No Flourish
Page 49
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
of Trumpets Political Commentary
By JAN US
UNOBTRUSIVELY, the National Council of the Road Haulage Association has, it appears, agreed . to absorb ' the National Association of Road Transport Groups, following an approach made by that body some months ago. The arnalgamation may Subsequently be regarded as one of the major events in the road haulage industry, since the passing of the Transport Act. The very absence of any flourish of trumpets to mark the occasion can be taken as proof that Opposition within the ranks of' the R.H.A. Was
slight. .
This was not always the case. At one time, grouping was looked at askance by non-graupers in much the same way as the man-in-the-street regards the .slightly unorthodox religious creed ' or political tenet. The fervour of some of the group leaders was not always to their advantage; people whose enthusiasm did not happen to be kindled tended to react strongly in the opposite direction. .
The long shadow thrown by the appointed day last February was the symbol of the need for some form of • interworking anteing hauliers. The delicate souls who shuddered at the "group," or murmured that a pool by any other name would smell as stagnant, were overtaken by the march of events.
Until the Road Haulage Executive began to operate in earnest, many people 'failed to realize the extent to which operators had always worked together. For the carriers of smalls, in .particular, sub-contracting is essential. Exchange of traffic is also 'important. One difficulty at the present time is that, whereas the British Transport Commission is still willing to act as, a subcontractor, it sub-contracts less and less itself. Hauliers who formerly' shared a mutual-aid scheme with other hauliers now acquired,. find a re-orientation necessary. Where once the traffic -flowed from one operator's system to another's, so that the whole country was adequately covered by a series of interlocking arrangements, there are now dangerous gaps or precarious lines of communication in certain areas.
"The PoOr Helps 'the Poor" The Commission is at present chiefly interested in traffic for itself. Hauliers cannot depend upon the same service from it as they enjoyed from the undertakings it has engulfed. On the .principle that "it's the poor that helps the poor," they must do what they can among themselves until such time as the Commission closes the ivory tower for good, and moves to a less exclusive residence.
The haulier is wise not to rely too much on permits. He must look for his livelihood mainly within the 25mile radius, and no great intelligence is required to perceive that, by to-operating with other operators situated on the perimeter of his own circle, he may increase his range to 50 miles.
By the law of mathematics, this doubling of the radius should have the effect of quadrupling the area he can cover without restriction. Unfortunately, the situation is not improved quite to this extent. No amount of juggling with circles will enable him to accept traffic, if it be not excluded and he has no permit, for carriage by free enterprise beyond .a total distance of 50 miles. For example, if a customer 10 miles to the south of a haulier's operating centre wants to consign ,goods to an address exactly 40 miles to, the north as the crow flies, the haulier may find another company with a centre 15 miles to the north, and therefore just able to undertake the journey.
Over a greater distance than 50 miles, interworking must break down. It is no panacea for all the ills attendant on nationalization, but it will help hauliers over some of their difficulties.
Alimentary Troubles The process of digestion should not be painful, as the appetite is good. One or two alimentary troubles may be encountered'. The R.H.A. has no power to trade, nor is it desirable that it should. The functions of the groups will, therefore, have' to be separated from their policy, which will be decided by a new, paradoxically titled, "functional group " of the R.H.A., the actual functions being carried out by group companies Groups in the past have been mostly geographical units, that is to say, members of a group have been located in the same town, or even district. Groups of this kind will in future have to work more with each other: This should present little difficulty, but it does add to whatever danger there may be of groups by degrees coalescing into a few large organizations, or even a monopoly.
A wholesale merger on these lines has been a phobia with the small haulier for the past 20 years. It has threatened him in many different forms, and there is _ now added the fear that large arnalgamations would make the task all the easier for any Government that decided to nationalize the remainder of the' road transport industry. On the other hand, one may argue that grouping may, be of inestimable benefit to any, Government wishing to reverse the nationalization process, and anxious to find organizations large enough to accept responsibility for units of the State undertakings.
Qualification for membership of a group under the new arrangement must, it is held, obviously include membership of the R.H.A. This is virtually the case already in many groups, but others will accept hauliers with equal readiness whether or not they belong to an association. The status of acquired undertakings will also require clarification. It is likely that they will have to dispose of any shares in a group as soon as they have been taken over.
There is another side to the question of membership. Care must be taken to see that the activities of a group in no way prejudice the interests of a member of the R.H.A. who does not happen to be also a group member. The solution of this problem should be only a matter of time.
None of the troubles likely to arise would justify reconsideration of the decision recently reached by the two Associations concerned. Interworking, through the medium of groups, or whatever one chooses to call them, is bound to become more important as the possibility decreases of any haulier giving a complete service on his own. As the groups become more numerous, it would become more than ever imperative for them to seek some accommodation with the national Association of the industry. The step that has been taken solves the problem before it becomes unwieldy.