STILL CONFUSION'OVEI
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No Uniformity of Policy Among Commissioners : Operators Not Told Whether Issues are Interim
GOODS-VEHICLE operators who have so far been issued with
supplementary fuel rations are nearly as much in the dark as those who are still awaiting a decision from the Regional Transport Commissioners. In the main, the successful applicants have received amounts equal to, perhaps, a third or half of their basic allowances and, even then, only some have been told that this represents an "interim" issue.
A complete lack of uniformity on policy among the Commissioners was revealed by a nation-wide survey made by The Commercial itifolor this week.
Metropolitan Area: By early this week, few people had received the supplementary ration. It is understood that operators are partly to blame, because the issue of the extra allowance is being held up until the bulk of the expected applications has been received, and many operators have not so far applied.
One operator who has had an outright refusal covers a 20-mile rural area in Surrey. Among his commitments are the movement of bricks, and the carriage of ashes from hospitals and gas and water works. none of which could he done by the railways.
North-West: It is understood that about two-thirds of the applications for the supplementary allowance in the Manchester sub-district have been refused. This sub-district is the largest in the area, covering approximately a 10-mile radius of Manchester Town Hall.
Applications that have been granted are, in the main, equal to half the basic ration. Where this is considered to be insufficient, operators are being advised by the Commissioner to make a second application to their dittrict office.
10% Grant of Fuel A Salford haulier, who thought he had "cut to the bone" his application for supplementary, has received only a tenth of the amount requested. At the present rate of consumption, he said, stocks would last until the end of this month.
Supplementary rations granted to C-licensees have generally been well below file amounts applied for. The first reaction of many of these operators was that if more fuel could not be obtained employees would have to be laid off. Some concerns might have to close down.
A representative of Redman, Ltd., provision merchants, who have 80 shops in the area, said they would have to close down if foodstuffs could not be delivered to them.
The general manager of a large northwest warehousing concern said they would get a sixth of their normal consumption of fuel.
Coal merchants believe that unless they receive a big increase, households will be short of coal. One big coal distributor in Manchester said his present supply was enough to run his vehicles half-a-day a week. Hull: Successful applicants for supplementary petrol have received only part of the amounts they requested, but have been told that they are "on account." A spokesman of' the Road Haulage Association said that most of the amounts so far issued had been "fairly reasonable." There had beena numbelof refusals. He had not heard how applicants for extra oil fuel had fared. Sheffield: "Advance issues," in some cases equal to the basic ration, have been received by a number of operators, although progress on the issue of supplementary fuel generally appears to he slow. An R.H.A. representative said that in view of the essential nature of traffics (coal and steel) in the district, lie was hoping that applications generally would be granted.
Leeds: The local R.H.A. spokesman had little to report on the issue of supplementary fuel in his area. The few applicants who had received their extra rations were "very disappointed," he said.
Nottingham: Priority users are being issued with up to a third of their basic ration, an R.I-LA. representative said, but it was not clear whether or not this was an interim grant. There_had been a number of refusals, all concerning non-priority traffics. The East Midland Commissioner was dealing " very quickly" with applications, and it was believed that most of those submitted before Christmas had been handled by early this week.
Eastern Counties: Many hauliers are finding their first instalment of supplementary fuel only equal to another week's running. Others had, earlier this week, received none at all, but on investigation by Mr. G. W. Irwin. secretary of the Eastern Area of the R.H.A., lack of information on the application form was found to be the cause.
Uncertainty and inconsistencies still persist. Some ,hauliers have been told that their supplementary grants were a, first instalment. whilst others have not. In neither case do the operators know what proportiou of the total supplementary issue they have received and so cannot plan ahead. One Norwich haulier had to decline London traffic because of refusal to grant fuel, only to find his customer accommodated by a London haulier.
Bristol: In the Western Area, Mr. A. G. Akers, of the R.H.A.. similarly