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 
Scottish hauliers urged to pass on RET benefits
Page 15
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
HAULIERS ON outlying Scottish islands have been warned that if they do not pass on cost savings from a new ferry fare scheme they could lose business to mainland operators.
Scottish transport secretary Stewart Stevenson says the cost benefits of the road equivalent tariff (RET), which came into effect last October, should be passed on to customers. The RET scheme g means that the fares hauliers pay 4 on the ferry are calculated on the ;LI basis of what a similar journey by road would cost.
3 But hauliers on the islands say
the fares they pay are not any different, because they used to get a frequent-user discount.
Hector MacDonald, director of Hebrides Haulage on Lewis, says that one haulier on the islands has lost a contract to a mainland cornpeti tor, and that the RET is putting increasing pressure on local operators. "This is going to favour mainland hauliers who are not putting anything into the local economy," he says.
MacDonald says that hauliers on the islands were invited to a meeting with the minister last year, but that he was disappointed with the result."We thought we were going to have a discussion, but we were just told what was going to happen," he says.
Hebrides Haulage, which operators 12 vehicles, is one of five hauliers operating on Lewis and Harris, says MacDonald.