TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
THE PROSPECTIVE USER of motor vans is often guided to a decision by his kno.wledg-e of the results that have been obtained by others.. Frequently, the conditions under which those results were secured differ from his own.
Suppose, for instance, that you mean to use a van for _delivery work over an estimated distance of 12,000 miles per annum. You are advised by a friend in the same locality that he rims a similar van at the cost of 10d, a mile. It is not safe to conclude immediately that your own figures will be, the same, even provided that your van is equally well driven and maintained. A great Anal depends on the mileage covered in the two cases.
Comparing Standing Charges and Running Costs.
Suppose that your friend's van does 24,000 miles in the year. It has already been assumed that the cost is 10d. a mile. This means a total annual. cost of 240,000 pence, or 21,000. Now, of this total cost, it may be that 2600 is made up of running charges directly proportionate to the mileage, the remaining 2400 being made up as standing charges. incurred, irrespective of the mileage covered. New, in your own ease, with an estimated mileage of 12,000 the running charges will be halved, but the standing charges will not be materially reduced. The total cost will, therefore, be 2300 under the one heading and 2400 under the other, giving a total of 2700 in all. This equals 168,000 pence, and when we divide this figure by 12,000--the mileage covered— we see that the total cost will be 14 pence per mile.
Suppose that the estimated mileage in your ease is larger than in the case of your friend, a. similar rough calculation will be necessary, but the result will, of course, be to indicate a cost per mile smaller in your ease than in his.
Supposing that he puts his full figures at your disposal, you will, of course, be able to work the thing out more accurately, dividing his standing charges from his running costs and seeing just about what amount shouhrgo under each of these main headings.
In the usual statement of cost, wages of driver are put down as running expenses, This is not strictly accurate, because you must, keep and pay the driver, whether the mileage is small or great. For purposes of estimate it is, therefore, better to put this item down under standing charges. Other items under that heading include rent, rates-and taxes, insurance,• licences, and interest on the first cost of the vehicle. When the new scheme of taxation comes into force, the vehicle tax will also be a standing charge whereas the present petrol duty is a running cost. charge, is generally allowed for under standing charges, though in the main it is due to use.Suppose we decide to write off 2100 from the value of the vehicle each year. It would pro:bably be about fair to call 275 of this amount a running cost and the other .225 a standing charge. This last allocation is due to the fact that., even if the vehicle were not used at all it would gradually lose in value by becoming obsolete.
When all these points have been properly taken into account, it will be possible to divide up the whole of the costs sufficiently fairly as between running costs and standing charges, and so to estimate with sufficient accuracy the proba-ble cost per mile.
Association Among Users.
The adoption of a new system in one's business should not in every case involve one. in membership of "vet another a.ssocialton " as was once advanced
in the writer's presence, but when the horsed vehicle is discarded for the commercial motor, advantage un. dolibtedly accrues from membership of the Commercial Motor Users Association, which has its headquarters at 50, Pall Mall, London, S.W1., and has its organization-based upon a small number of local, centres each covering a well-defined district. Such an association is mainly useful in the provision of information, in the protection of members! interests, in legal advice and assistance, and in that co-operation among people with a common interest which tends to secure freedom from hampering restrictions and official annoyance. The legal side alone is worth far more than the annual subscription because the law relating to motorcars and heavy motor vehicles naturally has called for very special study, and without the requisite knowledge a user may often suffer injustice.
The Sphere of the Electric Vehicle.
A few years back, it was quite common for enthusiasts to claim superiority for the electric as compared. with the petrol vehicle, under pra,ctically all 6onditions. Now, every responsible _champion of the electric vehicle openly admits that it has distinct limitations,. being no more perfect than any other piece of machinery. Among its outstanding merits are its extreme cleanliness and freedom from any objectionable smell or fumes, its simplicity from the standpoint of control, its silence, andthe fact that it uses no fuel while the vehicle is standing still, The first point mentioned may well be sufficient to justify the members of Certain trades in selecting electric vehicles more or less regardless of the queslion of comparative economy. The electric vehicle has not a very high maximum speed, but, owing to its simple control and smooth and rapid acceleration, it can maintain an excellent average speed in dense traffic or on a journey involving a very large number of short. stops, For this reason, it will evidently compare better with the petrol vehicle in town than in the country, where the latter can take advantage of its higher speed capabilities on long stretches of open road. The petrol vehicle does not necessarily use. fuel while standing, but, in practice, a vehicle employed for delivery, work does so, because it is not worth while to stop the engine on every occasion and, even if it were, there would be few drivers so conscientious as to involve themselves in so considerable an addition to their work as is entailed by frequent starting up by hand. Thus, the merits of the electric vehicle point to its use for delivery work in towns and, in this class of work, its outstanding limitation, namely, its inability to cover long mileages without delays for taking in new supplies of fuel, does not enter seriously.-
Before deciding definitely on an_ electric vehicle, inquiries should be made as to the cost at which
current for the batteries can he obtained. This varies considerably in different places. There is -also the question of whether to use the local electric supply station, or to install a charging apparatus at one's own premises. A geod deal of useful advice on these subjects could, no doubt, be obtained from the secretary of the Electric Vehicle Committee, Ipswich. Another question to be considered is the type of battery to be used. There are two quite different types obtainable. The one stands up almost. indefinitely under rough usage, but is open ... to criticism as regards its efficienc3i.. The other is not quite so hardy, but is more efficient. The two main expenses in connection with the battery are renewal of plates and the cost of current.