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

22 MOTOR ROAD TRANSPORT supplies, and so on—either it was found impossible to continue the work, or the prices charged were so excessive as to be almost prohibitive. The average distance of the various villages and houses from their nearest centre of supply is probably four miles. The small shops are dependent for their stocks on irregular visits from their suppliers, with the inevitable result that an appreciable part of their business is fast departing, owing to the residential houses obtaining supplies in larger quantities at a time, direct from London or the nearest large provincial town. This method does not overcome all the consumer’s difficulties, for it does not apply to perishable goods, the demand for which is met only to a very limited extent by the shops in the nearest town which possess their own means of transport. The ability to carry a few passengers with a reasonable degree of comfort in addition to goods is a valuable asset to the country carrier, and it is advisable for anyone who contemplates making a start in this line to arrange for proportionale seating accommodation in his van or vans. The seats may well take the form of padded benches, with a broad leather belt as a back rest—the latter will be found to be far more comfortable than a rigid rest—as detachability is, of course, necessary for those occasions when the load is composed of goods only. Advice and Gautions. Here a word of warning is not out of place to those who intend to go in for this class of work. It is of the utmost importance to prospect the district thoroughly, and to do the necessary spade work before the van is bought. This ought to be done because the type of country in which the business is to be created, and the nature