ROAD TRANSPORT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 67, 20 March 1943, Page 6

ROAD TRANSPORT

GOODS SERVICE CHARGES

Road service charges in future would be regulated on a national basis by a goods service charges tribunal instead of being decentralised on a regional basis, stated the Minister of Transport (Mr.: O'Brien)' and the Minister in Charge of Stabilisation (Mr. Sulliyan) in a joint statement, issued last night. They explained that the general purpose of the Goods Service Charges Tribunal Emergency Regulations, which were issued this week, is an investigation of the incidence of transport charges and the stabilisation of those charges in harmony with the Government's stabilisation policy.

The .tribunal to be set up is to consist of not more than five persons and not less than three, one of them to be also appointed as chairman. Mr. O'Brien expects to announce the personnel within the next few days.

The. Government, said the Ministers in their joint statement, realised from the first that its stabilisation policy would not be fully effective unless transport charges were brought within its scope. The annual cost of road goods services was about £9,000,000, which 4 meant that road goods service charges were an important factor in industrial costs. The Ministers added that the problem of stabilising .more effectively the costs of road transport operators was under consideration, and as soon as full investigation had been completed a further statement would be made on this question.