'Revolutionary Recommendations' b R.H.A. Licensing Group?
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ESPONDING to the toast of the F. R.H.A. proposed by Dr. Beeching at the Association's annual dinner at Grosvenor House, London, on Wednesday, R.H.A. chairman Mr. D. 0. Good said the fact that Dr. Beeching had proposed the toast was a significant indication of the many things they had in common, although remaining vigorous competitors.
He stressed that British Railways and R.H.A. were responsible for the carriage of two thirds of the nation's freight traffic and over such a wide field there were bound to be many opportunities for collaboration to give both trader and manufacturer a service that might not be so efficient if each ignored the other's existence.
Co-operation between road and rail was no new thing, but what was novel was the conscious and deliberate realization that the nation's transport could benefit if permanent joint machinery were set up for discussing the many common problems.
Mr. Good said: "It would be a great mistake to advocate that this voluntary 'arrangement should ever harden into the kind of fossilized or integrated system which is sometimes advocated by people who can have very little understanding of what transport is all about.
"The cardinal error these people make is in supposing that one can treat the problems of road and rail as if they were exactly alike, whereas in fact they could hardly be more different. In particular, it is surprising to see how many people seem to suppose that, because we have had a drastic plan for the railways, there should be a similarly drastic overhaul of the road haulage industry.
" I must protest as strongly as possible against this fallacious reasoning. I hope you will not think it inhospitable of me if I say most emphatically. Road haulage does not need a Beeching '. I am sure, Dr. Beeching, you will understand what I mean. As hauliers, we share the general admiration for your comprehensive and luc:d assessment of the railways' problem.
Mr. Good went on to say that because the Minister of Transport had announced a committee of inquiry into road haulage licensing, some people had assumed that this was a response to the demand made from time to time that the Government should "do a Beeching" for road transport as well as for the railways. But he was confident that the Minister had
nothing like this in mind. Road haulage problems were not at all comparable to those of the railways. He did not subscribe to the equally absurd view that the haulage industry was perfect. There were many licensing problems and these had been studied hard by the R.H.A.'s own group for the best part of two years. There would he one or two fairly revolutionary recommendations by this study group, he said,
Apart from licensing, not every goods vehicle on the roads was a credit to the industry, although some critics grossly exaggerated this point. Mr. Good referred to Mr. Harold Wilson talking about the "creaming off ,of the more profitable parts of freight traffic by road haulage". He said this meant nothing at all in the present circumstances where the railways and hauliers were free to negotiate the rates at which they would operate. Presumably Mr. Wilson needed to keep the phrase in order to justify his co-called solution of an integrated transport policy.
Another typical piece of analysis by Mr. Wilson was the assumption that a. 20-ton lorry was subsidised by about £20 a week. Mr. Wilson gave no explanation of this startling conclusion. Perhaps he was confusing this with the fact that an operator of a typical heavy long-distance vehicle, far from being subsidized at this _rate, actually paid something like that amount in special taxation before the vehicle earned a penny.
Equally difficult to understand was Mr. Wilson's reference to the "artificial ceiling" which he alleged had restricted expansion of B.R.S.; presumably he would agree that during the time there was a Labour Government, B.R.S. was at liberty to expand as much as it liked. But despite this freedom and the restriction of their competitors the number of B.R.S. vehicles actually declined substantially.
Mr. Good, concluded: "It is, I think, significant that we have been joined in our campaign by B.R.S. We have many close links with them and do not ourselves perceive the differences which are often exaggerated for political purposes. On many matters co-operation with B.R.S. comes naturally to us."
T.R.T.A. Moves On Licence inquiry IN preparation for the official inquiry I into the road transport licensing system, the Traders Road Transport Association has approached a number if other main organizations likely to be involved in the investigation.
• The bodies being contacted include the Federation of British Industries, the • National Association of British Manufac, turers and the Association of British Chambers of Commerce.
Mr. Turner Re-elected AT a meeting of the Council of ULU. in Hamburg on Monday, Mr. K. C. Turner, president of t .R.T.A., was re-appointed a vice-president of the I.R.U. and a member of its presidential executive. Among matters dealt with at the meeting was the German and French governments' restriction on the entry of duty-free fuel in the tanks of commercial vehicles. It was decided to make art approach to these governments with a view to this restriction being lifted.
Meetings were also held of Section ITT of the Union and of the Section's special committee which maintains liaison with the E.E.C. Further attention was given to the problem of commercial-vehicle