Political Commentary
Page 64
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Perils of Co-existence
By JANUS
THERE is a difference between saying that transport should be freed from politics and acting as though this desirable end had already been achieved. The trader is particularly prone to take the second point of view. He thinks he knows what kind of transport system would suit him best, he senses certain political obstacles, and determines that the right policy is to ignore them. As a businessman, he is neither a Socialist nor a Conservative, and is not concerned with ideological quarrels about nationalization and free enterprise.
His neutralism may seem to be getting results at the present time. Nearly half the fleet of British Road Services has gone back to private ownership. With the remainder B.R.S. are doing rather better, or so it is reported, than when they had something approaching a monopoly. When prices generally are going up, the trader is naturally delighted to find road transport rates going down. He can play the buyers of transport units off against one another and against B.R.S., who are forced to cut their own charges in accordance with the prevailing fashion.
Repeal of the 25-mile limit helps by releasing thousands of 'operators into the long-distance field. In some ways the customer has an ideal market. As Mr. G. W. Quick Smith put it recently, there are available the advantages of large-scale organization without sacrificing the benefits of competition. This position has been reached as a result of massive political intervention, first on one side and then the other. Many traders, having ridden out the storm into what appears to be a transport users' paradise, would like things to stay exactly as they are The argument in favour is insidious. It is a pity to abandon the good work that B.R.S. have done. There is a danger that disposal will mean only fragmentation, and no really large businesses will be left to carry on the regular trunk services. The demand for small units is near saturation point, and B.R.S. now have left approximately the same number of vehicles as they took over from the larger ' acquired undertakings. All vestiges of monopoly ended on January 1, and there are enough vehicles held by independent operators under A licences to keep rates and services keen.
Doubt Creeps In
Co-existence would depend upon a political truce. It is obvious that the Socialists would support an amending Bill to halt denationalization. At this point doubts begin to creep in. The Socialists could hardly be expected to let the Bill through without debate. They would be justified in making capital out of what they would regard as the failure of the Government. They would introduce amendments of their own. To mobilize the support of trade and industry they would extol the virtues of uninhibited competition between public and private enterprise.
What is reasonably certain is that the Socialists would give no rash pledges to leave intact the situation created by another Transport Act. The Party policy includes .renationalization where it would suit the British Transport Commission, and hints at restrictions on hauliers and C-licence holders. This policy is not likely to be altered, c24 The public, and perhaps even the politicians, hanker after a permanent solution of the transport problem. This is not to be found in the present situation, which may appear to be stable on the surface but is, in fact, changing rapidly. The acquisition by a small operator of even two or three vehicles may transform his business radically, and to add to the confusion extensive use is being made of the provision whereby vehicles on special-A licence may be freely assigned from one operator to another.
While any considerable section of road haulage is retained by the Commission, there is always a risk to the stability of the industry. Times may change, and in a year or two B.R.S. may again be making a loss. This would create difficulties for whatever Government happened to be in power. As it is the Commission have trouble enough at the moment with tlie railway workers, whose discontent stems from the fact that railway revenue is insufficient to meet their demands for increased wages.
To Have or to Hold
A truce on the present line of demarcation between State ownership and free enterprise would be precarious. The trader is under an illusion who imagines that by supporting it he is being non-political. If he looks more than a few weeks ahead, he must realize that there are certain things he wants to have or to hold. He requirescomplete freedom to carry his own goods in his own vehicles. He wants sufficient competition among providers of transport to keep the supply adequate, the service efficient and the rate economic.
Even to name these desiderata is a political act. In the December 10, 1954, issue of The Commercial Motor, Mr. Ashley Taylor set out the views on denationalization of traders and hauliers in the East Riding. He noted in particular that one transport manager rejected all political responsibility for his workaday activities. "We shall continue to use B.R.S.;" he said, "as long as they are available, do their job satisfactorily and are competitive on price. We are against monopoly, so are against nationalization."
Is it really as simple as that? The intention from the beginning was that B.R.S. should hold dominion over a monopoly, in return for which privilege they would provide a comprehensive service within the framework of integration. All that is good in the work of B.R.S. has been done on these terms. In a world of competition, road haulage under State ownership is an anachronism. The sensible thing to do is to transfer it to private enterprise.
Suitable purchasers willhave to be found, and this may not be possible. In the end some arrangement may have to be botched up, leaving B.R.S. with a fleet of anything up to 15,000 vehicles. The trader may not find this to his advantage, or likely to produce a stable settlement. He may come to wish that he had given more decided support to a programme of complete denationalization, and more decided encouragement to prospective purchasers. If such action is in accordance with his present wishes, let him at least have the courage of his convictions and not lean over backwards to avoid being called a political animal.