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

 88 MOTOR ROAD TRANSPORT A house-type meter placed on the wall above the charging plug is read when the vehicles come in for charging, and again when the batteries are fully charged. In all there are twenty-five charging plags, and each is on a separate circuit. By means of speaking tubes, communication is afforded between the stations and the engineer in charge of the power plant situated in the basement of the building. Detailed records are kept of the performance of each vehicle on forms drawn up with the following headings over vertical columns— Date. Journey to. Miles (out and in). Total miles. Meter Readings before and after charge. Total charge. Tyres renewed. Repairs and renewals. Mechanic’s name, Hours worked. Rate. Cost of labour. Topped up. Materials used. Cost of materials. General remarks. Summary of costs. Total costs. Detailed Records. In the following records current is taken at Id. per unit. In each case the figures are for six months’ running of 3| ton vans. I. II. Total miles travelled 4,161-8 3,590 D.C. units consumed 6,031 3,851 Cost at Id. per unit . . /25 2 7 P6 - 11 Labour and material for repairs . • £8 - 5 £4 - 91 Cost per mile current only . l-4d. l-07d. The cars were new on the road when the above records were commenced. The cost does not include depreciation, Insurance, or any over-head charge. It is interesting to note that the first electric vehicle