Freight companies 'need returns on road pricing'
Date: 30 August 2007
Freight and haulage companies will only welcome road pricing if operators are compensated through related gains, according to a major industry report.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has released its Quarterly Transport Activity Survey (QTAS), which reveals that operators will demand reduced journey times and improved journey time reliability as a direct result of the charges.
Considering a scenario in which road pricing delivered "school holiday levels of traffic every day of the year", 40 per cent of operators suggested they would expect to reduce fuel usage. By reducing the amount of time spent in traffic jams, haulage firms would reportedly save eight per cent on current fuel usage.
A quarter of those surveyed said that they would be able to reduce driver-related costs if the roads were less busy, as less overtime would be required.
One in seven respondents also envisaged a situation in which fewer kilometres were covered by the lorries and one in six suggested it would be possible to run a smaller number of vehicles.
FTA economics analyst, Elizabeth Leroy, said: "The latest QTAS survey results reinforce FTA's view that road pricing is not the panacea to the country's transport woes. For many operators, incremental improvements of a few minutes saved here and there cannot be aggregated up into a benefit that can be realised through additional deliveries on a vehicle journey.
"The highways authorities must apply Mr Micawber's principle when setting road pricing tariffs and identifying exempt vehicle groups; road pricing for industry is only acceptable where the money saved exceeds the money paid."
This follows a government report in July which found that congestion charging in London had indeed kept traffic levels down and cut snarl-ups in the western extensions by a quarter.
Elsewhere, the FTA report indicates that the third quarter of 2007 will see greater levels of freight activity, with UK-based international hauliers enjoying improved conditions.
The south-east, Midlands and Scotland are likely to enjoy the most notable increases in freight activity in the coming months.
User Comments
No Comments