'My solution is simple scrap VED and impose taxes on fuel'
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4 I t seems again that Transport Secretary John MacGregor wants to extract more
money from the haulage industry. He and his advisers think the industry is a fount of money. Clearly, he lives in Cloud Cuckoo Land.
The haulage industry, like many others, has gone through a devastating period—and the end of the recession is not yet in sight. It might have slowed down slightly, but that is all. We try to tighten costs but customers are resistant to accepting increased rates. And now MacGregor proposes to charge more money to use our roads.
The Government argues that more roads have to be constructed. Fine. If all the money received from Vehicle Excise Duty was ploughed back into roads MacGregor would not have to resort to such foolhardy ideas. As it is, only a quarter of VED goes into roads.
The proposed extra £700m that the Government says it might raise from tolls (just a drop in the Government revenue pool) could easily be taken from the taxes and fuel duty we pay at present. The effect will be to create more problems. More than 60% of motorists do not use motorways those who do, don't want to pay extra and will use trunk roads, creating more traffic especially in towns and villages.
International drivers, like myself, spend up to three-quarters of our time abroad. It is bad enough that we pay so much taxation, even though we don't use our roads to the full, without MacGregor wanting more. It may even be illegal to impose such a chargeGermany fell out with the European Community bi 1990 when it tried to impose tolls on all conimercial vehicles using its roads. The tolls were scrapped.
My solution is simple—scrap VED and impose taxes in fuel. This will eliminate congestion and force motorists who use the roads to pay, including the thousands of foreign vehicles which come here. MacGregor should listen to people involved in transport, not a bunch of at mchair advisers.
I have been campaigning for a long time regarding the state of this industry. No one is trying to do anything about these problems—least of all the Road Haulage Association, the Freight Transport Association and the Transport and General Workers Union.
This is why many firms and drivers are deserting these ( ■rganisations-all these people do is blow a lot of hot air and r gets done.
III want to go to the RI-IA Conferen held in Portugal or some other exotic have written to complain but received reply That is the type of organisation they are not interested in the one-man making a solo campaign. I do get sup from other drivers though, who tell m great thing I am doing. It can only hel my views here.
I have a file about seven inches thin letters I have written to Ministers and replies I have recieved. For the past yt have been writing to John MacGregor Kenneth Carlisle (former Roads andl Minister, now replaced by Robert Ke3 that every time they receive a letter fr they say: "Not him again," and pass it their minions for reply. But whoever r they always fail to give an answer. I c conclude that they do not like hearir4 truths regarding this industry If you want to sound off about a r04 transport issue write to features edito. Patric Cunnane