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

152 MOTOR ROAD TRANSPORT * The prices for the solid tyres are of necessity approximate, as the cost of different makes varies widely. From these figures it will be seen that the price of the air-filled tyre is greatly in excess of that of the solid. Nevertheless, initial cost, as any wise business man knows, is by no means necessarily a deciding factor. The points for consideration are— (1) How much fuel and oil will be saved in the year by running on pneumatics, compared to solids ? (2) How much lower will be the annual charges for depreciation and repairs ? (3) How much more business will be gained by the improved transportation of goods or passengers ? (4) How much more business will be gained by the possibly extended radius, due to increased vehicle speed ? To-day we have not a sufficiently wide and varied experience in the extensive running of commercial motor vehicles of the heavy kind on big pneumatics to enable us to set out statistics on these various items. What particulars we liave, however, point with no uncertain finger towards achieving a definite success in substantially reducing the operation costs of motor vehicles when run on giant pneumatics. Were the pneumatic tyre widely adopted commercial motor vehicle design would be revolutionized, and instead of building heavier and heavier chassis in order to stand up to roads which. the same chassis destroy, and destroy increasingly, we should get the lighter class of motor, with consequent reduction of taxation and operation costs, and the product of the useful load and the number of miles it is carried would be increased beyond the standards existing to-day. The following remarks on how to effect economy