The Motor versus the Horse

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1790, 8 November 1919, Page 11 (Supplement)

The Motor versus the Horse

What Christchurch Statistics Tell An interesting story is told by statistics relating to vehicles licensed in the city of Christchurch in the past 15 years. At the beginning of. that period there were 116 horse cabs in the city, and two motor taxis. On November lof this year there were 31 horse cabs and 178 motor taxis. Licensed motor vans, however, have not become sufficiently numerous in the city to have much effect on the number of licensed carriers* vans. The principal effect which motor transport has made on the use of horse-drawn vehicles in Christchurch so far has been in respect to the delivery of goods by mercantile firms possessing their own vans. There are about 83 motor delivery vans, apart from those which are licensed. The following table shows the numbers of licenses issued for cabs and carriers' vans in Christchurch in the 1905-19 period:—

g Year. Horse Cabs Licensed. Carriers’ Horsed Vans Motor Taxis Licensed. Motor Vans Licensed. 1 1905 116 Licensed. 183 2 a 1906 132 225 2 - 8 1907 127 . 3311* 1 — § 1908 119 191 — - g 1909 103 196 7 — § 1910 97 196 27 - 1911 75 147 78 — 1912 66 169 111 — * 1913 65 213 143 6 , 1914 57 200 149 7 1915 48 195 139 8 1916 38 169 133 10 1917 31 181 143 7 1918 31 193 139 7 1919* 31 219 178 26 - *To November i. tExhibition year.