'Road cash must rise'
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THE ROAD and vehicle lobbies showed a united front to MPs last week as they renewed pressure on the Government to spend more money on roads.
Seven groups, including the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association, staged a display in the House of Commons.
The key message was the need to raise road spending to improve the efficiency of freight and passenger transport and to help the vehicle industry, Britain's biggest manufacturing sector and manufacturing exporter. It would also improve road safety.
"The commercial attractiveness to investors of an area can be judged by its access to modern highways and its public transport facilities," said George Turnbull, president of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
A booklet produced for the display, The Motor Vehicle in Britain, showed how much industry depended on haulage to keep its costs down. Transport costs amounted to 80 per cent of the price of stone and slate and 30 per cent of the cost of milk and milk products.
It showed how motor tax has raced ahead of road spending in the past eight years.
The display was a useful way of giving busy MPs an overview of the industry, RHA director general Freddie Plaskett said.