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

ADVANTAGES OF MOTOR TRANSPORT 15 situated at a certain distance from the central stores. It is a faet worthy of note that, owing to the inereased scope of the motor van, allthese eight depots have been dispensed with, and the radius of distribution has in no way been curtailed. Moreover, deliveries are now undertaken which would in some cases have been impossible with horse transport, and in many others impracticable. Under the new system goods are delivered within a radius of 50 miles, and in special cases up to 100 miles, direct from the central store, and in the case of perish- ables, this is of great importance, since foodstuffs can be purchased in the market and be delivered at their destination the same day, instead of being held up over night as was previously the case. A further point is that the firm finds that furniture delivery to Oxford from London, for instance, is far less costly in expenditure and time by motor than by rail, whereas with horses it would not prove practicable. A comparison drawn between horse and motor haulage showed that the latter was capable of being worked at 40 per cent, less cost than the former. As exemplifying how largely the motor can be used, and is being used in conjunction with railways, the chart on p. 16 showing the mechanical road transport employed by one of the railway companies in this country (whose commercial motor vehicles run approx- imately 1,563,000 miles per annum) from 1905 to 1920, is interesting. Success for the Small Man: A Striking Example. The following is a good example of what may be. done in a small way, and the case is particularly inter- esting in view of the faet that the owner had little mechanical knowledge, but was most painstaking in