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Early birds miss the rewards

26th April 2007, Page 24
26th April 2007
Page 24
Page 24, 26th April 2007 — Early birds miss the rewards
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Dperators that have already bought Euro-5 compliant trucks are not lappy that they won't be receiving an RPC. Roanna Avison reports NI industry moves to change the government's mind.

Going green is big at the moment. You can't turn on the television or open newspaper without hearing bout the environment — and that ietoric is making its way into the )ad haulage industry.

The government's decision to itroduce a reduced pollution 2rtificate (RPC) for Euro-5Dmpliant trucks is a continuation f the green theme (CM 29 larch). And on the face of it, it's Dod news for hauliers.

But dig a little deeper and you ill find that things are not quite as )sy as they first appear. The RPC ill only cover trucks purchased fter 1 October this year and, even ien, only those that come with a epowering drive system that will ick in if the anti-pollution system not working.

Given that the Chancellor had inted in his 2006 Budget that the avernment would give further msideration to the RPC, hauliers Rild be forgiven for presuming lat any Euro-5 machine they purchased would be covered whenever the incentive was introduced. But that is not the case.

This has caused consternation among operators that have already invested in Euro-5 trucks because they appear to have been penalised for taking the initiative. Ashley Bassett. joint MD at RG Bassett and Sons, says his firm has just taken delivery of two Euro-5 Daf 105 tractors, but insists: "If I had my time again I would certainly have cancelled them."

Bassett says the company bought the vehicles with the environment in mind. "I do feel somewhat bewildered. We've been proactive and gained very little from it."

No more orders Barry l'roctor, MD at Barry Proctor Services, says he has taken delivery of one Euro-5 truck, but would hold fire on any more purchases. "While I'm pleased with the vehicle I have. I feel aggrieved that my efforts to be green have cost me money. So I'll wait until the RPC is in place before placing any more orders."

The Road Haulage Association (RH A), the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the manufacturers are now calling on the Department for Transport to make the RPC available to those early adopters (CM 19 April) and met with the DfT to pitch their case last week.

Jack Semple, RI-IA director of policy, explains: "There are about 5,000 companies that already have Euro-5s or have them in the pipeline that have been caught out, and so we sat down with the manufacturers and the DfT to see if anything can be done."

Semple says the RHA wants these operators to be included in the scheme, even though they do not have a depowering mechanism. "There is on-board monitoring in these vehicles which makes it possible to see if the system is working properly — and we hope the DfT will take that into account."

This view is backed by the FTA. Chief economist and general manager for information services Simon Chapman argues that it would be an own goal by the DfT to exclude those that have already invested money in Euro-5."[Those that have already bought Euro-5] are generally the innovators in the industry — and that needs to be nurtured, n ot penalised."

Time limit Chapman says the ETA's view is that there needs to be an RPC for those vehicles. "I suggest there should be an RPC on those vehicles, hut with a time limit of something like six years, so the operator that has taken the step is rewarded, but the man buying it third-hand is not still able to claim the benefit."

The DIT spokeswoman says the details of the policy have yet to be decided, which suggests that the industry will have to wait a while before knowing whether the early birds will be rewarded for taking the initiative. ot


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