A Bureau Without Bureaucracy By JAN US T I ME was
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when the experts were content to postulate that the transport they wished to see provided for the public should be quick, cheap and safe. If it were thought necessary to baffle the audience, the words "efficient and economical" might be substituted, but the meaning was intended to be roughly the same.
To-day, such an approach to the transport problem would be considered too simple and old-fashioned There is always at least one additional requirement, which varies with each school of thought. Possibly the Transport Act'started the trend by the inclusion of the ju-ju word " integration." Since the Act was passed we have had from various quarters the demand for transport that is efficient and economical, which provides complete freedom of choice to the user, complete freedom of operation for the C-licence holder, and, quite likely, a scheme for saving up coupons to qualify for free gifts.
Fellow Travellers It is curious that These verbal fellow -travellers are so pointedly sepTaratetP.-frOrn. the efficiency and cheapness that used to be reckoned the complete criterion. It might conceivably be suggestedthat integiBtion, freedom of choice and freedom of the C-licence holder (and even a free gift scheme)..-WoUld; improve the country 'S transport. The argument rarely takes this line. Even the British Transport Comniission refers to integration and freedom of choice as duties laid down in the Act, and one is left in doubt as to whether these obligations have any connection with the quality of the service provided.
The argument of the C-licence holder, in its most extreme form, would be that as many traders as possible should run their own vehicles. Mostly, however, the champions of the ancillary user are more moderate. They point out that, in many cases, the advantages of having one's own fleet outweigh the disadvantages, and where traders are satisfied that this applies to them there should be no difficulty placed in the way of their obtaining licences.
Perfecting the Defence
These contentions make good sense, and few people at the present time are prepared to contest them, even if signs be not lacking of an assault against the ancillary user at some time in the future. This will be the more easily beaten off if care be taken to perfect the defence at every point. In particular, it would be helpful to a trader who was debating the pros and cons of a C licence, if he could have details of all the facilities available to him.
Although there are associations for the guidance of hauliers, ancillary users and public-service-vehicle operators, no organization exists for the guidance of persons wishing to enter the transport industry. The licensing system looks after the would-be haulier and passenger carrier. The entrance examination facing them is stiff and harsh, and only the best or the luckiest of them pass. None but the brave deserves the fare!
No such handicap confronts the prospective C-licence holder. The lure to buy his own vehicle is strong. He is, no doubt, baffled by the tangled web of the Transport Act. In his transport arrangements he finds inexplicable changes .taking place, mostly not at all to his liking. Fearing that ultimately the ancillary user will be
restricted, he imagines that he would be in a stronger position if he took out his licence before the restrictions come into force.
The offer by the Road Haulage Executive of what amounts to A-contract facilities reminds the trader of the nursery rhyme about the spider and the fly. The R.H.E. is at least making the offer, and deserves credit for that. The haulier under free enterprise has a much stronger -case.. There can be no strings attached to any suggestion he makes. and the trader would prefer to use the independent man.
Reproaches and Challenges On the whole, the appeal.of the haulier to the hesitant trader has been feeble. With a few exceptions, he has appeared tci accept the growth in the number, of C licences as inevitable, instead of regarding every fresh C-licensed vehicle as a reproach and a challenge.
Although the Ministry of Transport obligingly published its statistics in commendable detail, it is not known how many C licences are on a C-hiring allowance and operated by hauliers. It is plain, however, that most C 'licences are for the lighter types of vehicle, presumably used only for local work, which could be done without permits under an A or B licence. There is no increase in the number of A-contract licences corresponding to the rapid growth of C licences, and one must conclude that hauliers are not taking advantage of what should have been a great opportunity for them.
The trader with goods to be carried may use one or more of a number of methods. He may use the railway, road or canal services of the B.T.C. He may use a haulier holding an A or B licence, and possibly restricted in the type of goods he may carry and the area he may cover. He may give a haulier an undertaking that will enable an A-contract licence to be obtained. This again may involve a radial limitation, unless the traffic happens to be one of those excluded from the restrictions of the Transport Act. Finally, he may arrange for a haulier to run vehicles on a C-hiring allowance, in which case there are no restrictions.
Collecting Evidence All these possibilities, although not necessarily in the order as set out above, should be carefully considered by the trader before he thinks of taking the step, not easily revoked, of putting his own vehicles on the road. He will not find it easy to collect all the evidence he needs. The various agencies of the-B.T.C. are easily located, but there may be hundreds of hauliers within a short distance of the trader's premises, and he may have no clue as to where to find those likely to suit his requirements.
Invaluable help could be given, by setting up, and making known as widely as possible, a free-enterprisetransport bureau for trade and industry. It could be organized by the Road Haulage Association and the Traders' Road Transport Association, through the medium of the National Road Transport Federation. Steps should be taken to find out in advance which traders were in difficulties, and to offer them the services of the bureau. The scheme would help to ensure that the best use was being made of the country's transport, and would in no way interfere with the freedom of the trader to Send his goods how, when and where he liked.