NEARLY A MILLION DRIVERS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 130, 26 February 1937, Page 15

NEARLY A MILLION DRIVERS

Fewer Than 700,000

Owners

Australia is gradually approaching the million mark for licensed drivers of motor-vehicles. The figures for the financial year ended June 30, 1936, are hot yet available, but it is anticipated that the total licence-holders will be in the region of 950,000. At June, 1935, the aggregate w r as 910,218, which in turn showed an increase of 46,236 over the figures for the preceding year. AH told, there were at June last, 742,926 cars, commercial motor-vehicles and motor-cycles in service throughout the Commonwealth. It is thus evident that at present Hjere are something like 200,000 people in Australia who have licences to drive or ride motor-vehicles but do not own one. The fact that nearly 27 per cent, of the licensed motor-drivers in the country are not owners of motorvehicles is no doubt accounted for mainly by the army of men employed driving commercial motor-vehicles. There were 172,467 commercial vehicles serving industry at June last, and, although no statistics are available to show how many of these units are handled by paid drivers, there is little doubt that the total would exceed the 100,000 mark. This means that the number of professional drivers are receiving collectively something like £20,000,000 a year in wages. Needless to say, every one of the 200,000 persons who is licensed to drive, yet does not own a car, would soon become an owner of a car or motor-cycle if his or her means permitted.