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

CHAPTER VII PETROL VEHICLE COSTS OF OPERATION The difficulty, or rather the impossibility, of standard- izing running cost figures at the present time for the different types of motor vehicles, owing to constant fluctuation in prices of material and labour, and the varying conditions of the roads throughout the country has already been referred to in the Preface. The lists of costs given in Chapters 7, 8, 9, 11 and 13 will, however, serve as a practical basis from which to work, and if the trader will analyse the various schedules, and adjust here and there, according to current prices, his own particular requirements and nature of the service, he will be able to gauge with a fair degree of accuracy what his motor ought to cost him in operation. In the case of “ actual ” (i.e., not estimated) costs, the writer has made no attempt to bring them under one system. Every firm has its own way of keeping costs, and it is considered the best plan to reproduce actual costs as they were supplied by the owners of the vehicles. In order that there should be no misunderstanding, however, with regard to final figures, such as that of total vehicle cost per mile, the various tables are commented upon in an explanatory manner, and items which have not been included are mentioned. In some instances, costs taken over a pre-war period, during the war, and after, are given, and from these the rise in the cost of motor transport operation may be realized. Weekly Mileage and Vehicle Costs. It must always be remembered when studying registers of costs, that weekly mileage is an item which. affects the vehicle cost per mile very largely. 47