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Burden to be Eased

18th March 1960, Page 41
18th March 1960
Page 41
Page 42
Page 41, 18th March 1960 — Burden to be Eased
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Keywords : Business / Finance

THE Government's new determination not to rely solely on huge public loans and ill-disguised subsidies to revive the railways will be welcomed by the road transport industry, as well as by all users of transport. In introducing the Cabinet's proposals, Mr. Harold Macmillan, the Prime Minister, said: "The life and trade of the nation require a railway system, but it must not be allowed to become an intolerable burden on the national economy." The burden may not yet be intolerable, but it is certainly heavy, and statistics of taxation suggest that road users are bearing an undue proportion of it.

The total yield from taxes levied on the use of road vehicles in the current year is estimated at L568m., of which £108m. will be spent on road works of all kinds in England, Scotland and Wales, and £460m. will be retained for general revenue purposes. From the Exchequer the railways will take millions of pounds by way of a loan to offset losses, and to that extent it is fairly arguable that road transport is subsidizing them.

That unhappy situation is likely to continue so long as a sprawling railway system is conducted on Victorian lines. Technical re-equipment will be of no avail while management is out of date. While the railways make heavy calls on the public purse, a strict limit on expenditure on the roads is inevitable, although motor-vehicle owners pay for them many times over. The contraction of an outdated railway network, for which there is an inadequate public demand, must be accompanied by a great expansion of an equally outdated road network, for which there is an overwhelming public demand.

Recipe for Success It is entirely reasonable that the British Transport Commission should be relieved of onerous obligations, such as those of common carrier. With the ready availability of alternative means of transport, it is no longer necessary that trade and industry should be protected by restrictions on the railways. The Commission should be allowed to operate with complete commercial freedom. To make full use Of that facility, however, a large measure of decentralization and delegation, such as the Government propose, is essential. It requires to be accompanied by the raising of the status of railwaymen on the lines suggested by the Guillebaud report. Many railway workers have for far too long been underpaid, and the recommendations of the Guillebaud Committee give them no more than their due.

But there are obligations on both sides. If they are to enjoy greatly improved wages and conditions, railwaymen must co-operate in making their undertaking a success. They must accept drastic cuts in the organization to a pattern commensurate with current needs. They must revive the old idea of service to the public, without which the railways, no matter how much public money is poured into them, will never flourish. The success of the road transport industry is based on the willingness of all engaged in it to put the customer first. If the railways wish to stage a comeback, they must follow the example of their competitors. The continuance of the relative freedom enjoyed by road transport and its power to expand may depend on their ability to do so.

The immediate effect of raising railwaymen's wages will be an increase in fares and certain freight rates. In the circumstances, it is vitally important that the Guillebaud report should not be used as a lever by workers in other industries to secure advances in wages. which will create a new upward spiral in wages and in production costs already inflated by higher freight charges. Already the report is being quoted by London busmen as a reason for another big increase in pay, and the argument may be expected to be employed in support of provincial bus workers and of road haulage workers. To do so would be clearly against the public interest. There is no justice in the present difference between the levels of wages of railwaymen and workers in other industries, and to try to perpetuate it by raising pay all round would precipitate a national economic disaster.

An Expensive Error

ASALUTARY example of the unfortunate consequences that may ensue from an honest mistake comes from Scotland. A man applied for a B licence for a van and at the end of the hearing the Scottish Licensing Authority verbally refused the application. A junior clerk later sent in error a notice. that the application had been granted. On inquiry at the Licensing Authority's office, the operator was told that the radius would be that specified in the application.

He then realized private capital to buy a used van. Immediately he had done so he received written confirmation from the Licensing Authority's office of the verbal refusal of the licence. This decision was published in Applications and Decisions. The operator now has to sell the van and is likely to incur a loss. Whilst it is true that the clerical error should never have occurred, the operator should have known that he was not entitled to the licence, and must now bear the consequences. No liability attaches to the Licensing Authority, although, if a verbal grant had been cancelled by a published refusal, it might have been possible to proceed against him,


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