An Odd Incentive T.R.T.A. AND PARKING PRINCIPLES
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"IF. one dissects what the Labour Party I appear to have in mind for hauliers it amounts to this: any haulier who dares to make his business exceptionally efficient will have that business taken away from him. This is the oddest incentive that I have ever come across in all my business experience." These remarks were made by Mr. A. R. Butt, a vice-chairman of the Road Haulage Association, at the Birmingham subarea's annual dinner on Wednesday.
This might make sense. he said, if it was likely that the confiscated business would he made more efficient by absorbing it into B.R.S. or "some gigantic integrated botch potch " but there was no evidence that sheer size had any• advantage in transport; he suggested that beyond a certain size the bigger a business became the less efficient it was.
Compared with the Opposition's feeble ease, the Conservative •approach seemed very much in accordance with common sense, said Mr. Butt, since they wanted the customer to have freedom of choice and to allow each form of transport to develop to 'the best advantage, cooperating where appropriate.
"[his was very much in line with the Association's policy, he said, and continued: "We have trodden the nationalization path before, and the public and manufacturers in particular should well remember what happened. Rates increased, efficiency dropped, and the Exchequer lost the tax previously paid by hauliers from the profits of successful businesses?'
Smoke Campaign: Bradford Health Department and Bradford City Police are campaigning against excessive emission of smoke and vapour from diesel-powered vehicles. Special police watch is to be kept in Bradford and advice on driving and maintenance will be available at the police traffic headquarters. Some 250 local firms employing 3.000 drivers are being warned of
possible health dangers caused by excessive.. ,• emission of smoke from vehicles.
THE Traders Road Transport AssOciaL tion is firmly opposed to chargeable parking meter bays for goods *hides. This was made clear to Bristol Corporation when the Western division of the T.R.T.A., with other objectors to Bristol's proposed traffic scheme, met the local authority on ,Monday to discuss the Ministry of Transport inspector's report.
The Association's national secretary, Mr. H. R. Featherstone, told The Commercial Motor this week that they felt chargeable bays for commercial vehicles were wrong • in principle, since the goods vehicle which had to be in a certain place by the very nature of its work should not be treated like "optional "—i.e.. private—traffic. He stressed that Prof. Buchanan had pointed to this distinction between essential and non-essential traffic in his report, and said that where, as. at docks and warehouses, a van or lorry had to wait to load or unload, it should be allowed to do so free of charge. This, he said, was entirely consistent with existing policy in parking meter schemes.
In fact, Bristol Corporation made it clear on Monday that, while it was looking at the possibility of goods vehicle meters, it had no firm plans for them: they did not, in any case, form part of the inspector's recommendations. He had suggested allowing goods vehicles to wait for up to an hour as near as possible to their loading or unloading point. The Corporation has no definite plans yet for implementing the inspector's report and the T.R.T.A. representatives were most encouraged to learn that Monday's first tentative consultation is to be followed by genuine consideration of objectors' views at all stages of drawing up a traffic scheme.
Meanwhile, Scottish officials of both the T.R.I.A. and the Road Haulage Association have lodged objections to Edinburgh Corporation's proposals for extensive waiting and loading bans itivolving 14 thoroughfares. The T.R.T.A. agrees that some action is necessary, and that if a general 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekday and 8.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Saturday ban were introduced, with suitable exceptions for goods vehicles loading and unloading, this would largely solve the problem—which could be further alleviated by introducing strictly controlled " boxes" for buses pulling in at stops.
But it protests that the proposed loading bans would have a disastrous effect on deliveries. It suggests instead: (a) initially a ban on cars only or, reluctantly, (b) an evening loading ban but no morning ban at all, or (c) a threemonth trial loading ban on one section of road.
The Scottish division says it would not oppose any proposed legislation to prohibit commercial vehicles from stopping to load or unload other than with the nearside of the vehicle adjacent to the kerb. But the national secretary said this week: "The Association could not, without reservation, accent this as a general principle as opposed to the particular circumstances prevailing in Edinburgh."
SETTLING TIR RULES
AN IRU meeting was held in Geneva on Tuesday to settle the final details of the new rules for TIR carnet users. Mr. J. A. Murly represented the R.H.A. and Mr. G. Turvey the T.R.T.A. at this function.
It was expected that the meeting 'would draw up the special application form which new TIR carnet applicants will have to complete, giving details of their businesses. There was also expected to be agreement on the scheme for a register of Tilt carnet users, drawn up and supervized by each national association concerned, and possibly checked each year by the 1RU.