NFC tells Govt.
Page 6
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IF the National Freight Corporation is to carry on as a commercial public business it needs an urgent financial reconstruction.
This is one of the main points in the NFC's response to the Government's Green Paper on transport policy. (Also •••ee News Extra this week on page 24.) The corporation believes that the Government should examine ways of encouraging the whole range of physical distribution activities.
And it makes the point that the publicly owned freight businesses do not have the necessary financial reserves and resources of their own to do this on the scale which is needed.
Schemes for working out the integration of different modes of freight carrying "would appear to be increasingly irrelevant today". For in the NFC there already existed an organisation with a central role and its successes should be reinforced.
"Integration between transport user and transport provider is more relevant than the complex integration of one mode with another," the corporation says.
It argues that "to meddle is to muddle" and that detailed intervention of discrimination by the Government carries grave risk of distorting and prejudicing industry and commerce.
The NFC urged that the trend towards own-account operators carrying for hire and reward should be looked at closely.
It also agreed with the Green Paper that road transport will continue to dominate freight movement. "But as a whole the industry is not in an excellent state of health. It is fragmented and in many cases the standards are too low."
For these reasons the corporation supported higher standards for entry into the business and also raising th operational and financia standards.
An environmental tax Col road users is complete': rejected. Such a tax would di nothing but put costs up.
However, the NFC doe believe that the tax on truck should reflect the level of row expenditure and it support continued road investment.
On a domestic front th, report devotes two chapters ti the future of Freightliners am National Carriers.
It can see "no merit what soever" in handin, Freightliner over to th Railways Board. At th moment it avoided conflic between road and rail am could react more quickly ti change. The company also hal a good track record unde NFC.
On National Carriers, NF( says that it would not help th process of change "so urgent': needed" if the company b given back to the railways.