STEAM WAGONS IN SOUTH AFRICA.,
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In Railway Cartage Work They Handle 2,000,000 Tons of Goods from Five Centres.
ALTHOUGH PETROL LORRIES play an important part in the transport system of South Africa, (as has been demonstrated from time to time in these pages), steam wagons are still very usefully emp4oyed for cartage purposes in connection, more particularly, with the railways of the sub,continent. The position of the road motor as an auxiliary to the railway and as a collector of the products of the farm was defined in a short article on "South African Transport," which appeared in The Commercial Motor for February 10th last— which article, it will be recalled, was based on some remarks made by Sir William Hoy, general manager of the South African Railways and Harbours, in his official report for the year ended March 31st, 1919. Cartage services, Sir William Hoy tells us in that report, have developed into an important branch of railway working. At the five large cartage centres, where the work is conducted departmentally, about 2,000,000 tons of goods are handled annually. The bulk of the traffic is of a general nature, and consignments vary from a crate of fowls to 15 ton boilers.
The introduction of mechanical plant for railway cartage work in South Africa dates back to 1902, when
traction engines and steam wagons were the only class of vehicle in use.
The use of steam as a motive power, adtls Sir William, has always been a feature of mechanical traction in England, and the most recent development, constructed on motor-lorry lines, would sa,ppear to have given the steam tractor a new -lease of life, Steam wagons are uneconomical for short distance traffic, owing to terminal delays, and for some time they have hauled trailers, carrying no load themselves.
There has -been a steady increase in carted traffic at Joha,nnesburg,viz: 1908 66,870 1910 113,8,68 1912 130,000 1914 138,544 1916 141,389 1917 160,000 1918 167,000
These figures afford striking evidence of the growth Of Johannesburg as a distribuiing and industrial centre. With the increase in traffic, especially collected traffic, there has developed an increased demand to have it collected in the afternoon. This militates against the balancing of outwards and inwards loads and the proper and economic distribution of work throughout the day. It also tends to cause congestion and adds to the cost of the service.
OBJECTIONABLE BY-LAWS.,
Trade Associations Fear Strike as a Result of New Liverpool Draft By-laws.
N their statement of objections to the new Liverpool draft by-laws for garage hackney carriages, signed on behalf of the Liverpool Motor Hirers Association, and the Hirers Section of the Motor Trade Association, it is stated that "so strong is the view taken with regard to these by-laws, which are not in existence in any other town or district, that if they are approved and enforced the inevitable result will be a general strike -of 'all hire cars, including taxicabs, throughout the country."
"We would urge,'' they say, "that the time has arrived when a .generat revision of the whole of the by-laws relating to hackney carriages should be made, and that the Goverruxient should carefully consider this question immedi-ately, in conjunction with the recognized representatites qf the parties vitally concerned, and that until this matter has been properly considered the confirmation of any such by-laws as are proposed, which are unanimously regarded as being unworkable, should be postponed." The objections of the Liverpool Motor Hirers Association and the Motor Trade Association to the draft garage motor hackney carriage by-laws of the Liver-. pool Car poiation have been prepared in tabulated form, and have been put in the hands of the Home Office, with whom an interview will take place in ;July.
It is submitted that the Act of Parliament, passed in 1848, under which the by-laws purport to be made, was never intended to apply to motorcars, and that any by-laws made by the Corporation should be made under some private Act of the Corporation clearly intended to refer to motorcars.
The contention is made that there ia no need for such interference by the Corporation., as the public already have the following remedies :—(a) They are not compelled to contract if they do not agree to the price asked; (b) In the Absence of a price being fixed they are not obligedto pay more than a reasonable price; (c) No person pays for a hire before the hiring is completed, and if an unreasonable price is demanded the hirer can tender a reasonable fare and the owner has to sue for any excess. There are in existence a large number of cars of a superior class, many of which cannot be run at a flat rate. There is a demand for these cars, and if the by-laws are approved hired cars would he withdrawn and sold as private cars.
Any car up to 20 b.p, will be entitled to charge the same rate as a 20 h.p. car, consequently there will be-an inducement for smaller h.p. cars to be run in preference to cars of 20 h.p. Then a car of over 20 h.p. will have its fares fixed up by the Corporation, and if the Corporation do not agree to the fares, they can withhold the licence, thus placing an unreasonable power in the hands -of the Corporation. Another by-law says the fare shall be computed from the gatiage, but does not say where to, not whether to the destination of the fare or back to the garage again. These cars are often used for long distances, and disputes will constantly arise to what extent they ar'e subject to the by-laws when their journeys are outside the city.bounclaries:
It is contrary to the wishes of both the hirer and the owner that a taximeter should be fixed 6n these vehicles which are often used for weddings, funerals, and other Occasionswhen the whole idea of taximeters is strongly objectionable to both parties.
It is not possible to run a private hire cares the same price per mile as a taxi, because (ia) a private hire car cannot be booked by a fare in a publie street ;, (b) the owner has to wait for each .fare until somebody comes or sends winesage to the garage; (c) this hooking of fares in advance means that the cars must be kept available for a fixed time, consequently the owner has to lose other fares to keep his contracts; (d) the working of cars at inconvenient times means that men have to be working at all hours and have to be paid extra; (e) the owner has to eniploy an 'office staff ; (1) many private hire ear owners pay the full tax instead of the hackney carriage tar; (g) the private hire car is, generally speaking, a better class car kept in better condition than a taxicab ; (h) many drivers are skilled men, and have to act as couriers, mechanics, and, as such, require higher wages; (i) many hirings are indefinite as to journey; length of time and road to be travelled, consequently it is not possible to make arrangements in advance; and (j) all private ear owners must give credit, and, therefore, be liable to create bad debts.
Difficulties are anticipated in regard to large cars, because people will be able to ring up the garage, ask for a small car, and if only a large one is available demand the large one and object to paying the full price for same. If these by-laws are passed the inevitable result will be the withdrawal of a large nuMlaer of these cars for hire purposes, because they cannot be made to pay. If the private car is left alone, the associations contend, the prices will adjust themse'.ves to the law of supply and demand, and "many owners of hire vehicles prefer to early goOds and have lorry bodies put on their chassis because they can make more money this way."
During the war many private hire cars Were run at a loss owing to the lack of petrol, restrictions on motoring, etc., and. owners only continued in business bemuse it was their livelihood. They should now be alloWed to make a reasonable charge.
AUSTRALIAN FUEL.
Remarkable Figures Showing the Imports of Oil and Motor Spirit.
the course of aa article on the in
crease in the consumption of motor spirit in Australiaz the Argus says that, apart from the increase in the number of motorcars during recent years, motorpropelled tractors and stationary plant in the country and city are being used more freely, and the future promises a much greater expansion iit this connection, provided that the prices of spirit do not become prohibitive. The figures given below show the approximate imports of motor spirit, kerosene, and burning oils from America, Sumatra and adjacent islands, and of mineral lubricating oils from all sources for past years :—
MUNICIPAL BUSES.
Fifty-eight Petitions Against the London County Council Bus -Scheme.
Fr HE FIGHT which the L.C.C. is put
ting up to secure, in its Bill now before the Select Committee, power f.io run motorbuses, is indicated by a report of the Parliamentary Committee, which says that 58 petitions have bean deposited against the provisions relating to the running of motor omnibuses, viz,, 7 from Metropolitan borough councils, 5 from county councils, and 32 from other out-county authorities, 11 from railway companies, arid also the London General Omnibus Co., the London Electric Railway Co., and the Metropolitan Electric Tramway Co. All the petitions are not on preamble, bli-the oppositicin is formidable. Included amongst the petitioners are the Middlesex and Hertfordshire County .Councils, both of which authorities are promoting legislation in the present session to enable them to run omnibuses in the Metro_politart Police district. In order to remove the opposition of these two authorities, and, if possible, to secure their co-operation, several conferences have been field between representatives of the three counOils. In the result, it has been agreed that the proposals, contained in each of the three Bills to run omnibuses "within the Metropolitan police district should be subject to the following limitations, Viz., each one of the three county counOls should be enabled to run omnibuses (1) in the other two counties only with the consent of the appropriate county council, and (2) in the district of any local authority working a tramway or light railway only with the censent of such Ideal authority or, in the event of such consent being withheld, with the sanction of the Minister of Transport.
It was also agreed that clauses should he inserted in the three bills on the lines of those approved by the Minister of TransPort, in the case of bills promoted, by the Corporation of Wolverhampton and other local authorities during the present session, in which it was proposed that a local authority should runomnibuses outside its• own. district. These clauses will provide (inter alia) that each county council running omnibuses outside its own county shall pay to the • appropriate road authority towards road • maintenance such sum per ear-mile run as may be agreed, or, failing agreement, determined' by the Minister of Transport, power being -given to the Minister to revise the amount of the payment every seven years; and (2) that the county council and the road authority ehall agree (or in default a agreement the Minister of Transport shall determine) before the omnibuses commence to rim whether it is necessary to adapt, -alter or reconstruet any road affected and if so what contribution (if any) should be made by the county council.
The Wandsworth Metropolitan Borough Council, which has petitioned against the motor omnibus _proposals, submitted a clause providing that before the Council commences to run omnibuses on any new route in London which has not been regniarly used by omnibuses plying for hire before the passing of the .Act, the Council shall give reasonable notice of the proposal to the 'highway authority and shall ta,ke into consideration .any representations made thereon by such authority within one month from the receipt of the notice The County Council has given iruclerscems' for the i clause to be thierted in the Bill.