Taking transport
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into the future
KEIR FITCH
Deputy head of cabinet, European Commission
The man who created Europe’s transport white paper believes the EC exists to support the transport industry
Words: Patric Cunnane
WHEN HAULIERS think of the European Commission (EC) they imagine a bureaucratic body, responsible for illing their lives with regulations on everything from working time to tachograph design. Many ind it hard to believe the men in suits share any of their daily concerns.
It may come as a surprise then to hear Keir Fitch, one of the EC’s top transport igures, say: “We are a supportive body to the road transport industry, but we need to manage change to keep on trucking. The philosophy is clear: transport underpins economic activity.” Fitch is deputy head of the ofice of transport commissioner Siim Kallas and senior adviser on road and rail policy. He co-ordinated the drafting of last year’s ambitious transport white paper, which sets goals until 2050. He began his career in London as a lawyer, moved to the civil service and eventually transferred to Brussels, working for former transport commissioner Neil Kinnock.
Developments this month prove that Brussels can listen. At a meeting of the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles, the EC unveiled proposals to unlock the impasse over trailer height (CM 9 February). The EC had been insisting that new-build single trailers should not exceed 4m from 2014. Now the industry has been given two options. The Small Series Type Approval Exemption from the Masses and Dimensions Directive could be tweaked to allow suficient vehicles to meet local markets. A second proposal classiied trailers and rigids as Euroclass (up to 4m) and nonEuroclass (over 4m) and would need approval from the European Parliament.
Construction and use is normally dealt with by the directorate general for enterprise, but Fitch says his department became heavily involved. “We should allow countries to have higher trailers if they wish,” he says. “It looks as though it’s moving to a resolution.” CM is meeting Fitch on a wintry afternoon in Brussels in the EC’s imposing Berlaymont building. We settle down to discuss current issues before moving on to the bigger picture that the white paper has described. There is also the role to be played by Denmark, which last month took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council.
Ready for change
Cabotage regulation is almost certain to go. Fitch says the industry should be ready for change in 2015. Before then, the EC will hear from an eight-strong group that is considering the effects of scrapping regulation on internal markets. The EC will draft a proposal in 2013, which could take two years to transpose into law. “We are keen to make the market competitive and eficient. Siim Kallas cannot understand why there are still limits in an open market,” says Fitch. However, he adds that safeguards may be needed to prevent foreign hauliers undercutting local operators.
A new generation of digital tachographs is imminent and Fitch says that prototypes will be road tested to prevent faulty equipment hitting the market. The priority is to make the units tamperproof and draw up lexible legislation that allows speciications to be changed more quickly to meet industry demands. The smart tachograph will have functions including satellite positioning, communication for roadside checks and links to intelligent transport systems such as hazard warning systems. If the draft legislation is not held up, the industry can expect the new units by 2015.
The EC famously opposed the inclusion of owner-drivers in the Working Time Directive, considering it impractical to police self-employed operators. It wanted to focus instead on the false selfemployed, those who are not free to work for another employer. The battle was lost in June 2010 when the European Parliament rejected the EC’s position. “Those who argued to include them said it was a safety issue, but the drivers’ hours regulations provide for that,” says Fitch.
He accepts that the EC has lost the argument for now but believes it may return. “We have no choice but to enforce the law. However, if member states ind it does not work, we could go back to parliament with a new proposal.”
So, to the bigger picture. The transport white paper lays down several challenges for the industry. It aims to shift 50% of long-distance freight from road to rail and cut transport sector greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050. MEPs have approved an interim target, cutting CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020. The volun
tary Eurovignette Directive, which collects tolls to pay for LGV air pollution, noise and congestion, will eventually be made compulsory.
Alternative fuels
Fitch links this last proposal to the need to raise revenues as traditional fuels run out. “The transport industry is 96% dependent on fossil fuels. We need to ind ways of moving away from oil.” There are alternative fuels, although LGVs present the greatest challenge. Shifting more freight to rail will help, he says, although he accepts that rail does not cover the last mile. “But it can play a bigger part and it can be competitive on shorter journeys.” Now Fitch is working hard to secure a €32bn (£26.6bn) budget over the next seven years for the EC’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). This is four times the €8bn (£6.6bn) spent in the past seven years. As well as developing core European networks covering road, rail and waterways, money will be spent on secure parking for freight transport. Private partnerships will be encouraged, bottlenecks eliminated and links built. The priority is to ensure Europe-wide beneits. It’s up to the Danish presidency to make progress on this task during its six-month stint.
“I believe they can get a long way,” concludes Fitch. ■
TRANSPORT WHITE PAPER
Key points: • end cabotage restrictions; • implement the Eurovignette Directive, targeting LGVs on the principle that the polluter pays; • work toward a harmonised single system of tolls on major roads; • shift 50% of long-distance freight from road to rail and waterways by 2050; • cut transport sector greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050; • provide enforcement agencies with data from the pan-European register of operators for use at roadside checks. Goes live in 2013.
For more information, go to: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/strategies/ 2011_white_paper_en.htm