PLAYING FIELD WITH A SLOPE
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So UK hauliers trying to earn an honest living abroad are about to be clobbered again. Not only do the Germans want to triple motorway tolls in a bid to reduce traffic, they want tolls to be extended to the whole road network to catch those smart enough to use trunk roads. Since when have the UK's 15,000 international operators had pockets lined with ready cash? Yes, of course it must be irritating to have foreign trucks travelling through your country, carrying foreign goods for foreign consumption. But isn't this what the UK encounters with Irish vehicles transiting southern England on their way to or from their continental destinations? The UK doesn't attempt to force those Irish hauliers to pay for the privilege; after all we're all in the EU which is supposed to be based on free trade. At least domestic hauliers will be protected from these extra charges, won't they? It seems not. 0 ur own Department of Transport has decided that the £2.9bn that UK hauliers pay in vehicle excise and fuel duty is not enough to cover "environmental costs". It is reviewing how it calculates track costs and you can bet that any changes won't be in your favour. UK hauliers already pay the highest amount of VED in the EU (currently £3,100 for a fiveaxle 38-tonner) with fuel duty at 31p/lit. When tolls rise on the Continent hauliers are generally compensated in the form of VED cuts. Our transport industry perennially calls on the Chancellor to reduce VED too. Maybe he'll listen this year—but don't hold your breath. When politicians talk about the EU and tree competition they talk about a level 'playing field. There is nothing free about UK hauliers being forced to pay through the nose to get goods across mainland Europe. Germany, France, Spain. Italy, Belgium and Denmark all have some form of road charging systems—there is nothing level about this playing field. During the past two years, while the Government has been talking about road pricing, inter national operators have been paying for it elsewhere. Either we introduce it here and raise rev enue from foreign hauliers using our roads, (with reduced VED charges to our hauliers), or we lobby the EU to prevent other countries charging for road use. Knowing the UK government's ability or willingness to lobby the EU on transport matters, the first option would seem to be the more effective.