The forum aimed to encourage operators to share common experiences and discuss what could be done better in the future.
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Wayne Nicholson, leet engineer at ATF provider Alltruck, wants VOSA to take steps to help maximise lane usage, such as introducing a national IT platform where all test bookings are made to provide total visibility, for example.
He also suggests VOSA looks to change the way its daily fee is charged: ATFs pay £796 per day to VOSA for a set number of slots, he says, regardless of how many are illed. However, if the ATF exceeds this set amount, it has to pay VOSA more money.
“We would like to see a situation where we share the risk – so £796 is a ixed fee and anything over and above is ours, helping to offset those days when we don’t ill the slots,” says Nicholson.
Operators also discussed the ATF contract, with some feeling it went into too much legal detail, thereby making it dificult to understand. Others suggested it was weighted too heavily in VOSA’s favour.
Neil Jacob, service improvement director for Imperial Commercials, says the forum gave operators the opportunity to speak with senior VOSA oficials who were “very interested in what we had to say”.
A VOSA spokeswoman tells CM: “We were delighted with the volume of feedback and ideas we received at the forum.
“In the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at these suggestions in detail and prioritising in conjunction with the ATFs.”