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

ELECTRIC VEHICLES—RUNNING COSTS 83 The wages charge includes, in addition to the driver’s wages, the cost of the labour spent on maintenance and repairs. The cost of material appears to be rather high, but it includes £6 lOs. for a duplicate set of chains which, strictly speaking, should be a Capital charge. Other outstanding items are— £ s. d. Lubricants . . . . . . 6 7 11 Paraffin . . . . . .13- Rags ............................1 5 11 “ Ferodo ” brake lining . . . . 2 13 2 Water, distilled . . . . . 1 7 11 The average current consumption for the twelve months including motor-generator losses, worked out' at 108 units per mile, which, at 0’5d. per unit, equals 0‘54d. per mile. The tyres cost £25 the set at that time, and carried a guarantee of 12,000 miles, and the cost per mile was therefore 0-5d. Thus the total costs per mile run were— Wages and Capital charges, etc. . . . 6-07d. Current ...... 0-54d. Tyres ....... 0-50d. 7-lld. Average Mileage and Maintenance. The average miles per hour maintained during the year, based on the total hours in commission, and influding all loading and unloading time in addition to the actual hours on the road, is given, of course, by dividing the total number of miles run by the total number of hours in commission, and equals 3’45 m.p.h. For the period in question the average rate of pay to the driver was approximately 7|d. an hour, therefore the cost of driving equals 2*17d. per mile. The cost of maintenance which was included in the