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To the rescue
Page 4
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Of the 124,600 0-licences held by operators, 109,300 are for fleets of less than five vehicles. More than half the total licences are held by owner-drivers. There are 68,800 in this class. There are a further 21,200 companies with only two vehicles, 10,000 with three, 5,600 with four and 3,800 with five.
The industry would find itself with very serious problems without these men. They carry dirty traffic at low rates because no one else will. They meet the peaks for the bigger operators and often starve in the troughs. They pioneer many new routes and traffics like building site materials, motorway construction, Europe and the Middle East.
They have no bargaining muscle and they have to work to survive. They must be recognised as an essential element in our transport network. They must be assisted.
Surely a scheme could be devised to train them in basic management techniques, not necessarily to equip them to practice higher management, but in order to understand it. Is it too much to suggest that established operators might have joint maintenance contracts with them?
The momentum seems to have gone out of the owner-drivers' associations. The R HA olive branch seems to be wilting, but the demise of the owner-driver can only damage the industry. They must be assisted, not only to survive, but to develop.