ULSTER THROWS DOWN T IUNTLET
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but how will the challenge be met
ley Taylor, Assoe.Inst.T.
ANelement of jubilation that became apparent in some road transport circles when it was learned that the Northern Ireland Government proposed to terminate the Ulster Transport Authority monopoly has now had time to simmer down. The powers-that-be have flung down the gauntlet but up to the moment the expected challengers are inclined to be coy.
So far no one has discovered the shape of things to come, but a brief study of the situation has convinced some people that a political victory for free enterprise is not in this case precisely the same thing as an open door into profitable road transport activity in that green and pleasant land. On the basis of the information at present available, forecasting would be a chancy business, so the only thing for would-be operators to do is to await the Bill which some people expect will be introduced before the summer recess.
The factors involved may, however, be worth examination. But before getting round to the historical background it is well to keep in mind the declared desire of the Northern Ireland Government, which is to ensure the availability of economic transport. Obviously the years of monopoly have not resulted in that desirable state being achieved and, if the province is to be commercially attractive, the attainment of this situation must be one of the objectives.
Will there be an appointment corresponding to that of the Licensing Authority? The expressed intention of the Northern Ireland Government is that there should be a licensing system based on the need for services in particular areas and this, it would seem, is first of all intended to apply to the passenger side. A significant proviso is contained in the statement on road transport generally that the proposal is to license operators with a principal place of business in Northern Ireland, who will comply with demands in respect of road safety and working conditions. Thus it would appear that operators from outside Ulster would stand no chance of entering a new sphere of operation unless they established an approved subsidiary within that area.
Even under the ordinary British licensing system in recent times not everyone has quite liked the effects of freedom in competition. If there is to be even more freedom in Ulster in the future the prizes may well go to the little local operator whose overhead expenses can be kept to a minimum that is, so to speak, well beneath the cellar floor of the more pretentious organization. Many people will be interested to know more of the working conditions to which a somewhat fleeting reference was made. Like any comprehensive organization of this kind the U.T.A. has offered something of a target for the unions and, whatever may be the future form of road transport in their territory, the mere fact that there are likely to be many employers indicates that associations from the workers' side are likely to find it a good deal less easy to put the screw on than has been the case in the past.
The Ulster Government has stated that it recognizes the advantages of free competition, a natural corollary of this being that a variety of working patterns will probably H30 emerge. Currently the unions are making uneasy noise regarding possible redundancy as, quite apart from th dissolution of the Ulster Transport Authority in its presen form, commercial considerations have already dictate further changes. Having already been pared down to 29 miles, Ulster Transport's rail system is to suffer anothei pruning, if the Transport Tribunal agrees, for it is plannec to close the Londonderry-Portadown line on October 1 That would, of course, still leave the single main line fron Belfast to Derry. In addition notice has already been given tha all freight traffic, with certair special exceptions, is to be with drawn from the railways. Trans port experts in Northern Irelanc conjecture that the railway systerr could possibly retain througt traffics from Dublin to Belfast an from Dublin via Belfast tc Londonderry, also such bulk load! as coal which can be moved will profit to the railway system.
Instead of a surplus approach ing £100,000 which the mac freight department achieved ir 1961-2, the following year there was a loss on this sectior of £25,561, but the forthcoming change from rail to roac for most of the traffics should make all the difference ir the world to the receipts from the road goods side. Althougt this change must mean some redeployment of labour then is obviously just the same total of freight to be moved so that there would seem little fear of the autumn, whet transfer takes place, bringing any considerable degree o redundancy. In any event, the whole process of dissolu tion and reconstruction is supposed to happen within twc years, but those who have seen nationalization an denationalization in progress may be pardoned for havini doubts about the effective completion of the procedun within that period of time. And before the whole situatior settles down there will probably be a lot of expensiv( negotiations on the labour side. Mr. A. G. Algeo, chairman of the (lister Transport Authority
A Transport Commission As has already been announced, the Ulster Transpor Authority is to be replaced by an organization consistirn of a transport commission. This body will take over thi assets of the Authority, running the railways, hotels, an workshops separately on strictly commercial lines. It wil include a road passenger service operating company and ; road freight operating company which also will be run or commercial lines.
The main axis of the communications of Northen Ireland is the Belfast-Londonderry route, a distance of 7: miles. The two cities claim a substantitl proportion o the province's population, Belfast with some 500,000 an Londonderry with approximately 50,000, out of a tota of 1+ m. They and the intermediate communities constant' no transport problem, even for the railways, and both an
:ady well provided with independent local hauliers who permitted to operate in the immediate vicinity of their )ective cities. These latter are the people who are well to take over any profitable sphere that the U.T.A. may nquish. Throughout the period covered by living -nory Ireland has not .been an easy field for the profestat transport man, and the benefits of the railway system .e brought to many parts only by subsidies of various cis towards the cost of construction and operation. The of districts where transport is difficult to make pay now -ns in the melting pot.
moking back to the mid-thirties, the establishment of Northern Ireland Road Transport Board followed a iod when the pressure of competition permitted only ited opportunity for the knowledgeable transport execu: to give his best, for at that time too much business was ng to the kind of hauliers who employed young men on keep and pocket-money basis ". During the War period ingle body provided the most satisfactory operating unit the area, but afterwards the number of the ancillary tides has steadily risen so that the total goods vehicle mgth in the province is now 42,000 compared with 7,500 ne 30 years ago. In addition there are more than 30,000 icultural tractors, many of which are employed to some ent on transport duties.
k way from the more prosperous areas the endeavours the Authority to offer a reliable freight service have en been frustrated by illegal competition which has :vented the U.T.A. from fulfilling its responsibility to wide transport on a strictly commercial basis. The .stion that those interested in the subject are asking is: e conditions of the future likely to be any easier?
Fhroughout the years the U.T.A. has had the resPonsi
ity of providing a reasonable service", but when envisaged Act comes into force they will cease to be -nmon carriers and it will rest with members of the blic requiring transport services to pay for them on this
rely commercial basis. On certain routes in certain as there is completely adequate scope for either public private operator, but it is difficult to see anyone start; up as a carrier at certain places in the hinterland, so ster may now be in the process of being deprived of s "reasonable " facility. An assurance has been given Government spokesmen that subsidies will be eonered, if necessary, to ensure that particular essential vices shall continue, but that does not seem likely to :ve the difficulties of, say, a farmer who may be faced th a local haulier who finds it profitable to pick and oose his traffic.
The Northern Ireland Government has said that it is ;arded as inevitable that an attempt must be made to d some way of increasing the flexibility, and if possible reducing the cost, of road freight services available to lustry. Equally inevitably it would appear that some mmunities will lose facilities or will pay more for those at are available. Whilst it has been proposed that there ould be a licensing system for passenger transport no !ntion appears to have been made of goods, but it is difficult to see how chaos could be prevented without some form of permit, and existing local operators fear that a differential licence fee may result in heavy dues being levied on the most promising services.
Some people have spoken of the move to end the U.T.A. monopoly as "selling back ", implying something of the same nature as denatio,ialization in Britain. However, it has to be borne in mind that 29 years have elapsed since the setting up of the Northern Ireland Transport Board.
When I talked to Mr. J, Duke, general manager of Wordie and Co. (Ulster) Ltd., regarding the matter, he said the way appeared to have been opened for a return to the old days. They were definitely interested in opening up fresh operations but would have to see what the licence covered and what it would cost. Another aspect of importance was how freely these permits were to be issued to newcomers. Mr. Duke commented that with plenty of general work in hand they would have to await a clarification of the position and examine the prospects very closely before committing themselves to an extension of the present set-up Still Having Meetings Mr. J. Campbell, of Northern Ireland Trailers Ltd., told me that discussions regarding future road operations by his company were in progress. At present they had no special plans, it obviously being necessary to wait for the air to be cleared by the introduction of the Bill. Mr. Campbell said they would probably put on their own transport in Northern Ireland but they were still having meetings with the U.T.A. regarding the facilities that might be offered by the Authority's successor. It would depend entirely on the propositions put up whether continued use of Ulster Transport services would be economic. Northern Ireland Trailers, of course, has its registered office in Belfast.
Various transport men in Ulster foresee that new operators may be in a position to negotiate different agreements with the unions, so making a fresh start. In this way they might overcome the difficulties that undoubtedly arise in consequence of the many restrictive practices that have been built up and have hampered the U.T.A. in recent years. One example is the insistence on the extensive employment of helpers on delivery vehicles. This means than on average less help has to be provided by the customers in Ulster than is the case in England, but it also means that on average the rates must be higher.
On the passenger side Mr. A. Algeo, the U.T.A. chairman, recently indicated that instead of having a flat rate of fares, experiments might be started in making particular areas pay their way. The question of farming out services might be considered as a means of relieving the Authority of the cost of uneconomic routes.
Two significant statements have recently been made by Northern Ireland Ministers. "Efficient transport is a pre-condition of industrial growth ", said Mr. Brian Faulkner, Minister of Commerce: Ulster already had a good road network and at present on a per capita basis they were spending one third more than England and Wales on road development. Plans announced for the next five years would double this already high rate of expenditure. Mr. William Craig. Minister of Home Affairs, said thatit seemed to the Government inevitable that an attempt must be made to find some way of increasing the flexibility and, if possible, cheapening the road freight services available to industry in Northern Ireland. Those two statements provide in a nutshell the background against which the forthcoming movements must be viewed.