No Attack on Ancillary Users—B.T.C. Chief

21st September 1956, Page 94

21st September 1956

Page 94

Page 94, 21st September 1956 — No Attack on Ancillary Users—B.T.C. Chief

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REFLYJNG to the Traders' Road Transport Association's protest (The Commercial Motor last week) against what they regarded as prejudicial references to C-licence vehicles in the British Transport Commission's annual report, Sir Brian Robertson. chairman of the B.T.C., denied that the Commission were attacking ancillary users

Since 1938 the number of C licences had increased by over 130 per cent. Since 1948, C-licence vehicles weighing more than 21 tons unladen had doubled in number, and vehicles over 5 tons had more than trebled. Industrial production had risen by 36 per cent., but railway net ton-miles increased by only 21 per cent.

That was the basis for the report's statement that the railways' decreased merchandise traffic was probably caused mainly by increased competition from C-licence vehicles. The reference to empty running by ancillary vehicles was taken from a paper submitted to the Royal Statistical Society in April, 1954, which, so far as Sir Brian knew, had not been challenged.

Comment pn the average loading of C-licence vehicles was legitimate in an analysis of the reasons for the decline of railway freight traffic.