No Compromise on Traders' Freedom
Page 26
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THE Traders Road Transport Association took no sides in political affairs, but was prepared to fight, without compromise, any restriction of C-licence freedom. This unequivocal statement was made by the Association's president, Mr. K. C. Turner, at the London and Home Counties divisional luncheon in London last week.
He followed the declaration by remarking that to a large extent the preservation of that freedom lay in operators' own hands: any smoking lorry or inconsiderate driving by an employee had an immediately adverse effect on road transport's image.
Mr. Turner suggested that those bodies whose evidence to Geddes favoured C-licence restrictions should take a long, careful look at the German situation. There the Government was having to reverse the long-standing restriction of road transport by sheer force of economic facts, and was liberalizing road operations.
Traffic congestion, with its attendant irritation for motorists, was, he suggested, one of the root causes for attempts to control C-licence traffic in favour of the railways. Despite the Buchanan Report, or perhaps because of it, the T.R.T.A.'s traffic work was likely to increase. The Association had, like others, been afraid that the Report would be quietly shelved but Mr. Marples had now categorically denied this; they were nevertheless disturbed by the Government's reluctance to accept the idea of regional development agencies to implement Buchanan.
Mr. Marples was mentioned by another speaker, Mr. G. F. Page, London and H.C. divisional chairman, who said that one aspect of modern transport development which tended to be overlooked was the Minister's ability to pick the right men for the job. Mr. Page was speaking especially in the context of the many reports — Buchanan, Hall, Beeching, Geddes—which Mr. Marples had commissioned.
He made a plea for the retention of the London traffic management unit. He hoped that, despite the coming of the Greater London Council, at least part of the very valuable management unit would be kept in existence, perhaps as a mobile squad available to authorities throughout the country for advice on traffic schemes.