Battery-Operated Vehicles
The value, within their recognised limitations, of battery-operated electric vehicles was emphasised by the general manager of the Municipal Electricity Department. (Mr E. Hitchcock) in a report to the Christchurch City Council, which recorded that the department’s electric brougham—“this elderly and almost matronly piece of M.E.D. transport”
—had had to be taken off the road for lack of tyres of the right size. The car has been used by the M.E.D. since 1923. It was one of three brought to New Zealand between 1916 and 1919. The range for each charge of the batteries was about 35 miles, and when new the speed was about 30 miles an hour. The mileage to date was 75,252, and in recent years it had been used by the testing department, its smooth running and lack of vibration making it suitable for the transport of test instruments. Mr Hitchcock recalled that at one time the depart-, ment was regularly charging 50 electric vehicles. New Zealand conditions and the high cost of batteries defeated the hopes that were held out for this kind of transport. The trucks were consistently overloaded and expected to work beyond their range.
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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 24, 13 September 1946, Page 2
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194Battery-Operated Vehicles Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 24, 13 September 1946, Page 2
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