Lloyds: ETA says 'no'
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THE GOVERNMENT should have second thoughts about pursuing its increasingly unpopular plan to sell the 91 heavy goods vehicle test stations to Lloyd's Register of Shipping, Freight Transport Association president Ian Dallison said this week.
He was speaking at the FTA's annual dinner in London and with words aimed directly at Transport Under Secretary Reg Eyre, who was one of the guests, he drew attention to the proposals to raise test fees again this summer before the stations are sold.
That increase — which the Department of Transport says should stick for 12 months — would mean the fees will have risen by 42 per cent from November last year until mid-1983. It proposes a £34 hourly charge once Lloyd's takes over.
Mr Dallison said the industry would be very reluctant to accept such charges from any private sector garage, and told Mr Eyre: "Can it really make sense to hive off the stations, when the only apparent effect is a heavy transfer fee and greatly increased fees to the users."
Much of the rest of Mr Dallison's message was aimed at all the political parties who are awaiting the announcement of the general election date. All of them, he said, should agree on policies which will help industry reduce its distribution costs.
Increased speed limits on trunk roads was one way of helping achieve this, as would be a stepping up of the capital expenditure on road and railway development.
He agreed that roads alone would not create new jobs, but industrialists would not have the confidence to invest if the roads are not built. In particular, he cited improvements to the A30 to Cornwall, the routes from the Midlands to the East Coast ports, and the second Severn Crossing as examples of how transport improvements could boost industry.
Mr Dallison accused the Government of being blind to the investment value that road building represents.