1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166 
ANNIVERSARY
Page 88
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
JUST 10 years ago, in May, 1952, the Government published a three-page White Paper on transport policy. Although nobody realized it at the time, this document was the high-water mark of denationalization. It criticized British Road Services (referred to throughout as the Road Haulage Executive) for their elaborate system of depots, which, it was stated, "cannot give trade and industry the speedy, individual and specialized services afforded by free hauliers before nationalization, and could not stand up to competition from them." The Government were therefore convinced that B.R.S. should revert to private enterprise.
The Transport Act that followed the White Paper did not, in fact, provide for complete denationalization, for it would have allowed B.R.S. to keep between 3,000 and 4,000 vehicles. A later' measure brought the process to a halt, leaving B.R.S. with some 16,000 vehicles, approximately the same number as they operate today. The severe strictures passed on them had evidently been modified, but many of the other promises were fulfilled exactly. For example, the 25-mile limit imposed on independent hauliers by the Transport Act, 1947, did not apply to the vehicles that were sold back, and was ultimately abolished.
The passage of 10 years should be sufficient for an assessment of the Government's policy in the light of the results. Did the return to free enterprise help trade and industry, and was it in the public interest? No complete answer can be given, or rather the information on which it might be based has never been collected. There have been conflicting claims, for the most part not backed up by facts and figures. •
A. PART from political prejudices, there are many difficulties in the way of a balanced judgment. Hauliers have claimed that the level of rates fell sharply after denational
tion, and liave possibly even Vet not climbed back to what they were when the British Transport Commission had a virtual monopoly of long-distance transport. There is almost certainly something in this, for the constant complaint by traders was that they were paying much more after 1947 than previously, and that, whenever B.R.S. inherited a variety of rates for a particular traffic, their procedure was invariably to select the highest for their own schedules.
Unfortunately for the purposes of comparison, there were not then, and are not now, agreed rates schedules that can be put up against each other. There is equally no yardstick to measure efficiency and service. Traders said loudly and frequently that the standard of these two attributes declined under nationalization, but the precise significance of the complaints depended upon interpretation and was therefore open to question.
One possible basis for comparison remains. The first comprehensive survey of road goods transport took place in September, 1952, almost simultaneously with the publication of the White Paper. An even more detailed survey has recently been initiated, and when the results are known they should make interesting reading against the results for 1952. In the meantime, some idea of the effect of denationalization is provided by the additional survey made in 1956.
It was not the purpose of this survey—and no doubt the same thing applies to the current version—to make any kind of political statement. To reach conclusions other than those made by the Ministry of Transport in the report, it is necessary to select facts and figures fret different sections. Even by this means, an attempt ca be made to answer only a limited number of question and these are mainly concerned with the volume of trail', carried.
The amount of work done is some indication of th customers' satisfaction. On this assumption, a compariso might be possible between the extent to which trade an industry passed their traffic to B.R.S. and independet hauliers in 1952, when B.R.S. was predominant, and i 1958, when the balance had shifted the other wa; Inevitably there are other factors that cannot be ignore+ including variations in the total traffic available and tt total number of vehicles operating in each of the tw years—and also in the extent to which traders carried the own goods. Another complication is that B.R.S., on if whole, carry long-distance traffic and operate the hcavii types of vehicle, and there is little point in trying to matc their achievement with that of the whole range of haulie with A, Contract A and B licences.
One possible way out is tci restrict the comparison 1 vehicles on A licence, Or operated by B.R.S. and Briti Railways, and having an unladen weight in excess of thr+ tons. It would be advisable in addition to look at II results for all the vehicles of this type, whatever the type + licence. It must be pointed out that the available figur do not permit a direct comparison between independent ar nationalized transport, because the 1958 survey does ni make the distinction, but merely classifies vehicles accon ing to their size and the type of licence. It is for this reasc that the road vehicles of the railways cannot be excludt from the inquiry. The two surveys measure performan, according to the number of miles run, tons carried at ton-miles covered. The last unit is the most convenient fl the present purpose, and gives a criterion of vehicle effic ency as exact as can be expected.
The first table below shows the number of vehicles wi an unladen weight exceeding three tons operated on licence by the British Transport Commission, and by operators in 1952 and 1958. The second table gives tl corresponding breakdown for the estimated weekly aggr gate of ton-miles. It can be seen from the tables that, average, each heavy vehicle carried about one quarter mo traffic during the later period, but that the increase w about one half for each vehicle operated by a profession carrier, whether independent or nationalized.
In selecting the statistics for the comparison, son arbitrary assumptions have had to be made. When ft account is taken of these, the fact remains that my analy; bears out both the popular opinion and that of trade al industry that the services available for the long-distan transport of goods by road improved substantially aft nationalization. If the latest survey provides furth information pointing in the same direction, it will enat the Government to argue that their policy for road goo transport has been the correct one, and that the anniversa just past has been a very happy one indeed.
Table 1 Vehicles exceeding 3 tons unladen weight A licence B.R.S. Railways Aggregate Total for all operato, 1952 8,286 16,780 2,240 27,306 88,600 1958 37,000 — 37,000 148,502 Table 2 Estimated weekly aggregate ton-miles (millions) A licence B.R.S. Railways Aggregate Total for all °mato 1952 13 , 52.9 0.5 66.4 147.2 1958 131.8 — 131.8 306.7