'Honest plans'
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ROAD Haulage Association vice-chairman John Silbermann appealed to the Government to be honest and realistic when planning the future of the road transport industry.
Addressing the Chartered Institute of Transport in Manchester on Tuesday Mr Silbermann said that the Government's transport policy White Paper was "like the curate's egg — good only in parts."
MEMBERS of six institutes and associations met in Cardiff last week to thrash out with officers from the Department of Transport the Government's admission to the occupation of road haulier regulations.
More than 350 hauliers and coach operators crammed into the meeting to hear Fred Channing and Alan Williams, of the DTp, explain just what operators face when the new rules come into effect on January 1. South Wales LA Ronald Jackson acted as chairman.
They heard Mr Channing assure them that the new regulations apply only to hauliers and not to ownaccount freight operators, and even then only to operators of vehicles over 3.5 tonnes unladen weight.
But he made it clear that transport managers in ownaccount fleets will still be able to apply for their certificates of competence as if they were managers of general haulage fleets.
The DTp is not planning to produce certificates of competence for coach operators, but it will be operating a register of people who are competent to manage a passenger fleet.
It was also revealed that some of the six bodies who took part in the meeting, the Chartered Institute of Transport, Institute of Traffic Administration, Road Haulage Association, Freight Transport Association, Institute of Road Transport Engineers and the Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport are to issue their own identification cards to qualified members. Some aspects of the policy had gained instant support in the industry but others contained many contradictions.
He accused the Government of making it clear in the White Paper that rail offered no real alternative to road transport "and yet huge deficits are written off at the expense of the taxpayer," he said.
Mr Silbermann also suggested that the Government was vote-catching by pandering to the environmentalist lobby over the question of 40tonne vehicles.
"Concern is expressed about the conservation of energy resources but when it comes to giving consideration to the use of 40-tonne vehicles the concern gives way to fears of the reaction and no doubt the voting power of the environmentalist lobby," said Mr Silbermann.
And he also expressed alarm at the prospect of yet more taxation for the road haulage industry on the basis of "highly disputable estimates and highly disputable allocations of costs to various road users."