The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-03
EIldland To Use Truck
 Relay To Haul Freight

London, Mar 3.-The ''twenty-fve 1 mile hop" scheme is the boldest idea in motor transport yet planned for England and Wales. Its cost is pu; at $30,000,000 Its possibilities seem to be endless. In the new scheme all drivers are to do a 25-ni1e stage and then drive back again. The motor truck may do 200 miles or more, bu: no one driver more than twenty-five miles. Transport in England just now is one of the main problems of trade.
 The twenty-five mile hop" idea was evolved by A. C. Duncan, of ths London Motor Transport Company He is quiet New Zealander with an expert knowledge of transport prob lems MT. Duncan explained his plan with the aid of large key map.
 America he said, will probably supply the vehicles and some of the finance. If Americans get this busi- ness they will be doing the motor transport for the whole of England and Wales. Owing to the nun CT of motor trucks required they will be able to force on Great Britain standard commercial vehicle. This will lead to mass production. It will do good eventually to Great Britain by creating numerous motor unit and accessory n9 nufactories in England
 "The motor truck today is a neces- sity whereas before the war it was merely an accessory. To use it to the best advantage we must have orSanf- atfon. The only system that meets the case is the network system. By this system England and Wales are split up into a number of equ1- distant freight points, which may be described as points of convenience. So I have divided England and Wales into sixty areas, each as nearly as possible 1000 square miles. The area of England and Wales is a little more than 58,O00 square miles.
 England has the greatest commer- cial population per square mile of any country in the world and, there fore, the greatest need of transport. In the centre of each 1000 square mile area is to be a garage with a freight dump, in charge of a clerk responsible for the collection and de- livery of all freight relative to his area. If the freights to be delivered are external to his area they will he placed on the main service route run- ming through or taken to one of the four freight dumps at the corner of the area, in accordance with the deS- tination. In charge of the four corner stations will be four freight clerks"
 MT. Duncan explained by means of his key map his system of eight hour shifts and twenty five mile limits. There are to be twenty-nine main service routes. On these routes motor trucks will run all day and all night Let us take for instance, a motor truck starting for Liverpool from London. Its first driver will take it twenty-five miles Another driver will do the next twenty-five and a third the next stage, and so on. But the motor truck will go right through to Liverpool. Leaving London at A. M. it shu1d arrive at midnight and the freight should be delivered the following morning. This is quicker than railroad freight traffic today and the freight rates would not be more than those of the railroad.
 Each area is to have it's own col Iecting and delivery trucks. At each terminus a spare truck is to be kept and this is loaded up for the next Journey so that as soon as one truck ccmes in the driver tranfers to the loaded spare" and goes back along his own twenty-five miles of road This saves waste of time.
 Another means of saving time is by the use of trailers. All freight for the first stage goes on the trailer There another trailer is waiting an6 this goes on with the motor truck tc the end of the second stage. By this means time spent in loading or un- loading is cut down by at least 5C per cent.
 The men will be paid by the houI and work on eight hour shifts. AS they will always work within theil own area there will be no extra ex.