TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
.A
SURPRISINGLY • small percentage of the traders who use. motor vans appear to realize
. fully the value of the free publicity which is theirs if they care to take it. Large SUMS are paid , annually for the display of posters in public places. Goods are advertised on thesides and ends of motor omnibuses and tramcars. Thero are prosperous .firms, whose main source. of inconie consists of the commission paid in connection with the, placing of advertisements on vans and lorries operated by
Ca triers.
Free Advertisement Possibilities.
Despite these' facts, half the motor vans that one
• see Supon the road illustrate. a. total 1xek of appreelation of the value of advertisement. As often as not, the side of the van bear merely the name and address of • its owner. Nothing is said . as to the nature of the business he conducts. For that matter,. a, bald statement of the nature of his businesa,is not of much use, unless the businessia so well established , that everybody locally is familiar with it and merely requires a mild reminder of its existence. Ali the available space on a van body should be devoted to advertisement, carefully thought out aa regards its wording and its display, with due affilireciation of the character and extent of the business and the nature of the work of•the motor vehicle. Probably, most of this work is in town streets and. residential roads. Stops for delivery purposes are most likely frequent. In that ease, a portion of the advertising can be so arranged as to appeal to those who have tim.e to read while the vehicle is standing. A portion, at least, must be so boldly displayed that it can hardly fail to catch the eye of the public even when the Vehicle is moving. The whole thing must be properly balanced. It is no use to tell a. passer-by that .11r. .Tones is offering exceptiorral bargains in boots or furniture without letting him know also where Mr. Jones's premises are to be found. Often the adclressis given in such small type as to be illegible, except at dose quarters and with the vehicle standing
still. .
Scope for Publicity on Vans.
The first thing is to attract attention to, the vehicle itself by giving it a thoroughly smart appearance and by the use of bold colouring. The next thing is to tell the public who the vehicle belongs to, where his business is and the nature of any special bargains that he is offering. . If the van is used for delivery work, its bold announcements may be supplemented by posters notifying forthcoming sales., or giving, ra selection of goods with their prices. The small trader who is not much experienced in advertising can learn a good deal from the advertisements of the very large houses in the daily Press. He must remember, however, that his own is to be• a moving and not a stationary advertisement, and he must consider how much the passer-by will have time to take in while the .vehicle is within easy range of him. It is not wise merely to follow the exaMple of the large and successful retail store, as indicated by the display on its own vansa • The name of the large store is probably universally known. Its vehicles are numerous and it utilizes them mainly or the purpose of giving an impression that its transport is everywhere. It adopta some standatd scheme 6f colouring, and this with its name in bold lettering, makes the only obvious advertisement on its vehicles. This, as already mentioned, is useless tu-dess the name
alone convey. something quite definite to the man who reads' it. For this reasan, as a business becomes established and generally known in the district, the scheme of advertising on its motorvans should be periodically reconsidered. Now that the evenings are beginning to draw in, we Must consider also whether it is possible to arrange any moving advertisements visible at night. If the van has an electric lighting installation there are great possibilities in this direction. The night time advertisement, if well illuminated and arranged,. is far more effective than anything that could be done during the daylight. The trader must remember, however, that if he illuminates his vehicle far advertising purposes he is taking far more current from his battery. The battery and the dynamo which charges it may have been proportioned only to provide the usual running lights. If they are expected to do. more, the advice of their maker must be taken as to what is the limit that Can be safely imposed on the system without leading to trouble.
Comparative Working Capacity of Vehicles.
The capacity of a vehicle to do work is not merely measured by its load. carrying capabilities. The work done Can be conveniently assessed in ton-miles, the figure being obtained by multiplying the number of miles covered' by the number of tons carried. No heavy motorcar is permitted by law to travel at more than 12 miles an hour. This is the speed limit, if rubber tyres -are fitted and if the registered. axle Weight of any axle does not exceed six tons. Thus, a van carrying 30 cwt., ranking as a heavy motorcar and travelling at 12 miles an hour, if it works eight hours a day, can do 144 tanamiles of work in the day. A 3 tonner can also be brought within the 6 ton axle limit, and can, therefore, legally do 288 ton-miles in the eight hours. In the case of a 5 tonner, the axle weight of the rear axle probably approximates to 8 tons, which is the legal limit for any heavy motorcar. As the axle .weight exceeds 6 tons, the legal. speed limit with rubber tyres is 8 miles an hour. This 'gives 64 miles in the working day or 320 ton-miles. If metal instead of rubber tyres are used, ;the legal speed is 8 miles an hour for the lighter types of vehicle and 5 miles an hour for the heavier type. Thus, the 3 tanner on metal tyres can legally ao, 64 miles; or 192 ton-miles., in the day of 8 hours. The 5 tonner can do 40 miles, or 200 ton-miles, in the same time. Thus, we see that we do not necessarily • get any great increase in legal working capacity by employing larger vehicles. Also that, by employing rubber tyres, we get a very big increase in working capacity, due to the higher speeds permitted. If we disregard the exact requirements of the law, and base our comparisons on the mechanical capabilities of the vehicles, the results will be somewhat different. The 5 tonner is able to travel almost as fast as the 3 tanner, and can probably do about 50 per cent. more work in the day if the legal limit of s miles an hour be not strictly observed. If trailers are drawn, the legal speed limit is always 5 miles an hour. Thus, a 5 tonner on rubber tyres, drawing an extra 3 tons in a trailer, can legally do 40 .ton-miles in the hour. In practice,' if the roads are reasonably good, the drawing of a trailer does not entail much reduction of speed. Moreover, it may be possible to arrange to load up trailers while the vehicle itself is on the road, in which case their use means . some reduction in terminal delays.