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Can the Cost of
Page 106
Page 107
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TROLLEYBUS CURRENT
be Reduced?
YEARS of really hard spadework have been put into the development of the trolleybus, both by municipal authorities and by operating companies. The outcome is that its popularity is showing signs of a healthy increase, in the form of actual orders and in Parliamentary powers, which are either being sought or are granted and are ready for realization.
The vehicles concerned are, almost without exception, replacing trams. In comparatively few instances would it pay to install the overhead wires and ancillary apparatus when self-contained internal combustion engined buses are available ; therefore the tramreplacement basis is the vital one to consider in connection with matters raised in this article.
When the process of tram abandonment is mooted there are two courses open : (a) to buy troll,iyblises and alter the cables to suit the new conditions ; (b) to purchase petrol or oil-engined buses. Within close limits, all the constituent items of operating costs are known as they obtain to-day, but the future must be considered. Therefore, the fuel item, as being the most likely to fluctuate, is the bone of contention.
Obviously, the critic will lay his
Linger on the taxation item. That, we know, is subject to the whims of politicians, but the existing scales are not likely to be increased if the public weal really means anything at all to those who control or will control our destinies. On the other hand, liquid fuel prices are regulated by vendors and politicians, and are, on that account, fickle.
• The " fuel " of the trolleybus is its electric current, which is 'also in huge demand for other purposes. Such being the case, there are millions directly interested in electrical price control, so that some degree of stability seems likely to obtain.
The establishment of the Grid of the Central Electricity Board should tend in that direction. Obviously, with a scheme of such magnitude and material resources, the price per unit should not tend to rise. Will it come down and thus cheapen trolleybus working? That is the vital question.
Before art answer can be given, let us consider the outlines of the position. The selected stations generate current for the Grid of the Central Electricity Board and it is then sold to the authorized supply undertakings, which really act as retailers.
Now, the rates of " wholesale " or bulk supply are regulated for 10 years, therefore a decrease in that direction is not possible for the period named. The suppliers (" retailers '') pay, on the average, E3 10s. per kilowatt and .2d. per unit at the connection to the Grid. Mains and transformers thereafter are paid for by the .suppliers and a charge to cover this addition must be made when fixing the ultimate rates.
The mains may cost anything from £1,000 to £1,500 per mile. Allowing for interest charges (at 3i per cent.) and a life of 25 years for the transmission lines, the supply company would require to add about El 10s. per kilowatt, making £5 per kilowatt and .2d. per unit.
If a profit be required, something like .2d, per unit must be added, so that we get E5 per kilowatt plus Ad. per unit. Now this is the approximate basis upon which the public-supply salesman starts work.
The Grid has, in its various zones, stabilized "wholesale" rates, but the "retailer" is free to fix his own price with customers, including trolleybus undertakings. The lack of uniformity of retail prices is ern-. phasized in the accompanying panel.
It would seem, therefore, that as the wholesale prices are fixed for 10 years, the present "all-in wrestling" with regard to individual prices for trolleybus undertakings must continue for that period. Generally speaking, the transport department will have to pay, at least, but more likely something over, f5 per kilo watt plus .4d. per unit. Obviously, a high load factor will help enormously in obtaining a reasonable figure.
The answer to the question, " will the Grid reduce the costs of trolleybus operation,' is that it may do so, but such a result is not likely to happen for a decade. The next ques
tion of cost reduction concerns the period following the present 10year Grid arrangement.
Bearing in mind the £26,700,000 spent on the Grid, there will always be large capital items to consider, whilst the thermal efficiency of the best of the steam stations selected is just under 25 per cent. Many of the selected stations, however, fall to 10 per cent., and even 6 per cent. in odd cases, so that the cost per unit for fuel, even with coal at 12s. per ton, will always be a heavy item.
At present, tnere seern,3 to be no particular reason to expect an appreciable improvement without heavy capital expense, which would tell its own tale in depreciation allowances. Lower coal costs appear to be improbable.
The very size of the Grid seems to indicate that the cost of its product will not decrease to any material extent. We are left, therefore, with• the impression that " wholesale " rates will remain much as they are at present.
The next link in the chain is the local authorized supplier ; he is rightly vested with discretionary powers, as conditions must-vary so widely. Much may be done by associated trolleybus managers to
obtain more equality of treatment at the hands of the suppliers.
The trolleybus peak loads occur principally before or after industrial load peaks, as the men who use manufacturing plant cannot be in the workshop and on the road at the same time. The traction load is, therefore, a desirable one.
If corporate action will soften the local suppliers' hearts, the unit price may be decreased ; the real hope lies nearer the trolleybus operators' own doors than the Grid.
On the other hand, there are many eases in which the load factor of the traction undertaking and other conditions are such as to give little hope for obtaining a better price per unit from public-supply sources. An oil-engined station might then be run by the transport authority.
That this is no wild suggestion is made clear by a study of the varied costs data which appear monthly in our associated journal, The Oil Engine, Confirmation is graphically set forth herein: compare curves 1 and 2. Curve 1 is for an oil-engined plant with a 50-per-cent. stand-by ; curve 2 for the public-supply current at the minimum which the "retailer 'S can offer after adding a profit allowance of .2d. per unit to the Grid basic rate.
At load factors of less than 90 per cent., the oil-engined set gives lower current costs ;.most trolleybus undertakings have a lower load factor.
Further confirmation is contained in the most recent working-costs . report of the Diesel Engine Users Association. Dealing with 34 stations, generating 43,928,664 units on 138 engines, the cost for fuel, -lubricants, water and stores, wages, repairs and maintenance was .478d. per unit. This is a clear indication that trolleybuses can be operated still more cheaply.