THE RAILWAYS AND ROAD TRANSPORT.
Page 9
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A Fortuitous Disclosure of Propagandist Material Written on Behalf of the Railways and Against the Haulier and Carrier.
OT an unimportant service to the road transport ° community has been rendered by The Tsmes and
the Sunday Express by their disclosure, at the beginning of last week, of the existence of a memorandum which has been prepared by the Railway General Managers' Committee for circulation among representatives of the railways and of the bodies constituting the Urban District Councils Association. We believe that the disclosure is premature, and is, therefore, by DO means welcomed by those responsible for the document It reveals the fact that the discussions which have been taking place between the two sides upon the possibility of joint action (a) to secure that road vehicles should bear a larger proportion of the cost of road maintenance, (b) in regard to the administration of the Road Fund, and (c) in connection with other matters such as the control of road• transport, etc., have proceeded so far that the railway companies are prepared to give definite form to their proposals.
The memorandum of the railway companies states that the proposals fall broadly under four heads, and have relation to (1) taxation of road vehicles ; (2) control of road transport ; (3) administration of the Road Fund ; and (4) cost of Poor Rate relief afforded to holders of agricultural land in rural areas. The memorandum proceeds :— (1) TAXATION OF ROAD VEHICLES.
(a) Some alteration in the basis of motor and other road vehicle taxation is desirable in order to apportion more equitably the expense of highway construction and upkeep.
(b) As a general principle the tax on each class of vehicle should bear some relation to its user and the wear and tear of the highways caused thereby.
(c) The duty payable m respect of heavy transport vehicles, omnibuses, and chars-it-banes should be increased.
(d) A tax on motor spirit should be reintroduced, or, alternatively, the taxes for motor vehicles should be composed of (i) a registration and licence duty, and (ii) a tax equivalent to the estimated amount that would be paid if a fuel duty was imposed.
(e) The tax on mechanically propelled vehicles using fuel other than motor spirit should be increased pro rata to that of motor vehicles.
(2) CONTROL OF ROAD MOTOR TRANSPORT.
(a) Road motor transport should be subject to some closer measure of control by the Government and local authorities, particularly in respect of the following matters :—(i) Accidents; (ii) safety precautions; (iii) rates and charges; (iv) sanitary condition of vehicles.
(b) The weight and permitted speed of heavy commercial vehicles, omnibuses and chars-à-bancs should be strictly limited and the regulations rigorously enforced.
(3) ADMINISTRATION OF THE ROAD FUND.
(a) The principles governing the allocation of moneys from the Road Fund are economically unsound and should be amended.
(b) The percentage grant system, which was condemned by the rommittee on National Expenditure in the case of education and subsequently altered, should be abolished in connection with the aclministi-ation of the Road Fund.
(c) Grants from the Road Fund for ordinary maintenance should be based upon the mileage of each class of road maintained, and the cost to local authorities should be limited to the produce of a prescribed rate.
(d) Grants for ordinary maintenance, including reconstruction of existing roads, should be a first charge upon the Road Fund.
(e) The cost of widening and improving Class I and II roads should be borne wholly, by the Road Fund, and the expenditure thereon limited to the residue available in the Fund, after ordinary maintenance charges have been met.
(f) The cost of police required to manipulate road traffic should be borne by the road users, and grants therefor should be made from the Road Fund.
(4) POOR RATE RELIEF TO AGRICULTURAL LANDHOLDERS IN RURAL AREAS.
It is suggested that the National Exchequer should bear the whole of the cost of the three-fourths exemption from Poor Rate afforded to holders of agricultural land in rural areas. The one-fourth relief afforded under the Agricultural Rates Act, 1923, is so borne, but four-fifths of the half exemption granted under the Agricultural Rates Act, 1896, estimated to amount to £5,500,000, is, under present conditions, borne by the ratepayers in each district.
"SUBSIDIZING COMPETITORS."
This memorandum was followed by a letter from the general manager of the Great Western Railway, in which he stated that the companies recognized that road motor competition was inevitable, but felt that it should be conducted "on a fair and equitable basis." "There can be no doubt," the letter proceeded, "that, broadly stated, much of the existing competition from road transport is only rendered possible by reason of the fact that commercial road vehicles are not taxed to an extent sufficient to cover the cost of making good the damage they do to the roads. On the other hand, the railway companies are the largest individual ratepayers, and as such are bearing an undue proportion of the cost of road maintenance, and are thereby subsidizing their competitors.
"It will be appreciated that, as railway assessments to local rates are based on a mileage proportion of traffic receipts, it is in the interests of local authorities to foster the conveyance of traffic by railway. For example, if railway receipts from any district are diminished in consequence of traffic being diverted to the roads the assessable value of the railway would be reduced and the company's contribution to local rates would therefore be less. On the other hand, road hauliers would make no contribution to the rates to compensate the local authorities for this loss or to meet the increased cost of road maintenance which increased user would entail.
"A further point is that, having regard to the pro visions of the Railways Act, 1921, it is in the interests of the traders of the country also that the transport of traffic by railway should be promoted. This legislation (i.e., Railways Act, 1921) provides that rates and charges are to be fixed, by a new Tribunal whicii has been set up, at such a level as will yield, as far as practicable, a certain specified standard net revenue. It follows, therefore, that an increased volume of traffic will have the effect of securing that the rates are fixed at a relatively lower level. On the other hand, the continued and increasing diversion of traffic to the roads can only result in the traffic still conveyed by railway bearing rates at a proportionately higher level."
We refer to this cirniar in our Editorial pages.