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Bad times, worse times

15th April 1999, Page 8
15th April 1999
Page 8
Page 8, 15th April 1999 — Bad times, worse times
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Haulage, Noël Coward

"There are bad times just around the comer," sang Noel Coward..."We can all look forward to despair. It's as dear as crystal, from Birmingham to Bristol, that we can't save road haulage—and we don't much care." OK, the immortal Mr Coward didn't write "road haulage". But judging by the results of the first Transport Forum, some hauliers might think those words were penned by Transport Minister John Reid.

So how went the big pow-wow? Looking at the press statements from the FTA and RHA we wondered if the two delegations were in the same room. The FTA declared it was "impressed by the attitude of Government ministers present". The RHA felt the forum offered "no concrete promises of action"—in fact national chairman John Bridge promptly urged all RHA members to support the Trans-Action-inspired day of protest (director-general Steven Norris later said he was happy with the progress).

The FTA seems to be pinning its hopes on the Forum-approved external "investigation" which will look into the problems besetting the industry. But for many hauliers its findings are likely to arrive too late, making them as relevant as the blush on a deadman's cheek. Oh yes, the bad news "just around the comer" is the threat of yet more fuel price increases as crude oil prices rise again (see page 5).

And what of the mood on the street? There's certainly an awful lot of anger and frustration out there. Whatever the forum delivers, operators must decide whether to keep on protesting or, as The Master put it: "Wait until we drop down dead." Which would you rather do?

Tags

Organisations: RHA
Locations: Birmingham, Bristol

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