TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
Three EconomyNotes: (1) The Value of Time.
ARECENT NOTE on this page drew attention to the extreme importance, when operating motor vehicles, of cutting down terminal delays to a minimum. In this connection, it may be worth while to take a few rough figures which will enable us to estimate with sufficient accuracy what is the financial result of savingtime at terminal points, and to what extent this is important in proportion to other attempts to secure improved economy. Suppose that by organization at terminals we are able to save one hour out of a working day of eight hours. Let us take, as an example, the ease of a 10 cwt. van on pneumatic tyres. For the purposes of our calculations we will take the figures as given by ." The Sketch" in "Hints for . Hauliers" Now, if we assume that during an eight-hour day the van has hitherto been kept actually at work fos six hours, averaging seven and a half miles an hour, which makes allowanee for delivery stops, we have a. total mileage of 45 per day. If we save an hour at the terminals by improved organization the mileage goes up to 521, miles per day. In the first case the total running cost per day works out at 331 pence, or 27s. 7d. The addition of an extra 71 miles means an extra cost of 46, aid., giving a total of 31s! 101d. When we include the standing charges, we have in the first instance a total of 41s. 4d. for a mileage of 45. In the second instance we have a total of 45s, , 71d. for a mileage of 521. It 'is apparent at a glance that whereaS our total costs have hitherto been 11d, a mile they are now, reduced to load. a mile. With the original mileage we have a 'cost of 496 pence for 45 miles; in the rA.econd case we have a total of 5471 pence for a mileage of 521. The saving effected by this reduction of terminal delays is, therefore, substantial. The annual mileage of the vehicle will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15,000, so that the saving in the course of the year is no less than 260. If the life of the van is. reckoned at five years, we have a. total saving of 2300. We see then that, by eliminating terminal delays to the extent suggested, we are able to make a saving sufficient to neutralize the additional burden involved if the price of a 10 cwt. van is raised, say, from 2250 to 2500. This is more or less what has happened as a result of the war, but, c24 serious as it is, we see that it is by no means inconceivable that the loss can be completely offset by an economy effected in another direction. It cannot be denied that there are many users who could, by better organization, eliminate terminal and delivery delays to the extent suggested. (2) The Value of Fuel Saving. Another very natural grievance of motor owners is the increase in the price of petrol. Suppose that this light van does no more than 12 miles per gallon, ...which figure assumes constant running under somewhat bad traffic conditions, we have a petrol cost of 3d. a mile, if petrol c,osts 3s. a gallon. It would be necessary for the price of petrol to be raised by no less than 8d. a gallon for the loss on that account to balance the saving resulting from the elimination of delays. Just the same arguments could be applied to vehicles of larger types. In fact, in 'respect of these, the standing charges generally represent a bigger percentage of the total cost of operation, and when this is so an increase in mileage due to elimination of delays will' have an even greater effect on the cost per mile covered. There is a number of other calculations that are worth making in this connection. We may find, for instance, that, by sending out a boy to assist the driver in making deliveries rapidly we can save an hour a day, which, as we have seen, corresponds to a saving of £50 a year. From this it is clear that, unless we can get the services of the boy at something under a pound a week, his employment is not going to be a directly paying proposition. In practice, it may still be advisable to employ him, even if his wages are considerably higher. In some circumstances his employment may result in enabling a certain round to be covered in the day which could not have been completed without his assistance, unless we were to call in the help of a second vehicle. As a business gradually grows, the point is almost certain to be reached some time or other at which either a second vehicle must be purchased or the original vehicle must be made to do more work in a given time: Further growth in business will make the second vehicle a necessity, but, for a period, the most paying plan will be to speed up the delivery work of the first vehicle by .providing the driver with an assistant. (3) The Value of Lights, During the winter months, a matter which has a very distinct bearing on the question under discussion is the proper lighting of the vehicle inside as well as out. With unsatisfactory lamps the driver is handicapped on dark country roads. With inadequate facilities for lighting the interior, delays and mistakes are always likely to occur while deliveries are being made. Other methods of saving time include, as has been mentioned on a previous occasion,,. the abandonment of the system of accepting payment on delivery. If cash payment in advance cannot always be arranged, it is worth considering whether it is not advisable to take the risk of a few bad debts rather than accept the certainty of the very considerable delays that result whenever the system of paynient on delivery is employed.Tags