Securicor Omega Express converts to six-axle artics
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• Rather than waiting for the Government to announce its new Vehicle Excise Duty rates following changes to domestic weight limits, Securicor Omega Express is converting its entire fleet of 150 artics to six axles.
The Securicor Distribution subsidiary believes a lower rate of VED, and the introduction of more fuel-efficient engines, will save more than £1,000 per tractor per year.
Omega Express currently runs 2+2 artics at 31-33 tonnes, with a VED rate of £2,530 a year. But a 3+3 arctic plated at 31-33 tonnes pays VED of just c£1,000 a year.
Securicor Omega Express expects to have completed the conversion to 6x2 tractors by the end of next year.
Other operators anxious to spec up replacement tractors have been calling CM as they try to find out what the Government will do to VED rates for five-axle 40-tonners.
Although trucks running at the new weights will be allowed on the UK's roads from 1 January 1999, no decision on VED is expected before October at the earliest: some sources suggest the new rates might not be published until the Budget in November.