Counting the cost
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Hauliers have come out in force to condemn VOSA's plans to close vehicle testing stations and replace them with privately run Authorised Testing Facilities, but the government agency is still pressing ahead.
Words: Joanna Bourke
A BATTLE began late last year when the Department for Transport (DfT) gave VOSA the task of having 85% of annual vehicle tests delivered at privately run Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) by 2013. This has had the knock-on effect of four testing stations either being closed, or given closing dates,despite the fact that not one ATF had been set up.
Closures of the test centres (see map) have led to hauliers being forced to clock up extra miles travelling to alternative centres. Extra miles mean extra costs for cash-strapped hauliers.
Yet despite this, VOSA is still ploughing ahead to meet its target of having 33% of annual tests carried out at ATFs by March 2010.
Closer to the customer According to VOSA, the purpose of ATFs is to bring vehicle testing closer to the customer, so that when operators make a booking, they will get a contract that guarantees a VOSA inspector will turn up.
There are about 220 Designated Premises (DPs), hut a VOSA spokeswoman says: "ATFs may have vehicle size and type restrictions that will make it easier for operators and repairers to comply, in that the test hay area can be tailored to fit the size and type of vehicles that the individual site wishes to test, and thus reducing costs."
However, hauliers remain sceptical. claiming it is not economically viable to run one. VOSA's customer director Kevin Rooney says the agency will continue to charge £51 for conducting tests at ATFs, while the ATE owner will place a charge on top at their discretion, but the average would be an additional 121.
Matthew Kitson, owner of the eponymous Bradford-based haulier and CV workshop, says during a tough recession it is not a priority to invest in new equipment and pay for maintenance.
He says: "I can't be there on a handy basis; I have to make profit."
Meanwhile, following a meeting on 23 July to discuss the closure of the Steeton testing station in West Yorkshire, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) area manager for the northern region Jeff Marriott says: "The general feeling was that no-one could run a third-party ATF on a commercial basis, because the fixed test fee and restricted hours of operation would limit operators' financial opportunities.
Expenditure "Operators with sufficiently large fleets may be able to justify the expenditure based on the extra costs associated with travelling to distant VOSA test stations, but operators felt that VOSA should be compelled to continue to offer testing facilities to ensure road safety."
Individual test lanes are also being decommissioned this year at the following 10 stations: Birmingham, Glasgow (Bishopbriggs), Edmonton, Gillingham, Leicester, Liverpool, Mitcham, Perth, Purfleet and Southampton.
So, as things stand, a number of operators are being forced to take longer journeys to VOSA sites, which inevitably will mean longer waiting times because the ATFs that VOSA has promised will save the sector costs, are currently non-existent. •
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