TOLL S' ORIES
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• If the Government introduces motorway tolls two-thirds of Britain's truck drivers plan to switch to Aroacis in a bid to avoid the extra charges which, many believe, will cost jobs and put ownerdrivers out of business.
CM surveyed drivers at a busy truckstop in the South of England to ass the reaction to Transport S2cretary John MacGregor's proposals for road pricing Thesv include electronic tagging in the long run, with interim permits costing hauliers as much as £750 a year for the next five years.
Our sample included 36% owner-drivers and 64% Employee drivers. Only 20% supported the idea, and then only if all the extra money raised was spent on road improvements The 64% who said they would be foru,:d to use A-roads accepted that this could lead to increased congestion. Half of our survey feared that the extra costs could force ownerdrivers to quit and would threaten drivers' jobs. Few respondents believed that the Government would reduce VED charges to compensate for the new charges.
Only 12.5% planned to stick to motorways whatever the cost. These included a driver from Ireivid who said his firm could not afford to risk extra delays on top of possible delays already faced during ferry crossings. Another driver was impressed by the way tolls in Germany, France and Spain pay for the upkeep of motonvays: most reckoned that the cash would simply find its way into Treasury coffers to reduce the public spending requirement EWE IMCIIIE *AI !Mod) "MY MAW niaY increase our use of Aroads" it's another thing for the transport industry to suffer and a way for the Government to get back its borrowing," said Felixstowe owner-driver David Seers, who will definitely use A-roads more if tolls are introduced. Seers had just forked out £250 to comply with an EC directive on new Hazchem written courses and was equally opposed to the permit system: "A company that runs 10 trucks will pay £7,500 every year that's a lot of money. Anyone that uses motorways will not agree toll" Lincolnshire owner-driver Andrew Allen, based at Market Rasen, carries road planers. He opposes tolls but said: "I've got to use motorways because my load is so heavy but I may have to sell up if tolls are introduce& My truck costs me £5,000 a year as it is on mad tax and VED and it goes up by £750 in November." Allen rovers about 900km a month which could cost him .C25 a month if a proposed figure of 4.5p a mile for electronic tagging is implemented. He shook his head sadly-. "1 can't do a lot about it" Slough ownerdriver Clive Rogers does about 400 miles a day carrying Fisons products up to Goole in his Volvo Flit, he has been an owner-operator for just seven months. "It's not a very good start, is it?' he said. "The tolls are a oust we can't pass on." He believes that an influx of heavy traffic on to A-roads would simply cause them to be converted into motorways and hit by tolls too. "You will be tolled twice," he said. "People like myself will have to seriously consider whether it's worth carrying on: "You couldn't print my opinion!" said agency driver Rob Howden. "You can't trust this Government—if they came to my door, I'd set the dogs on them."
Howden added that if the money raised from existing road and vehicle taxes were ploughed back into roads there would be no need for tolls, but he does not believe the new money will be spent on roads either. Vehicles diverting to A-roads will lead to delays and delays would cost jobs, he concluded. "There's a lot of people with rates being cut to the bone" "I am not opposed if the money is used to pay for the upkeep of roads" kiriacieou CL
"My employer may increase our use of A-roads because drivers are under instructions to conserve fuel by not exceeding 50 to 55mph," said David Clarke, who drives a Mercedes 1429, carrying pulp for Cumbrian haulier T Brady. But Clarke believed the resulting delays might lead to price hikes. He also mentioned problems with bridges away from the motorway system: "Half won't be able to take IIGVs."
Philip Beailsford, driving an MAN 7.5tonner carrying plaster mouldings for Hodldn & Jones of Sheffield, considered the question ruefully: "People are reluctant to pay more if they can avoid it There will be a switch to A-roads which will cause congestion leading to more problems. In the end, there will be village toffs."
Brailsford reckons that small operators will be hit because customers will take their business to large operators who are more easily able to absorb the costs: it will put smaller operators out of business," he predicted.
MINORITY
Among the minority supporting tolls was Jim Chew, driving a Seddon Atkinson for Birmingham-based Macleod & Son delivering paper to Romford I am not opposed if the money is used to pay for the upkeep of roads, as it is in Germany, France and Italy," he mid. "Rough roads shake the wagon to bits so money could be saved in the long run if better roads cut down vibration in the shock absorbers and springs. It would benefit smaller businesses with their older wagons."
declared George Grant, driving a Scania 113 for Suffolk haulier FJ Taylor-Balls." They have longer roads on the Continent. What alternative ma& do you have here? There will be hold-ups everywhere." He believes that tolls will have a widespread effect on the cost of living
George Bennett of Bennett Transport from Nottingham proposed an alternative solution: "They could use the money from road fund licences-only 6% of that is spent on roads. Or they could do away with mad tax and put 10p on a gallon of diesel. We might stand for it then."
Irish driver Eugene Maguire, on a run to London from his base at Hanlon Transport in County Louth, was understandably more relaxed about UK tolls than his English counterparts: "We will stick to motorways whatever happens because of the time factor.
"We cannot waste time on side road it's bad enough facing delays fmm the ferries."
Our latest survey made one thing clear.
The Government has a lot of explaining to do if it is to avoid adding road hauliers to the growing list of those who question the wisdom of its transport policies, which increasingly appear to suffer a lack of integration.
At the lounch of the Green Paper "Paying for Better Motorways" Iran Smielary John MacGregor said he didn't want the prospect of motorway ch to create diversion on to other roods. But, while appearing to favour the electronic charging method over the permit sy the Department of Transport acknowledges that diversion to "unsuitable" roods wot higher than if permits were used. Trials in the West Midlands and Avon suggest that charges of 1 .5p/mile for car light commercial vehicles and 4.5p/mile 10f LGVs might cause a 10% diversion in of vehicle miles at peak periods under the electronic system. Doubling or halvin charges seemec to result in proportionate increases and decreases in diversion, 1 could be higher in off-peak periods. Diversion under the annual permit system would be relatively little" says the DOT. TNT chief executive Alan Jones says charging for motorway use defeats the whole c of motorways: 'Motorways are there to take traffic out of towns and villages,' he "People will try and avoid charges by going bock through town centres."