Are Ton-mileage Figures Reliable?
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TON-MILEAGE was taken as a basis 1 of Calculation by Mr. Ouseley Smith in an application before the NorthWestern Deputy Licensing Authority, at Chester, when 'Messrs. Weston Bros., Takvin, applied for A licences for two extra vehicles (4 tons).
Tonnage figures alone, it was thought, were rather misleading, because a vehicle which ran a number of short journeys in a short time showed a greater tonnage return than one engaged on long journeys with small tonnage. For the purpose of calculation, the applicants had taken 25 miles as an average journey, 21 tons as an average load and a working day of eight hours. The total ton-mileage in 1931 was 202,075, rising to 423,052 in 1935, and in the first four months of 1936 it was 171,344. The applicants' vehicles were working to capacity and had no marginal time for maintenance.
There was no question of abstraction of traffic and the figures submitted did not include work done by hired vehicles. The firm had attempted to hire from four other operators without success.
Mr. P. Kershaw submitted, on behalf of the railways, that this application was the same as that for a B licence which was previously refused and that there had been no change in conditions. The manner in which the ton-mileage figures had been compiled, he contended, amounted to pure guess-work, and the only reliable figures for the Authority to examine were the receipts, which showed little change.
For A. E. Hand scombe and Co., Mr. V. R. Shepherd described it as the same application, " with its shopwindow re-dressed." He contended that there Was a danger of a dual grant, as the grant of a licence would leaVe it open for the Tarvin Supply Co„ of which Mr. Weston was manager, to apply for a C licence.
Mr. Ouseley Smith argued that it was not fair to say that, because the application had been refused previously, it should not now be granted. With regard to the figures, these had been prepared by a chartered accountant with a view to answering just:the type of question which 'the railways were expected to ask.
Decision was reserved.