Short-distance Hauliers' Bid to Pool Resources
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I-1 A MOVE by haulage operators in Dewsbury and adjacent towns "to pool their resources, with the object of
providing short-distance" • transport locally for the M.O.W.T., was initiated at a meeting of the Heavy Woollen District Transport Association last week, in Dewsbury. It was decided to inform the M,O.W,T. Road Haulage Organization that the members were prepared to organize themselves on those lines, with a liaiscin offiter who would receive any calls which the Area Road Haulage Officer might make for short-distance vehicles and arrange for their provision. , This step was decided On in the light of reports of the handling of short-distance traffic locally by vehicles of concerns working as controlled undertakings under the Government haulage scheme. In one instance, 500 tons of goods were said to have been transported from a Dewsbury warehouse for a distance of only 30 miles by a controlled undertaking's vehicles which had first to travel empty from its' depot about seven miles from Dewsbury.
" No Focal Point of Contact "
Mr. T. Jackson (bon. secretary), of Dewsbury,•s6.id . that from the Ministry's point of view it had been explained 'that there was a difficulty because there was no focal point of contact through which they could dud short-distance hauliers in the. heavy Woollen district to do such work. When jobs requiring a substantial number of vehicles arose, the Ministry would not telephone to a succession of Short-distance hauliers in an attempt— which would be uncertain of 'success —to obtain the necessary vehicles. He suggested, however, that it would be willing to get jute, touch with a liaison representative who could quickly make contact with operators for the purpose of providing the vehicles.
Mr. A. meson (chairman), of Gomersal, remarked that Mr. Jackson's suggestion was particularly important id view of possible moves to extend
the Government scheme in the direction of short-distance haulage-.
. Mentioning a complaint that some short-distance traffic hitherto carried by a member had been taken from him and carried .3a Government-controlled vehicles, Mr. Jackson said that a M,O.W.T. official had emphasized to him that if a haulier had habitually carried • certain traffic within the 60-mile short-distance limit before the Inception of the Government scheme, he must, if at. all possible, be allowed to retain it, although it was Government traffic.
Local Haulier Losing Work Concerning reports of controlled undertakings keeping their own vehicles on local work and giving out longdistance work to operators of. hired vehicles, the criticism was voiced that this was never the interetion under the Government scheme as originally laid down, as all the documents then issued referred to it as applying to iiaffic carried more than 60 miles One speaker said there was a 'distinct tendency for controlled undertakings to absorb short-cliStance traffic; in that lay a danger that ultimately there would be nothing left for the purely local haulier.
Mr. Lloyd asked. if anything was going to be done about operator:, who were carrying long-distance traffic on uncontrolled vehicles.
Mr. Meson explained that there was no law to prevent, an operator from running a goods vehicle so far as he liked; he could only be prevented from doing so through the M.O.W.T. machinery for the control of fuel supplies.
In the course of a report on a meeting between the respective committees of Yorkshire controlled undertakingsand hired-vehicle operators with the Yorkshire Area Standing Joint Committee, Mr. meson said it had been agreed to hold such joint meetings. regularly. There was no doubt, he remarked, that not all controlled 'undertakings were getting satisfaction under the scheme.