Flood-hit firms need hours concessions
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• by Miles Brignall Transport firms badly hit by this week's flooding are asking the Department of Transport to temporarily lift the drivers' hours restrictions in a bid to stay in business.
As flood waters rose in several parts of the country, ministers at the DoT were forced to consider whether or not to issue a concession to the worst affected operators.
According to the Freight Transport Association's regional director in Leeds. Bob Cross. BOC's Selby plant is among the firms that have asked to be exempted from hours rules, as flooding has forced it to relocate several of its drivers further away from customers.
"The situation up here has been terrible. Many of the small towns and villages have been flooded, and the disruption has been huge, The Plumb Centre in Ripon is under water, and for many other firms its just a case of
trying to keep going."
Hauliers not based in flooded areas have not Pccaped the disruption. At the height of the rush hour on 3 November the Al northbound was completely closed, causing 30-mile tailbacks. Other bad areas include East Sussex again, and the towns around Gloucestershire.
The rail network has also been badly affected. The Post Office, which carries 20m letters by rail every evening, describes the delays as horrendous, and is already predicting that the disruption will have a knock-on effect at Christmas.
"We have had to put on extra lorries to trunk letters that would normally go by rail, and we have chartered extra planes. The problem has been that if the service is running at all, it's being so delayed it's missing the vehicle that has come to meet it," says a spokesman.