Railway Rates as Minimum Basis for
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Road Charges
A RECOMMENDATION that mini,tt mum road-haulage rates shall be established nationally, by the adoption of railway rates as the minimum, will shortly be considered by the national standing joint committee of operators' organizations. This recommendation emanated from the C.M.U,A.'s NorthEastern Divisional Committee, which submitted it to the. National Connell. The Council approved it in principle, but, as the idea is one for application by road hauliers as a whole, decided to refer it to the national standing joint committee.
The proposal is that, as a general rule, the railway rate for the transport of any class of goods between any two given points shall become the minimum road rate for the carriage of that class of goods between those points. III other words, the railways' scheme of goods classification and rates would be adopted en bloc for road haulage, except in so far as the rates would be only minimum rates for road operation, and there would be some increase in cases where railway rates in the " exceptional " category could not be regarded as economic for road haulage.
The railway companies' charges for the carriage of goods both by rail and road, as in the case of consignments which their road vehicles collect or deliver to or from railhead, would be brought within the road-hauliers' rates basis by the proviso that, as a general rule, the railway companies' rate between any two given points (not necessarily railway stations) shall become the road hauliers' minimum as between those points.
A great advantage claimed for the scheme is the facility, with which it could be applied, by simply harnessing the railway rates machinery t--• road haulage. It is admitted that the proposal does not go so far in the direction of road-haulage rates stabilization as has been aimed at in the efforts which were made before the war, but the scheme is not put forward as a permanent solution to the problem. It is suggested as an expedient to meet war-time conditions and to bridge the gap.between now and the time when theRoad Rail Corifeience, can formulate a permanent rates scheme for road and rail. The proposed minima, it is stated, would mean an increase in rates charged. by many hauliers.
The putting forward of the scheme is a sequel to initial steps which were taken on the war-time rates question by the Hull Area Committee of the C,M.U.A., and has been encouraged by the sympathetic interest which the North-Eastern Regional Transport Commissioner (Major F. S. Eastwood) is showing in the matter.