Cash for old vehicles
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by Rob Willock • Cash incentives for operators who scrap older vehicles is one of six schemes being proposed to cut traffic pollution and congestion in half.
Accountants KPMG and Henley Management College have presented a six-point plan to the Government for consideration for its transport white paper next spring.
Henley director Peter Cooke claims the scrapping incentive, which would be offered on cars over seven years old and CVs "a little older", would have three major benefits to the haulage industry.
"Getting these older vehicles out of the system would increase the barriers of entry to the haulage industry, improve vehicle reliability in the sector and encourage the use of leaner, greener engines," he says.
Other proposals in the KPMG/Henley report include the construction of RO-RO rail terminals near eight major UK cities. They would increase rail usage by 35%, take six-billion tonne-kilometres of freight off the roads each year and help to save British industry more than £1bn currently wasted because of congestion, it claims.
Railtrack still has 50% spare capacity on its network. By comparison, Government estimates suggest unchecked road use will increase by 38%, adding 60-billion tonnekilometres to an already overcrowded road network.
Another suggestion is to stagger the rush hour, by encouraging employees of flexible companies to start and finish their working days outside the traditional "nine-to-five".