" Competitors Free to Undercut Us in Future"
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R.H.A. Vice-chairman
Criticizes Transport Bill
RESPONDING to the toast of the IA Association proposed by Mr. J. Else, West Midland Licensing Authority, at the annual dinner of the Potteries subarea at Stoke-on-Trent last Friday, Mr. J. T. Turner, a national vice-chairman of the Road Haulage Association, expressed some strong views on the new Transport Bill. " I cannot claim to have read every word of it," he said, " but so far I have found no references to the road haulage industry.
" Perhaps we should feel grateful for this. Perhaps we should even regard it as a welcome change. But as hauliers, as one of the major providers of goods transport in Britain, we cannot be altogether unmoved when we are told that our competitors are to have a present of £475 . million from the Government—which really .Means from you and from me—and that they will be able to hold over indefinitely a further debt of £700 million.
"We must take notice when we are told that these same competitors are in future to be completely free to undercut us—
with the comforting knowledge that whoever goes bankrupt it will not be them..
"We surely have another cause for complaint when we are told that our competitors who for 30 years have been able to limit our growth, because they have claimed to be unfairly restricted by such things al their obligation as common carriers, have now been set free from that obligation. but are still in as strong a• position as before to object-to our licence applications.
We do not begrudge the railways the chance of a fresh start. If there is to be a railway system, we should prefer it to be a healthy one and we are not alarmed by fair Competition from it.
"We would onlv. say that the Government might be making a grave mistake if, in endeavouring to improve the fortunes of one form of transport it should at the same time create problems for nother form of transport, at present operating at a high level of . efficiency.
"I should like to assure members that we have every intention of putting these considerations vigorously to the Minister and to Parliament."