Summary:

Reijo Valta, Following the traces of early motoring – How authorities in Northern Finland supported and monitored early motoring

The emerging of trading and commercial centres has generally been brought about by transportation networks. By definition, a trade centre has good transportation connections; the centre forms the nucleus of the transport system. This article looks into the early phases of automobilisation in the North of Finland until 1914. How did state authorities see the new possibilities for spatial mobilisation? How was new technology adopted in cities and in the country, with their respective administrational structures?  

In the early stages of increased automobile use, local authorities merely observed its development. The Governor had no stipulative powers over who was to offer automobile services and how, but instead he would handle the incoming, albeit useless applications to fulfil the wishes of the authorities. As for law and order, the emphasis was on controlling mobility. With the automobile promising freedom of mobility for long distance journeys in the periphery, it was deemed necessary to limit this freedom by law; as was the case with horse-powered transport, the police wanted to be aware of the whereabouts of the travellers. Early companies offering regular services, however, caused little concern for the police. The planning of most routes remained at an experimental stage. 

The end of 1914 saw the expropriation of most Finnish automobiles by the Russian army. The choice of who and which areas were able to keep their vehicles was made by the authorities. Subsequently, only two regions, Oulu and Salla - where the automobile had became an integral part of the local transport system - had more than one automobile left after the expropriation.
Opportunities offered by the automobile were embraced in the centre and the periphery concurrently. New technology was not distributed by the centre, but rather, adopted everywhere at the same time and its appropriation was based on local needs.