NO DISCRIMINATORY TAX, SAYS T.R.T.A. REPORT TO GEDDES
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IN the interests of transport efficiency traders and manufacturers should remain free to use whatever means of transport is most suitable, including their own C-licensed vehicles; goods vehicle operators should not be subject to discriminatory taxation in excess of their fair share of the cost of road construction and maintenance; the C licence and C hiring allowance should be retained in their present form and subject to existing conditions; and the qualification for a holding company C licence should be extended to take account of changed conditions. These are the principal points which the Traders Road Transport Association has stressed in the 25,000-word memorandum it has now sent to the Geddes Committee which is inquiring into the road transport licensing system.
The provision for a holding company C licence (at present effective only in the case of at least 90 per cent ownership) should be extended to embrace all companies where the holding company has effective control, says the T.R.T.A.; or, if this term is unacceptable, where the holding company has 51 per cent of voting rights. The T.R.T.A. feels that with recent trends towards larger groupings through mergers and take-overs there is no good reason why transport between companies which are genuinely part of a group, and is therefore to all intents andpurposes transport on "own account ", should have to be done on B licence.
The evidence presented to the Geddes Committee explains in considerable detail exactly why trade and industry need to use their own transport and quotes numerous examples which show that C-licensed transport is much more than the mere carriage of goods between two fixed points. For example, the greengrocer's vehicle which goes daily to market becomes the centre of a complicated buying operation in which the driver is required to inspect and accept or reject produce according to his knowledge of the requirements. Other examples show that companies which make large use of professional haulage nevertheless use their own vehicles for certain special products requiring particular tare or specialized knowledge on the part of the driver--the latter being a frequent reason for the choice of C-licence operation.
The flexibility of transport which C-licence operation permits is, stresses the T.R.T.A., especially valuable in dealing with urgent orders for the retail trade and in the provision of adequate service in the agricultural field.
Companies which use professional transport but also run their own vehicles for particular consignments have as their sole concern "efficient transport, irrespective of the particular means which best meets that criterion ", Lord Geddes has been told by the T.R.T.A. And in n4 urging retention of the freedom of a firm to choose the most suitable form of transport, including the use of its own vehicles, the Association adds that this plea "rests upon the simple fact that only the user has the full knowledge and experience which are necessary to enable the right decision to be made ".
Answering those who advocate restriction to make companies send goods by rail instead of in their own vehicles, the Association says there would be enormous disadvantages in loss of transport efficiency: rail transport and C licence operations are fundamentally dissimilar and not competitive over a wide range of traffic. "Only under a system of freedom of choice will traffic find its way to the particular means of transport for which it is in fact suitable."
Dealing with criticisms of empty run
ning by C-licence vehicles, the repos quotes Ministry of Transport figures t show the extent to which these arc bade on both outward and return journeys an states: "It is not generally realized hos many C-licensed vehicles carry retur loads." Vehicles delivering finished prc ducts often pick up raw materials o return and in the distributive trades back load is often provided by returne empties or packing materials. In an case, says the report, the value o returning with a full load has to b weighed against the loss of the vehicl and driver's usefulness if they have t wait at a destination for a full load t, become available. More efficient utiliza tion is in many cases secured by th vehicle returning empty, says the T.R.T.A
Inevitable Growth
Of the increase in numbers o C-licensed vehicles the Association say that one factor is the sharp growth ii vans and lorries used by service indus tries, following upon the spread o mechanization in home, office and fac tory. "In the view of the T.R.T.A. th, growth of C-licensed vehicles is a natura and inevitable development based on th, inherent advantages which are offered over a large range of traffic, by mac transport in general and C-licensei vehicles in particular. In addition i should be borne in mind that road trans port has created trade and traffic when none existed before, and has therefon helped the growth of the economy. I reflects the constant search for efficienc! in a healthy and expanding economy.'
And on the widely canvassed sugges tions that urban traffic congestion conk be solved by transferring more .freigh from road to rail, the Association point: out that this would be no solution, a: terminal deliveries in towns have to bt made in 99 per cent of all cases by rocs( vehicles.