Abuse of Contract Licences
Page 33
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ACONSIDERABLE amount of discontent and perturbation is being caused amongst the legitimate and well-conducted members of the haulage industry by cases in which certain operators are deliberately ignoring the conditions of their contract licences. It appears that, as a result of the difficulties experienced in obtaining sanction for new vehicles to operate under A licences, some users apply for the contract type with the object of misusing these. Others may start with the best of intentions, but possibly through the loss of the original contracts and failure to obtain others, begin to work in competition with fully fledged hauliers, thus making contract licences a back-stairs way of evading the restrictions of the Act.
Various cases have been brought to our notice. In one, a person obtained a contract licence and purchased a new vehicle to carry goods at a cut rate for a certain concern, thus wresting the work away from a haulage concern which had carried it out for 17 years. At the end of the first month the firm in question cancelled the contract because the service was so unsatisfactory. T his same licensee then cut the rates of two other firms, doing their work with the same licence.
In another instance a man working under a con tract licence commenced to carry goods for a particular firm and found that this work took him only two hours daily. The remainder of his working time he offered at a cut rate, in order to force out a haulier who had been in business for over 30 years.
What is required is the publication in the "Applications _and Decisions," issued by the Licensing Authorities, of the names and addresses of operators who have been granted such licences, and of the firms with whom the contracts have been made. All other information of this nature is published in that list, and there appears to be no real reason why there should be an exception in the case of contract licences, beyond the fact that they are not subject to objections.
We do not suggest that it should be made more difficult to obtain a contract licence, but care should be exercised to prevent such examples of abuse, which are not by any means for the good of the industry as a whole,or for that of the individual members, who can be so seriously damaged by this practice. Jt would -be an extremely difficult matter for the authorities to keep track of all vehicles operated under, contract licences, consequentially the evil is one which should be dealt withby the industry itself.•