'This Green Paper Is abysmal
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AILSA TRUCKS, distributors of Volvo commercial vehicles, have slammed the Green Paper on transport policy — labelling it as long winded, abysmal and alarming.
A letter went out to all Ailsa's customers this week calling on them to join the company in protest against the Government's "apparent inability to recognise the need to encourage investment in the private sector of the road haulage industry".
From the "long winded epistle" of the consultation document Ailsa have "collected some alarming facts on which we will be making the strongest possible protest".
Ailsa accept that the document clearly defines the facts of transport in Britain. But having done that the company believes it runs as far away as it can from facing the logical conclusions. Ailsa point out that : • After agreeing that road and rail should be run on normal commercial lines the Green Paper then says that British• Rail costing will continue to favour goods.
• It restates the belief that vehicle taxation should take into account current land values while ignoring that BR occupies four times as much land as the roads.
• It suggests that an environmental/social/community tax should be added to road vehicles. Nothing similar is proposed for rail or air.
• After stating that the road programme has brought enormous social and economic benefits there is no plan for road improvement.