LET'S CALL OFF CHRISTMAS!
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The government appears to have gained some public support against the hauliers with its reduction in road tax and 3p/lit on fuel tax. However, from the way this has been presented through the media I can understand how the general public has been duped.
When you take a closer look into the reductions in road tax, it highlights the extent of the llturn the government has been prepared to make.
Hauliers have been forced to go multi-axle, such as 3+3s, to gain lower road tax rates on the basis of less weight per axle on the road. So why are the reductions encouraging operators to run on 2+3 at higher weights, which runs against the government's original policy? Or is it just manipulating assistance to a smaller sector of the market?
The 3p/ht on ultra-lowsulphur fuel compared with an increase of more than £1 a gallon in the past two years is insignificant, allowing that mpg is reduced by approximately 10%. This increases the consumption of fuel—so just how much do we really know about the environmental gains in relation to the quantity that is consumed? The decision should have been taken to meet the problem face on and introduce a road fuel which is coloured for the specific use of the road transport industry.
It is now time for the government to accept road transport as part of the lifeblood of this country. After the panic and the effect the fuel blockades had on the supermarket shelves, cannot believe it still refuses to acknowledge the reasons the industry feels it necessary to take such desperate measures.
I also find it difficult to understand why taxation cannot be diverted to nonessentials, as opposed to the direct cost imposed on transport.
If the government is still under a misapprehension about the plight of hauliers and the importance of road transport to this country, I suggest operators take a two-week collective holiday before Christmas, plus national holidays over this period.
If after such a dire and drastic step they are still incapable of understanding, I suggest we take the opportunity of helping to kick them out of office at the next election by voting with our feet. Carl Stephens, C.,ains borough, Lincs.