MOTORS IN RUSSIA

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 888, 4 February 1930, Page 6

MOTORS IN RUSSIA

DEVELOPING THE COUNTRY The Soviet Republic, realising the need for good roads to open up its interior to trade and markets, has formed an automobile association known as the Avtodor, or Society of Automobiles and Roads. Throughout Russia's great stretch of land, housing about 150,000,000 persons, there are only 21,000 motor vehicles. This is attributed to the lack of good roads. The plans of the Avtodor call for a road-building programme of 15,000 miles or paved highways and 75,000 n-iles of modern surfaced roads within 10 years. When these roads are constructed, there will have been created a greater market of motor vehicles, because of agricultural markets that will open up with these roads. The Avtodor is participating in plans for an automobile plant in Moscow. A goal of 100,000 light passenger cars and trucks has been set. Motor-buses are becoming popular. They were first used in Moscow in 1925, and by the end of 1927 there were 160 in the city. This year an appropriation was made for the purchase of 200 additional buses to furnish transportation in the city. Within the next three years the number of buses in operation within Moscow will be 1,400 and more than 2,000 modern taxi-cabs will also be in service by the end of this year.