View source for Milk float

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[[Image:Milk float - Liverpool - 2005-06-27.jpg|thumb|right|275px|A milk float in [[Liverpool]] city centre, June 2005]]

A '''milk float''' is a [[battery electric vehicle]] (BEV), specifically designed for the delivery of fresh [[milk]]. The term is often also used for describing other vehicles such as light vans & trucks fitted with similar open bodies and a canopy that are used to deliver milk. They were once common in many European countries, particularly the [[United Kingdom]], and were operated by local [[dairy|dairies]].They took over in the early 20th century from the horse drawn carts that were used from the late 18oos to deliver milk.  However, in recent years, as the number of [[supermarket]]s, small independent [[grocer]]s and [[petrol stations]] stocking fresh milk has increased, most people have switched from having a regular daily home delivery to obtaining fresh milk from these other sources.

==Characteristics==
Because of the relatively small power output from its electric motor, a milk float travels fairly slowly, usually around {{convert|10|to|16|mph}} although some have been modified to do up to {{convert|80|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluebirdautomotive.com/e150.html |title=Electron E150 |publisher=Bluebird Automotive |date= |accessdate=2010-11-27}}</ref> Operators often exit their vehicle before they have completely stopped to speed deliveries; milk floats generally have sliding doors that can be left open when moving, or may have no doors at all. They are very quiet, suiting operations in residential areas during the early hours of the morning or during the night. Some earlly milk floates were pedestrian controlled with no cab, the delivery man walking infront and controlling it with a tiller. As distances from dairy to customer grew in the 1920 & 30s with vast new suburban housing estates the ride on float grew in popularity. 

==Statistics==
In August 1967 the UK Electric Vehicle Association put out a [[press release]] stating that Britain had more battery-electric vehicles on its roads than the rest of the world put together<ref name=Autocar1967 >{{cite journal | authorlink = Unsigned |title = News and Views: Britain's Electric Vehicles| journal = [[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] | volume =  127 nbr 3729| page = page 55| date = 3 August 1967}}</ref>  It is not clear what research the association had undertaken into the electric vehicle populations of other countries, but closer inspection disclosed that almost all of the battery driven vehicles licensed for UK road use were milk floats.<ref name=Autocar1967/>

Glasgow has one of the largest working milk float fleets in the UK. Most of the vehicles operate from the Grandtully Depot in Kelvindale. Some dairies in the UK, including [[Dairy Crest]], have had to modernise and have replaced their electric milk floats with [[petrol]] or [[diesel fuel]]-powered vehicles to speed up deliveries as the area covered by individual milk rounds has increased<!--  and thus increase profit -->.

==Manufacturers==
Manufacturers of milk floats in Britain in the 20th century included [[Smith's]], [[Wales & Edwards]], [[Osborne]], [[Harbilt]], [[Brush Electrical Machines|Brush]]([[Electricars]] & [[Morrison Electricars]]), [[Bedford Vehicles|Bedford]] and [[British Leyland]]. As of 2009, [[Bluebird Automotive]]<ref name="bluebird">{{cite web|url=http://www.bluebirdautomotive.com/q-ev70.html|title=Bluebird Automotive - Delivering The Future - The QEV70|accessdate=2009-09-04}}</ref> and [[Smith Electric Vehicles]]<ref name="sev">{{cite web|url=http://www.sev.co.uk|title=Welcome to SEV for Industrial Vehicles and Fleet Maintenance|accessdate=2009-01-04}}</ref> remain in the industry.

==Alternatives==
Before BEVs, dairy supplies were delivered using horse-drawn milk [[float (horse-drawn)|float]]s. This lasted from the late 19th century until the 1950s.<ref name="national_transport_mueseum_of_ireland" >{{cite web
  |url=http://www.nationaltransportmuseum.org/cv000.html
  |title=Commercial vehicles: As it was in the beginning
  |publisher=[[National Transport Museum of Ireland]]
}}</ref> Today, with rounds expanding in coverage to ensure profitability in the face of falling levels of patronage, the limited range and speed of electric milk floats have resulted in many being replaced by diesel-powered converted [[van]]s or pick-up trucks for rural areas.

==Preservation==
A large collection of milk floats and other BEVs is kept by the [[Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust]] at their museum.

==Images==
<gallery>
Image:Dairy Crest Milk Float Garage 2.jpg|A [[Dairy Crest]] Smith's Elizabethan milk float
Image:Ford Transit milk float.jpg|A Dairy Crest [[Ford Transit]] based milk float
Image:Dairy Crest Ex Unigate Wales And Edwards Rangemaster Milk Float.jpg|A [[Dairy Crest]] ex-[[Unigate]] [[Wales & Edwards]] Rangemaster milk float.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Electric platform truck]]
*[[Neighborhood electric vehicle]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Milk floats}}
*[http://www.milkfloats.org.uk/ Milk Float Corner]
*[http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com Smith Electric Vehicles website]
*[http://www.bluebirdautomotive.com Bluebird Automotive website]

{{Electric vehicles}}
{{clr}}
{{wikipedia}}

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[[Category:Electric vehicles]]
[[Category:Vans]]
[[Category:Battery electric vehicles]]
[[Category:Trucks]]