The First Comprehensive Guide to
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Goods Services
A 1=Zsurri of the First Edition of the Roadway Goods Transport Guide for Britain
IN the comparatively short period in which the road haulage industry has been developing, possibly no more important event has occurred than the production of the first edition of the Roadway Goods Transport Guide. It is published at the price of £1 5s. net by Roadway Time Tables, Bookings and Publications, Ltd., Roadway Corner, Warwick Street, London, W.1.
It has been produced under the auspices of the Commercial Motor Users Association and in conjunction with Temple Press Ltd., the proprietors of The Commercial Motor.
The importance of the appearance of this Guide is due to the fact that it is really comprehensive, up-todate and unique. Hitherto, the business man requiring road transport for his goods or the manufacturer for his products has had to rely upon very meagre and often inaccurate information. To-day, transport is too vital a matter to be handled in such a casual manner. Now the producer, salesman or purchaser has at his finger tips exactly the information which he needs, in a clear, concise and accurate form.
Exhaustive Lists of Hauliers.
Dealing with the various sections of the Guide in their due order, the first portion contains lists of hauliers operating in London. They are grouped in their respective postal areas and there is a key map to aid the seeker for information. These tables show the area or radius served, the classes of haulage undertaken, the number of vehicles operated by each concern, with their load capacities, and other information.
Next, there is a similar index to hauliers in Outer London, and an alphabetical index to clearing houses in the Metropolis.
A vast portion of the book concerns those operating goods-carrying vehicles in the provinces. They are grouped under the names of the cities or towns in which their headquarters are situated, and the same information is given as in the case of the London concerns. At the end of this section is a list of provincial clearing houses.
Next comes a section dealing with warehouses and wharfingers in the four countries.
Not content with confining their efforts to road transport, the publishers have included an extensive section dealing with coastal and inland shipping, so that effective transport co-ordination schemes can be planned merely by reference to the one book.
To facilitate the planning of journeys, there is a table of distances between 50 important towns in England and Wales, and a similar one for Scotland, whilst the transport manager's burden is eased by the inclusion of a list of special breakdown-equipment services for heavy vehicles in all parts of the country.
Mr. F. G. Bristow, the general secretary of the C.M.U.A., contributes a section on commercial-motor law, and there is a digest of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations, 1931.
In view of their unique value to the industry, the Operating Cost Tables of The Commercial Motor have been reproduced in the pages of the Roadway Guide, together with an explanatory article by the Editor of this journal, showing the development of the tables and how they may be applied to everyday problems of the vehicle operator. Our special Chassis Specification Tables have been printed therein yet further to enhance the value of this encyclopaedia of goods transport by road.
. Turning to the indexes, the first deals with specialized vehicles, such as furniture vans, heavy-machinery carriers, express parcels vehicles, multi-wheelers, insulated vans, tipping wagons, tank vehicles and livestock carriers. By means of this feature it is possible to find out immediately which operators in any centre can provide specialized vehicles for their customers.
There is a large topographical index to long-distance, express and the principal regular goods services by road. This is clearly planned and enables quick reference to be made when urgent decisions are required.
Serving a Multiplicity of Purposes.
The foregoing summary suffices to show that the Guide possesses a multitude of purposes. Primarily it will aid the business man to decide the exact details of any transport order ; those who own small fleets will be able to see from what sources they can hire specialized vehicles or additional ones to meet urgent calls. In the case of a breakdown a substitute vehicle can be chosen and ordered at once. Those such as salesmen who wish to get in touch with goods-carriers by road have before them a directory of concerns and individuals the like of which has never before been seen in the industry in question.
To the vehicle and accessory and component manufacturers and agents there are many obvious advantagef In the employment of this work of reference.
This volume, in conjunction with the Roadway Moto! Coach and Motor Bus Time Tables, published at 1s. b3 the same concern, affords the key to the vast majorit3 of problems affecting the transport of goods and per sonnel. It is certain to be a powerful advertisemen! of the capabilities and ramifications of the road trans port, coastal and inland shipping industries of Grea Britain. We are convinced that this volume constitute! such a valuable book of reference that no busbies! house, shipper or forwarding agent can be consideret completely equipped without it, whilst it should als■ prove invaluable to the dispatch departments of al retail and wholesale houses.