Will the Hatchet be Buried?
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ACONCRETE structure which may do much to help the Transport Advisory Council in preparing its Report was submitted to the Council last Monday in the form of a joint memorandum by the railways and the Liaison Committee on Road Transport Rates.
Owing to the somewhat early release of certain information to the Press by the British Railways Press Office, it might appear that this Memorandum has received general approval from the road interests, but we must not be too hasty in jumping to this conclusion, for after several hours of deliberation at a meeting on Monday of the National Conference on Road Transport Rates, which was attended by some 80 representatives, discussion of the matter was postponed until to-day, and it is possible that further suggestions or modifications may be made. At the time of writing, however, we can deal-with the memorandum only as such.
This memorandum resulted from the informal conversations which have taken place between the two sides in connection with the railways' claim for freedom from rates control. It is considered as an important step towards the co-ordination of all means for transport, not as a form of nationalization, but with the retention of fair competition based upon quality of service, and without ratecutting as an inducement on either side. With suitable safeguards road transport should not fear such competition.
Most Vital Points in Memorandum.
The following points from the memorandum are of vital interest. It is considered impracticable to apply to road transport the present railway rates structure, with its elaborate classification, etc., and the two industries agree to set up immediately, and voluntarily, a Central Consultative Committee to arrange measures of co-ordination and to deal with any difficulties. This will formulate the principles on which agreements can be entered into in respect of rates for road and rail generally or for particular commodities, routes or areas, with due regard to other interests.
The Liaison Committee believes that adherence to voluntary agreements cannot be relied upon, and that it will be necessary to obtain statutory powers to secure their observance by all hauliers between the points or in the areas affected. Therefore it urges that any Bill to repeal restrictions on railway charges should include clauses for machinery to sanction agreements and to make the specified rates a condition of carriage obligatory on all hauliers and the• railways where concerned.
A New and Simple Rates Structure.
The railways consider that, subject to certain safeguards accepted by both sides, they will be able to build up a new and more simple rates structure, which will facilitate agreement on such matters as uniform control and standard conditions of carriage.
In return, the railways are prepared to withdtaw their request for the repeal of the existing law relating to their own conditions of carriage, and are prepared to continue to accept the obligation to obtain the approval of the Rates Tribunal.
This latter body, it is suggested, should be reconstituted as the Road and Railway Rates Tribunal, with an additional permanent member experienced in goods transport by road.
The railways hold the view that the Licensing Authorities, in exercising their discretion to grant or refuse A or B licences, must have regard primarily to the interests of the public generally, including those providing other transport facilities. With a view, however, to afford hauliers greater freedom to negotiate, within their industry, voluntary agreements towards a co-ordinated system of transport, they are prepared to give an undertaking that, unless after consultation with the Central Consultative Committee either side feels that there are exceptional circumstances, they will _ modify their attitude towards lbjections to licences. This arrangement not to raise objections will be for only the two years ensuing after the railways have been given their freedom, and will apply to the renewal or alteration of existing licences, and the granting of A licences for additional vehicles and of B licences where the operations are limited to a radius of 25 miles.
This undertaking will not, however, prejudice, a railway from giving, on request, information to a Licensing Authority concerning the transport facilities it provides, or from objecting to applications where applicants have failed to comply with the conditions of their licences. The Liaison Committee has accepted this suggestion without prejudice to any subsequent action by either party in seeking amendment of the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933.
The railways have also given an assurance that, although they seek to be free from the statutory obligation to publish rates, they will, in practice, do so for the use Of traders. The latter should have right of appeal on the question of reasonableness of rates, and this could be to the suggested Road and Railway Rates Tribunal.
Particularly important is the statement that nothing in the proposals involves any interference with the right of the trader to use his own vehicles under a C licence,
What Are Suitable Facilities?
THERE is more than a little significance in a 1 recent paragraph on our news pages referring to the grant of licences for additional vehicles to a South Wales haulier for the conveyance of frozen rabbits from there to London. In the railway propaganda, to which we have already referred, stress is laid upon the fact that the rail ways have no intention or desire to interfere with the operations of competing transport organizations. They stress that their desire is merely by fair means to retain or, maybe, to regain, traffic which is legitimately theirs. How does this expression of goodwill and fair-mindedness compare with the facts as disclosed in this particular case?
The transport of these frozen rabbits is, we understand, something arising from an industry which is entirely new and one which has been in being for only a few months. The rabbits, to the number of thousands per day, are trapped, skinned, cleaned, encased from the air, packed in hampers and then frozen. London is a centre for distribution for this food product, and those concerned are, of course, desirous of arranging for transport to that city. There is a peculiar feature about the traffic, namely, that the goods must be delivered into cold storage in London within 14 hours of their departure from the factory. If that 14 hours be exceeded the effects of the initial freezing will be lost and the food will become unfit for sale Attempts had been made to utilize the service of the railways and it had been found impracticable to do so because they cannot guarantee . delivery within the stipulated time, even if passenger services be utilized. At least the managing director of the works where these rabbits are frozen stated that he had found difficulties arise. He wished, therefore, to utilize road transport, which could give him that service.
It must have been entirely within the knowledge of the railways that the facilities they could offer were unsuitable. Yet they objected to a road haulage contractor being given licences to operate vehicles for this essential work.