Parcelcar Service on Contract
Page 63
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A Trouble-free Distribution System From £4 ;Os. Per Week
"flARTICULARLY in the case of shopkeepers who have a
limited distribution area and only small quantities of goods to transport, it is often cheaper to employ the services of an established vehicle operator rather than to purchase, run andmaintain their own vehicles. It absolves the tradesman from the troubles connected with the control of drivers, also from insurance, taxation and garage worries, but probably the greatest advantage is the abolition of repair and maintenance work which can involve considerable wastage if the owner of the vehicles be not au fait with mechanical matters.
A useful light-vehicle :service in this class is in operation in London, the concern responsible for it being Alvarez Carriers, Ltd., 29, Burne Street, London, N.W.1. The vehicles employed are RolIfix three-wheeled machines of either 6-cwt. or 10-cwt. pay-load capacity. The following are the weekly contract rates for up to 250 miles per week :—Yearly contract, £4 10s. (6 cwt.), £5 5s. (10 cwt.) ; short contract, one month, £5 5s. (6 cwt.), 15 1.5s. (10 cwt.).
These comprehensive charges include the services of the driver, and cover taxation, insurance for both vehicle and man, and provision of all fuel and oil, whilst the vehicle is, of course, kept in good running order, free of ail cost to the hirer. Should a breakdown occur it is necessary only to ring up Alvarez Carriers, Ltd., and an emergency machine would at once be dispatched.
Sign-writing upon the bodies can be executed according to the hirer's requirements, so that the full publicity value is obtained, despite the fact that the vehicle is not the property of the tradesman.
In order to encourage efficiency the concern has arranged a prize scheme for its drivers. Two principal points are
• taken into consideration—viz., average fuel consumption and the number of emergency calls which is received in respect of mechanical failures affecting each machine: The directors hold the view that petrol consumption is largely a matter of individual care, and that a driver who "uses his head" can cover far more miles on a gallon of spirit than can one
who accelerates wildly at every opportunity, lets his engine run during delivery times instead of stopping it, or is careless when filling up. Likewise, many mechanical defects are due to lack of daily inspection. Therefore, a driver who takes a real interest in keeping his machine in first-rate condition is taking all the precautions necessary to avoid an involuntary stop. This competition, which carries a monthly prize in cash, is a great incentive to personal efficiency, thu,s helping to build up a sound service in the mutual: interests of both parties to each of the contracts.