It is not considered that prior or periodical examination of
Page 48
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
goods vehicles is necessary, but that any vehiele might be examined and, if found unfit, the licence in respect of it should be withdrawn or suspended. (C) A plate (differing in colour for hauliers and ancillary users) shall be affixed to each vehicle, giving the number of the owner's licence and an individual number. This should be additional to the revenue licence plate. In applying, the applicant shall attach a list of the vehicles for which licences are required, giving the registration numbers, unladen weights and maximum loads, and these particulars should also appear on the vehicle. (D) The licensing authority shall grant the licence requested by a haulier, except where this would be in whole or in part against the public interest, on consideration of the following factors:—(1) Any excess of existing facilities suitable to meet the public requirements ; (2) any actual or prospective congestion or overloading of the roads; (3) the licensing authority shall be entitled to take into consideration particulars of the convictions registered against the applicant or his employees for the previous year in respect of offences in connection with his vehicles or of his bankruptcy ; (4) the licensing authority shall act subject to directions from the Minister of Transport, who shall be advised for the purpose by a new permanent Central Advisory Committee of appropriate composition ; (5) he shall publish in a suitable form periodical statements of applications for new licences with the date by which any objection must be forwarded to him. He shall consider any objection and may ask for oral evidence in support or in answer to it. (E) Au ancillary user shall be granted freely such licences as he may request for the carriage of his own goods, subject to the conditions specified in (B) and (C), but not in (D). The holder of an ancillary licence shall, after due notice, be prohibited from carrying other goods than his own, whether for reward or reciprocal service, except as regards vehicles confined to a radius of ten miles.
(F) There shall be a right of appeal from the decisions of the local licensing authorities. It is considered that theMinister of Transport should arrange a machinery of appeal on the advice of the Central Advisory Committee. It is considered of great importance that this should avoid delay, and in particular legal expense. In the introduction of this ,system it is presumed that care would be taken ta prevent unnecessary disturbance and hardship. It is considered that all hauliers already in business, or ancillary users employing. Some of their vehicles partly in haulage operations, at the date when the Conference was appointed in March' last, should, without question, receive their ;first year's licence. Reasonable notice should also be given before the enforcement of the prohibition against ancillary users carrying the goods of others.
In addition to this general system the Conference makes recomniendatious on three other matters involving action by the authorities.. It is considered desirable that such records of journeys should be kept as will help to secure the observance of the prescribed conditions of maximum weight to be carried and hours of work. It is recognized, however, that many special cases require detailed consideration before any obligation is imposed.
It is considered that the licensing system proposed should be brought into immediate operation, and that the Minister should examine the question of the control of rates.
Restrictions on Road Traffic.
DART IV concerns measures which may assist the two I sides of the industry to carry out their functions under equitable conditions which adequately safeguard the interests of trade and industry. To some extent, these have been covered by the recommendations as to the incidence of highway costs and licensing, and it is considered that it is not • practicable to go much farther than this in the present report. The conference agrees, however, with the Royal Commission on Transport that it is net in the national interests to encourage further diversion of heavy goods traffic from the railways to the roads, and it recommends that the Minister of Transport should obtain powers to prohibit by regulation classes of traffic which are borne by rail and which, having regard both to the character -of the commodity and the distance, are unsuitable for road haulage, from being transferred in future to the road. The Minister should seek the advice of the Central Advisory Committee in regard to details concerning these different classes of traffic. Such restriction would apply equally to hauliers and ancillary users. It is not contemplated that such negative action will determine division of function except to a relatively limited extent. It is conceived that, in the main, transport will divide itself between road and rail as the demand of those who require it and the facilities offered determine. The best division of function will be obtained mainly through the deliberate effort of those engaged in road and rail transport co-ordinating their services and giving the public the full advantages of complementary service.
The hauliers on the one hand and the railways on the other are essentially two branches of the nation's commoncarrier service. More and more it is conceived that whilst they may still compete with each other, they will in future be concerned NO to organize their services that in collaboration they can attract the public to resort to them for all classes of traffic in which large-scale organization has great advantages.
For local collection and local delivery and for a distance which varies with the nature of the traffic, road transport has its undeniable advantages; Beyond certain distances, for certain classes of service, railway transport is unquestionably preferable. There is room for scientific inquiry as to the most economic form of transport for each class of goods—up to what distance in each case road transport is the more economical and what point at the railway. The Conference is conscious that the rejection of one part of its scheme might endanger the whole, and it states that it has taken special pains in each sphere to avoid prejudice to absent interests. The incidence of highway costs which is recommended, for example, is not inconsistent with a reduction, continuance or an increase of the charges now levied on private motorists.
Details of the Appendices.
THEHE appendices of the report are lettered A to G. A shows how the •figure of £60,000,000, adopted as a basic annual road expenditure, was arrived at. B is an analysis of the gross expenditure for the year 1930-1931, and shows the sources from which this was made.
C gives the basic figures used for the purpose of the calculation shown in later appendices. This includes the number of mechanically propelled vehicles of each class, the average mileage, the average ton-miles per vehicle per annum, figures for average petrol consumption and the notional petrol consumption shown in respect of non-petrolusing vehicles.
1) shows the allocation of the 160,000,000 amongst fhe different classes of vehicle, on the basis of the ton-mileage of each, £1,500,000 having been taken out of the total and allocated specifically amongst vehicles exceeding 4 tons in unladen weight, on an increasing ratio of unit weight, with an adjustment in favour of goods vehicles to allow for their legal speed of 20 m.p.h. or less, as compared with 30 m.p.h. for public-service vehicles. It also shows the allocation of the £60,000,000 on the basis of the petrol consumption per vehicle per annum and the mean of the ton-mileage basis of allocation and that for' petrol consumption; finally, the amounts by which the different classes of vehicle are, by their present payments in licence and petrol duties together, paying more or less than they would pay under the mean
ystem of allocation. E is an expression, on a per-vehicle basis, of the results shown in total in D and the amount which should be payable per vehicle in the form of licence, assuming the continuance of petrol duty at the present rate of 8d. per gallon, if the mean of the ton-mileage and petrol-consumption basis of allocation were applied.
F expresses a proposed arrangement under which the total contribution from all goods vehicles was taken at 123,500,000, as compared with 123,847,554 produced by the mean basis of allocation. It was part of the arrangement that the total contribution 'payable per vehicle in cases where the mean basis of allocation produeed an amount less than the present yield on petrol duties and licence duties together, would be left at the present level.
G shows the allocation of £23,500,000 amongst the different classes of commercial goods vehicles in accordance with the recommendations of the road representatives. Out of the £60.000,000 a sum of £7,500,000 has. been set aside as a payment to be made by all vehicles on a per capita basis for the franchise of the roads. An apportionment of this sum has been made to commercial goods vehicles in the ratio of 23,500,000 to 60,000,000, giving 12,937,500, which is equivalent to £8.45 per vehicle. The balance has been distributed on the mean of a flat ton-mile allocation and a petrol-consumption allocation, and the result of this apportionment plus the franchise charge gives the new basic licence duties.