RAIL AND ROAD TRANSPORT.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20629, 19 August 1932, Page 11

RAIL AND ROAD TRANSPORT.

* COMPETITION IN BRITAIN. RECOMMENDATIONS OF CONFERENCE. DRASTIC TAXATION ON MOTORVEHICLES. (UNITED I HESS ASSOCIATION—B? XLSCTBIO TELEGRAPH—COPSRIGHT.) (Received August 18th, 7 p.m.) LONDON, August 18. Drastically increased taxation oil heavy motor-vehicles and smaller increases in taxation on lighter commercial vehicles (motor-vehicles to pay £60,000,000 annually to maintain roads) are the principal recommendations in the unanimous report of the Road and Rail Conference under the chairmanship of Sir Arthur Salter, and comprising the heads of the four great railways and four representatives of road transport. Tho chief task was to suggest to the Government how the railways could compete on fairer terms for goods traffic which recently has been greatly diverted to the roads.—"The Times" Cable. [The total mileage of public roads in Great Britain is approximately 177,000, and the cost ol ! maintenance and improvement in 1925-29 was £57,342,643. All the roads have been classified by the Ministry of Transport. Motor license duties are paid into a road fund which is administered by the Minister for Transport. From tho fund grants are made to tho various highway authorities toward tho cost of maintenance of roads and bridges. During the financial year 1930-31, the grants from the road fund amounted to Tho total gross receipts from the taxation of road vehicles between December Ist, 1929, and November 30th, 1930, amounted to £27,040,384. The approximate number of motorvehicles licensed during that period was 2,260,500.]