C Licensees Exempt from 40-mile Limit 'THE generous investment of
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time and money by commercial-vehicle users 1 in opposition to the Transport Bill has earned a rich dividend in the Government's decision to exempt C licensees from the proposed 40-mile radius of operation. This triumph should strengthen the will to fight in all opponents of nationalization. Apparently the Government has at last been brought to realize that it cannot sacrifice for an ideology the recovery of British trade, industry and agriculture.
Announcing the Government's decision during the Standing Committee proceedings on the Bill, Mr. A. Barnes, Minister of Transport, said that steps would be taken later to remove the clauses concerned. The Government, he added, had reached this decision after considering the difficulties of the present trade situation, but he supplied the grudging qualification that, in his view, the regulation of C licensees would have been found advantageous in the long run.
He also made a statement which could be construed only as meaning that C licensees were included in-the Bill to prevent the evItsion of thelaw by ancillary users in carrying goods for hire or reward. The Minister added that if it were found, in the near future, that the purpose for which C licences were granted was being abused. the Government would not hesitate to take steps to deal with the situation.
A decisive victory has been won in a campaign which "The Commercial Motor," many years ago, realized would become inevitable should a Socialist Government come into power, particularly if Mr. Herbert Morrison were 'included in the Cabinet. His book, "Socialisation of Transport," written in the early 'thirties, fully indicated the Socialists' views on this matter.
From time to time during the years which followed, we issued grave warnings, although. often ' our policy was referred to as scaremongering. Immediately the views of the present Government, as they concerned the nationalization of transport, became known, we did everything possible to develop and encourage the strongest opposition, and have maintained this consistently. Many B22 of the pamphlets and speeches of the industry's speakers have been partly culled from our articles.
Speaking at a luncheon of the Mansion House Association on Transport, Mr. Barnes made it clear that C licensees had " been included in the Transport Bill to protect the enormous investments of public funds in the nationalized transport system. As the substance of the Bill would not he changed by excluding C licensees, and as trade and industry had not accepted his assurances on the operation of the Bill, Mr. Barnes had bowed to the great anxiety displayed by all transport users.
Although gratified at the decision. the Road Haulage Association points out that trade and industry would be committing a grave error if they considered that they had won the day and need take no further interest in the matter.
Whilst important concessions have been granted to traders who can afford to run their own vehicles, the remainder are dependent partly on hauliers. who are still to be restricted to a 25-mile radius. Thus, the traders of the country are to be divided into two categories, and the small men who do not run their own vehicles will be at a disadvantage in competing, in terms of service, with their larger rivals.
" It is partieularly in filling the needs of the small trader that no huge Government Commission, however well orgatsized, can conceivably give the personal, prompt and intimately informed service that is at present given lzy the professional haulier," the R.H.A. points out.
"Even More Unworkable" Unless even more important concessions follow, the desirability of the amendment is greatly diminished " the fact that it makes the Bill even more unworkable and more unfair than it is at present," the Association adds. Traders' organizations should now see that amendments are introduced to enable the small men to employ hauliers under conditions that will not handicap fair competition with larger concerns. Either the hauliers' radius must be much increased, or, better still, all the clauses relating to road transport should be omitted from the Bill.
The British Road Federation comments: "The Minister will receive the thanks of the entire trading community for his decision, and we would urge him to give further consideration to the advisability of postponing Ate passage and operation of the rest of the Bill. To do so would not be interpreted as a sign of weakness, but only as an earnest of the Government's intention not to conduct what must, at best, be a dangerous experiment with a vital national service, at a time of unparalleled crisis."
The Bill still threatens ancillary users' road transport pooling schemes, which, although catering only for members of the pool, operate under A or B.licences. At the March meeting of the Industrial Transport Association's Leeds branch, it was suggested that, to all intents and purposes, such pools were doing Clicence work.
Encouraged by war-time experience of pooling, ancillary users engaged in kindred industries had formed groups. because, whilst effecting transport economies, they were able to cater specially for the particular requirements of the pool members. An instance cited was that of Associated Deliveries, Ltd., stated to be handling biscuits, jams and other food products made by about 10 concerns, which were joint owners of the transport undertaking.
The pool vans still bore the same trade names as when they were under individual ownership, and member concerns received the same service as if they were running individual fleets. It was understood that thousands of pounds had been saved through the economies effected under the scheme. great energy and enthusiasm that it has devoted to the work of securing the amendment of the Bill in the interests of C licensees.
The Minister's announcement in the House of Commons was a surprise, as clause 56 of the Bill, dealing with Clicence holders, had not been reached.
Other matters considered by the Standing Committee during recent sittings have been the questions of B licensees and nationalization, the 40-mile and 25-mile limits in connection with long-distance haulage, and the traffics exempted from the nationalization proposals. All attempts by the Opposition to secure concessions in connection with these matters failed.
Our legal adviser discusses the proceedings on page 127 of this issue.