Motor Road Transport For Commercial Purposes
(Liquid Fuel, Steam, Electricity)

 CHAPTER X ELECTRIC VEHICLES The electric vehicle for commercial purposes has undoubtedly come to stay, but until the time is ripe for the installation of charging stations along our main roads, making it possible to link up services— both passenger and goods carrying—from town to town, the electric car is unlikely to supplant that driven by means of liquid fuel. At the present time the scope of the former is limited to short distance deliveries in which. frequent halts have to be made. For such a sphere the electric chassis has been found in practice to be superior to any other form of transport. Advantages of Electric Transport. The chief advantages of the electric system are— (1) Ease of manipulation. (2) Economy in operation and maintenance. (3) Simplicity of construction, thereby requiring a minimum of attention for successful upkeep. (4) Elimination of energy-waste while the vehicle is at rest. (5) Smoothness of drive, and elimination of vibration from the mechanism. (6) Absence of exhaust gases,.—an important consideration in many classes of delivery. (7) Self-starting quality of the vehicle, coupled with instantaneous up-take of the load and rapid acceleration. (8) Minimized danger of fire, thus enabling a vehicle to be loaded or unloaded in a building which a petrol van would not be allowed to enter. (9) Comparatively slow rate of depreciation generally. (10) Good weight distribution. (11) Reliability due to simplicity of design.