The Railways' Dependence upon Road Transport
Page 49
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By a Transport Specialist
WI-1AT, in fact, do we mean when we speak of mechanical road transport? The latest returns show that it is roughly composed as follows:— Private cars, 1,083,000; goods-carrying vehicles, 360,000; passenger vehicles (taxis and buses), 87,000.
Private cars are increasing in number in an interesting way and, during the next 10 years, they are likely to provide more problems for the authorities. They will, no doubt, be the subject of the next railway onslaught. In 1922 there were about 300,000 such vehicles in use and, in 1930, 1.042.258. It is estimated that this year there will be 1,160,000; in 1934, 1,290,000; in 1936, 1,385,000; in 1938, 1,470,000; and in 1940.
no fewer than 1,556,000 motorcars in actual use.
A comparison of the amount of goods traffic carried by road and rail is useful to secure a fair perspective view of the present situation. On the roads there are some 360,000 lorries and vans. It may reasonably be estimated that each vehicle will earn in charges for transport, or be worth to its owners, £1 per day on 300 days per annum. The total freight-traffic receipts would, therefore, amount to some £108,000,000 per annum, which is greater than those of all the British railways, which, in 1931, totalled £87,369,000, including receipts from minerals.
The motor industry alone directly employs some 870,000 persons, as compared with the railways' 650,000. The former figure does not include persons engaged upon road maintenance, etc. The railways are articulate through their close organization, but the Government and the Minister of Transport should remember that the motor industry is even larger 'than the railways, and that anything done to restrain or destroy its normal development must inevitably react upon the other party.
The railways object to being taxed, even to the small extent of 11,500,000, for road maintenance. But they are careful to say nothing of their gains in the way of additional traffic drawn from the roads. For instance, before 1914 the railways drew in a revenue from carrying road materials of about £4,000,000 per annum. Today, their revenue is about 116,000,000. This increase alone in revenue far more than pays their small contribution towards highways maintenance.
On the most conservative estimates the motor, industry annually spends some £10,000,000 on rail carriage and £2,000,000 on passenger transport. These sums would be immensely increased if one were to widen the field by including receipts from industries indirectly concerned, such as those supplying the motor trade with raw material, etc. In the U.S.A. it is estimated that 10.6 per cent. of all wagonload shipments of freight are directly from the motor trade. A large proportion of rail profits is,
Taxable therefore, furnished directly by the in Weight dustry which the railways seek so con
stantly to attack.
There are still other phases of this road-rail controversy equally vital to the trade and well-being of this country. Owing to the superior speed of delivery of merchandise sent by road, as compared with rail, it is estimated that stocks of goods to the extent of £174,000,000 are avoided.
This provides a wonderful lightening of the burden of industry. Calculating interest at 5 per cent., the trading community and the public are thus relieved of a charge of some £8,700,000 .per annum. This is entirely a result of the greater efficiency of door-to-door delivery.
Then there is the most valuable and immense direct saving caused by the fact that goods can be conveyed cheaper by road than by rail, notwithstanding the cuts made by the railways in their struggle to regain the traffic lost to the road owing to the inexpensive service offered by this agency. If one estimated the saving to the trading community at £20,000,000 per annum, this would be a small estimate.
It is true that road transport does attract traffic because it can often give lower rates than can the railways, but that is because it can do this and make satisfactory profits even under the penal taxation now imposed upon it. But these cheaper charges are to the national advantage. The issue, in fact, is clear—cheap and efficient " free " transport versus railway monopoly. The railways obtain competitive quotations for their own supplies. Can they reasonably object to traders doing exactly the same in transport, which is one of the great costs of business?