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One rule for us...
Page 3
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It's like watching mist rolling in from the sea... the creeping implementation of inner-city congestion charging and low emission zones across the UK. And it's not going to stop.
Having seen the template laid down by Transport for London, other municipal authorities want to have a go. Step forward Manchester with its planned congestion charge. Does it view HGVs delivering in the zone as an essential service worthy of exemption? No, or not at the moment, at least. According to Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), the body looking to introduce the scheme, it's up to truck operators to make their feelings known before the consultation period runs out on 10 October. So, if you're going to be hit by the charge, you know what to do. If you shout loud enough, your voice might just be heard. But if you don't complain, it surely won't.
Meanwhile, we can't help but see a marked contrast between the way the GMPTE wants to treat truck operators and the recent decision by the European Commission to allow national governments to pay subsidies to hauliers wanting to improve their vehicles beyond standards required by EU law. You can see where we're heading, can't you? So, under these new rules, we look forward to HM Treasury and the Department for Transport offering the nation's hauliers meaningful grants (and we're not talking a measly £500 for a reduced pollution certificate( to encourage them to buy cleaner, greener vehicles well ahead of the regulations. Yes, it must only be a matter of time before British hauliers get treated in the same way as their German counterparts who, thanks to the creation of a sensible fiscal playing field by their Government, willingly leap-frogged Furo-4 and went straight to buying Euro-5 vehicles. Yes, it's surely only a matter of time. Sorry, we must have drifted off there... what were we taking about? Oh yes, congestion charging...
Brian Weatherley