Coaches Versus Motorists
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N discussing private-hire work last week,-1 emphasized that . operators' chief competitors today were car owners. In I
comparing the operating cost of a 41-seat coach and a 1,500 c.c. car, I estimated that the total weekly standing costs would be £17 12s., or 8s. per hour, for a 44-hour week. Corresponding running costs amount to 11.30d. per mile.
Annual standing costs of the private car, assuming it was used for both business and pleasure, were reckoned at £227 10s.. or 2.73d. per mile at an annual mileage of 20,000. This amount excluded any expenditure on driver's wages, but included the cost of depreciation, as in this instance irwas more appropriate to include it as a standing than as a running cost. The four items of running costs amounted to 2.76d. per mile, making the total operating cost 5.49d. per mile..
In applying these costs to an outing involving a mileage of 75 for a single journey and an eight-hour stay at the destination, overall costs-of the coach trip amounted to £13 18s. 3d., or 6s.. 10d. per head where 41 passengers were carried. The corresponding costs for the car were £3 8s. 7d., or 17s. 2d. per
head, assuming four passengers were carried, .
It is realized, however, that the assumptions made in arriving at these figures must inevitably be arbitrary, because the circumstances of both the coach operator and individual passengers vary so largely. In calculating the standing costs Per hour of the 41-seat coach, for example, a weekly average of 44 hours was assumed. Because of the spasmodic nature of this class of work, however, this may—when taken over a year's operation—be more than is achieved by many small operators. As an alternative, it will be assumed that 22 hours 'a week are averaged throughout the year, with a resulting standing. cost Per 'hour of 16s. . .
If. .for..the_ same reason establishment costs were also increased because of the. reduced amount of work done,-the ccisr Lowland Motorways, Ltd. operate this. Albion. Victor luxury coach between Glasgow and Renfrew aerodrome ,under contract with British European Airways. The lightkeight body Was built by
StraChans (Suecessors), Ltd. of operating a coach on this particular outing would amount to. Running costs, 150 miles at 11.30d. a mile (£7 ls. 3d.); standing costs, 14 hours at 16s. an hour (Ell 4s.); establishment costs, estimated proportion (£2 10s.); total, £20 15s. 3d. Divided by 41, this gives a cost per head of 10s. 2d.
As the car is used for both business and pleasure, I will now assume that when using it for pleasure purposes the driver is required to pay only the running costs involved. These were itemized as: Fuel, 2.04d. per mile; oil, 1120d.; tyres, 0.08d., and maintenance, 0.44d.; total, 2.76d. On a return trip of 150 miles, total running costs would then amount to El 14s. 6d., or 8s. 7+cl. per head, which is. almost exactly midway between the two estimated coach costs of 10s. 2d. and 6s, 10d.
Whilst the private car provides the maximum benefit to the family man, only a driver and one passenger are carried by many cars. If only two passengers were carried in this instance, the cost per head would, of course, be doubled— €1-14s. 4c1.—when both standing and running costs are included, or 17s. 3d. per head when only running costs had to be met.
If, however, only a driver and one passenger are carried regularly, a smaller car may be used to obtain the benefit of lower operating costs. Assuming a 1,000 c.c. car has an initial cost of £570, approximately £30 would have to be added for delivery charges, number plates and heater, making a total of aoo, Again assuming a policy of yearly replacement, estimated resale value after a year would be put at £500. which, when deducted from the total cost, together with £26 as the price of a set of four tyres, leaves a balance of £74 as the cost of depreciation over the first year.
Other annual standing costs would consist of licence, £12 10s.; insurance (comprehensive both for business and pleasure in an urban area), £41 10s.; garaging, €13, and interest at 3 per cent., £18, making a total of £159. Again based on an annual mileage of 20,000, this would amount to 1.91d. per mile, If the fuel-consumption rate is 35 m.p.g., the fuel cost per mile for this smaller car will amount to 1.63d. Oil costs will probably be the same at 0.20d., and tyres a little lower at 0.07d. per mile. Maintenance, based on the manufacturers' servicing scheme, will again cost 0.44d. Total running costs per mile wilt be 2.34d., which, when added to the standing costs, gives an operating cost per mile of 4.25d.
Applying the full cost of operating this smaller car, a return trip of 150 miles would cost £2 13s. Id., or £1 6s. 6d. per head for the two occupants. If the calculations are based on running costs only, however, the total cost becomes £1 9s. 3d., or 14s, 71d. per head, which is again higher than the alternative coach costs per head of 6s. 10d. and 10s. 2d.
A third possibility may arise where a car is provided for business purposes and the employee is permitted to use it for pleasure on payment of fuel costs only. If the driver is in that fortunate position, the cost of fuel consumed by the smaller car for the 150-mile journey will be £1 Os. 5d. (or 10s. 24d. per head), whilst the corresponding cost for the larger car will be £1 5s. 6d., or 6s. 4id. per head, if three passengers are carried in addition to the driver.
Much private-hire work is done, however, in conveying parties to sports events and evening entertainment. A typical example might be a single journey of 20 miles into a city centre, with a stay ()flour hours. Coach operating costs would then be made up of six hours at 8s. an hour (.€2 8s.); 40 miles at II.30,ti a mile (£1 17s. 8d.), plus £1 estimated proportion of establishment costs, giving a total of £5 5s. 8d. With 41 passengers, this gives a cost per head of 2s. 7d.
As with the previous example, if it is considered that a 22-hour week is more appropriate, the cost of the trip would be six hours at 16s. an hour (€4 16s.), 40 miles at 11.30d. a mile (£1. 17s. 8d.) and a higher establishment cost of £2, giving a total of 1.8 13s. 8d., or 4s. 3d. per head.
When the same journey is done by the larger car, the total cost will be approximately 18s. 4d. (40 x 5.49d.). or 4s. 7d. per head, again allowing for a driver and three passengers. If only running costs had to be met, the cost would be 9s. 2d. (40 x 2.76d.), or about 2.s. 4d. per head, whilst fuel only would cost 6s. 9d., or ls. Rd. per bead.
The corresponding cost of the journey in the smaller car (with a driver and one passenger) would be 14s. 2d. when all items were included, or 7s. Id, per head. Running costs alone would amount to 7s. 10d. and fuel costs to 5s. 5d., or 3s. 11d. and 2s. 9d. per head respectively.
These costs of conveying driver and passenger by private car compare with the coach cost per head of 2s. 7d. (or 4s. 3d. where the vehicle is only spasmodically employed) for a similar
journey. Particularly where they relate to costs based on either running or fuel costs only, car costs must obviously be highly competitive with those of the coach operator. There are, nevertheless, many cars used for private purposes only and which must inevitably be more expensive to the users. Except for the cost of insurance, which would be approximately halved, " other costs would remain about the same, whilst the lower annualmileage run would easily be understood to result in a correspondingly higher overall cost per mile.
It may well be that by bringing home to the car owner the real cost of such journeys for which the coach operator can offer a reasonable alternatives in terms of convenience, additional custom could result.
The convenience of a car has to be accepted, particularly for journeys of purely a private nature, but for events permitting the organizing of a party, especially if the destination is in a congested area, operators may well emphasize to their advantage the freedom from responsibility which their serviee offers. Added to freedom from parking worry, block bookings for various forms of entertainment also save passengers time and trouble. By the appropriate stressing of the advantages which his services can provide in terms of cost, convenience and comfort. the private-hire operator can do much to combat competition of the private car. S.B.