1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
Creeping costs
Page 3
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
And so it continues, this creeping insidious rise in costs for hauliers. While diesel prices have come down, the cost of using a 2.8km stretch of the busiest motorway in the UK is about to go up. From next week, it will cost hauliers up to £3.70 to use the Dartford Crossing between the 'normal: hours of 6am-lOpm. Meanwhile, HGV tolls on the Humber Bridge could soon rise to nearly £20 per one-way-trip. What should you do about toll rises? Pass them on. They're like congestion charges the customer should pick them up. Notwithstanding that, CM asks if anyone should be forced to pay to use a section of the busiest, and arguably most important, link road in the UK? The point at which the crossing paid for itself was reached five years ago. Tolls should now be scrapped.
It's significant that in the same issue highlighting rising costs for UK hauliers, we should also feature remarks (see page 201 from German transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee that, in return for motorway 'Toll Maut' rises, he intends to put £475m earned from the Maut -...back into the German trucking industry to strengthen its competitiveness. Look and learn Mr Ham... look and learn.
And so (brefly1 to Mr Clarkson and Top Gear. For the moment, well leave it to the RHA and URTU to bemoan the death of the BBC's Reithian spirit. Before donning the breastplate of editorial righteousness, we'd like to collect a bit more evidence as to exactly how damaging (or amusing) you thought the broadcast was. So, if you haven't already expressed an opinion on it either via wwwroadtransport.com (via the Biglorryblog posting) or at www.TruckNetUK.com why not tell us your thoughts now. The jury's out, Mr C, but not for long...
Brian Weatherley