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Utivalvtaided outbutst
Page 40
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I feel that knowing you personally allows me to make these comments in reply to your Editorial "Toughen up 0-licensing," without it being taken personally.
As a user of "haulage" and an "own-account" operator with an 0-licence margin of well over 100 vehicles, I feel that your biased outburst against the FTA, of which we are members, is completely unwarranted and out of context.
challenge you, on behalf of the FTA to obtain and publish the full report which they made to the Committee of Inquiry.
To blame all "haulage" bankruptcies on the 0licensing system in this age of inflation is irresponsible.
Your reference on the Licensing Authorities being reduced to a rubber stamp, I must leave them to comment on. My experience of the Northern Area, which you have reported on, and in fact, asked us to protest as illegal, is that a licence would be granted for one year only after due examination in open court. Only after the probation period and further examination was a full licence granted.
In conclusion, Sir, I question your statement, "The liberation of the licensing system was ill-conceived and has done much to damage our industry." When did the Commercial Motor become part of the industry, and by what right do you speak for us?
JIM ROGERS, Transport director, Robertsons (Bakers) Ltd. Carlisle.
The margin on an 0 licence is normally regarded as the difference between the number of vehicles authorised and those in use or specified. It is considered that 10 per cent is a fair margin and if Rohertsons (Bakers) Ltd has a 100 vehicle margin then the firm is larger than we had thought.
We have the full FTA report, Sir, so your "challenge" is accepted. We did not blame all haulage bankruptcies on the system.
We do not understand your comments on the Licensing Authorities.
More than 80 per cent of our staff were recruited from the industry and with respect to your opinion, the technical press is very much a part of the road transport industry.
We do not claim to speak for you but we do claim the right to speak—Ed.