Peyton's message for 'hog-tied' transport
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• A blow to those who would like to see "transport systems trammelled and hog-tied by restrictions" was struck by Mr John Peyton, Minister for Transport Industries, when he addressed a lunchtime seminar organized by International Business Communications in London on Tuesday.
Mr Peyton said he was opposed to restrictions on transport which diminished flexibility and efficiency without bestowing any notable benefit on the public.
He cited the European system of forked tariffs and quotas as two instances of useless restrictions. Mr Peyton said that he was not persuaded that forked tariffs conferred much benefit on anyone "save perhaps the inefficient operator". He continued: "I have invited the Commission to let us have some advice on the negotiation and implementation of the system and hope to be convinced that the system can and does work".
Mr Peyton described quotas as "illiberal protectionist devices which hamper the movement of goods; require an extensive bureaucratic system for their enforcement and incidentally generate too much paper". He accepted, however, that multilateral quotas — in sufficient numbers — "could be less evil" than the bilateral variety. The Minister said that restrictions on transport depended for their validity and worth upon the degree to which they protected the public against recognizable evils and nuisances. Mere organization which served no useful purpose had no merit.
But Mr Peyton's message of freedom was not completely unbounded. He warned that nothing could be more damaging to the interests of the transport industry than "an unthinking assertion by the industry of the right literally to force a passage wherever there is physical space. The congestion of narrow streets, the brutal invasion of unsuitable country lanes, the thunderous noise made by modern heavy vehicles, these things are the enemies not just of the public but of those who operate the transport systems."
Mr Peyton said there must be rules in the interests of safety governing the construction, use and maintenance of vehicles.
Mr Peyton ended with a pat on the back for the transport industry. He said that he appreciated the understanding of the Government's problems shown by the industry.