Has the Chartered Fleet Been Maligned?
Page 32
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VOUR contributor S.T.R. recently statedthat I operators throughout the length and breadth of.the country are in unanimous agreement that the operation of the Chartered Fleet is " deplorably inefficient." It is not _known where S..T.R., obtained this information, but as one of the chartered operators who is not of this drastic opinion, we feel it only fair to _show figures covering the operation of one of our two chartered vehicles over the same period as that reviewed by S.T.R. in the issue of "The Commercial Motor" dated July 31.
It is, first, agreed that the internal organization of the Ministry of War Transport leaves something to be desired, but these are teething troubles which can and must be adjusted. One major complaint is the clerical work involved in preparing the accounts, the greater past of which work we considered unwieldy ; it could be avoided by the introduction of an increased flat rate per mile for mileages in excess of 600 miles per week, when wages definitely in excess of 48 hours are usually incurred.
The system of chartering slMuld not, however, be condemned as inefficient because of domestic troubles. Is it not true that a large percentage of the criticism is "sour grapes" and emanates mainly from operators who stood aloof from this part of the scheme? The industry generally has been extremely slack for some months, and the fact that the Hauliers' National Traffic Pool has not had traffic to offer has been immediately blamed on to the Chartered Fleet by operators who have remained outside.
The lack of tonnage mentioned may be the responsibility of the Minister of War Transport, but this is an issue which cannot be laid at the door of the charteredvehicle organization, but should be taken beyond. We must not, therefore, allow these facts to be lost sight of and bias our opinion when criticizing the Chartered
' . those quoted by S.T.R. in his Schedule A, applying to a . 1-ton oiler, the totals for the latter are:— Miles Tons Milos . DIM Amount Amount without
' loaded. mimed. empty. used. claimed; •entras.
._ 4.339 . 400 1,326 585 £602 2 s 1548 15 7
The corresponding. figures for our. 14-ton oiler are:
8.205 513 1,215 1,111 . £80214 10 £718 . 0 0 Reviewing these in comparison with the points raised by S.T.R. we have :— ola.s. S.T.11.'e.
Total mileage ... ... 2.418 . 5,665
Cost to the Ministry... 4802 14 10 £602 2 8
. Total net earnings ... £718 O. 0 £548 15 7
Cost, per mile run -. Is. 8.34.114 t.] 24. 110.112 t.)
Total loaded miles ... 8,203 4,339 • C 1.
(lost per loaded mile is. 15d. gs. 9.3d.
Tone carried ,. .513 400 Coat per ton carried 31s. 3i/e0.. 40s. Cost per loaded ' journey ... ... £20 Is. 40. .414 16s. 3d, Average load per Journey ... .., 12.15 (14 t.) 7.)4 1 (12 t.) Average length per .
• loaded journey ... 205 miles 1061/2 miles
Average rate per ton
205 mites.. ... 3.1a. 31b.d. *2 per 1061/2 miles Percentage of .14.tatfed mites to total. •
mileage ... ... ' 87.09V 76.5 Percentage of tannage carried against full capacity ... ... 91 07% 62.5
The above figures show that, over an admittedly bad period, the operational cost to the Ministry of the 14tonner are reasonably economical, and that the condemnation expressed by S.T.R. was not wholly justified.
A surprising feature, is that since the period under review and before any criticism was made publicly, the M. of W.T. has insisted that the mileage of this vehicle must be increased, and it has been increased by at least 50 per cent, with a proportionate drop in the costs per ton and per mile to the Ministry. The vehicle is now being worked trunk and shunt, but this system was not in operation during the period covered by these figures, which was worked under usual conditions with only one
driver. . Referring to the interview S.T.R. had with a motor driver, can it be said that the conditions mentioned have been in existence bnly since the formation of the
Chartered Fleet? J.S. London, S.E.8: