things we are now told to do are, in my view, riot required by law and, even after doing all the things, we are then informed that we have got to accept certificates of considerably shorter duration than we used to get.
I understand that a meeting is being called at Oxford as soon as possible to discuss this matter, and if this does not get us any satisfaction we will then have to get up a petition to the Minister regarding it. Would any coach operators who are willing to support us in this, please write to me.
Henley-on-Thames. A. G. SPIERS, Director, A. G. and K. M. Spiers, Ltd. (Butler's Luxury Coaches).
Overcoming Brake Hose Problems
WE are most interested in the news items on page 379 of your October 7 issue, describing a brake fault which we fear is only too common. The fact that the owner of the vehicle thinks he has cured the trouble by putting a spring inside the hose is not the answer, as it may reduce the flow of air by at le‘ast 50 per cent. and thus cause a time lag.
For the past 28 years we have been supplying a special hose for vacuum brakes without a metal insert, to overcome the very trouble which occurred in this case. The original price may seem a little high, but it must be borne in mind that an ordinary hose is useless where petrol gas may be present. The correct hose for this purpose is used by a racing car manufacturer as a petrol pipe as they have found that it is quite safe when used for this purpose.
We advocate the use of hose particularly on trailers, where long lengths are required. Frictional losses are so much less than on copper piping because it obviates sharp corners and bends. We cannot too strongly emphasize the necessity of spending a little more money on hoses to be safe.
Wembley, Middx.
M. E. JOHNSON, Director,
Feeny and Johnson, Ltd.
Third-axle Conversions —A Complaint
I WAS very interested to read in The Commercial Motor of September 9 an article in the "Planning for Profit" series dealing with thitid-axle conversions of popular 7-tonners, particularly as some of the conclusions reached therein contrasted with a recent experience of mine.
I was travelling from Nottingham to Scotland by car and rather unwisely chose the Al from Doncaster northwards. Apart from the delays caused by reconstruction work, I was on four separate occasions caught in a long queue: of slow-moving. vehicles. On eventually reaching the head of each queue, I found that in every case the cause of the hold-up seemed to be one of the conversions mentioned in your article.
Their performance, I felt, alternated between suicidal downhill dashes and -agonizingly slow hill-climbing, all at maximum engine revs. Even the relatively easy grades experienced on this route were sufficient to bring the speed down to little more than walking pace, to the inconvenience and annoyance of other road users. Incidentally, none of the vehicles concerned appeared to be overloaded, and three different makes were represented. •
From the diesel smoke and excessive noise being emitted in each case, the engines were already feeling the strain of continuous slogging. In view of this may I suggest that increased maintenance costs and fuel consumption would very quickly outweigh the additional income brought in by carrying of bigger loads.
Pinxton, Notts. L. LITFLE.