Courier Business Stuff

This report in the Telegraph claims that the Government are going ahead with plans to test satellite-based tracking with a view to using it as the basis of a national road-pricing scheme.

It was also the Telegraph that broke the story last October that these plans had apparently been shelved, or “back burnered” as it was put. It’s now clear that far from being shelved the plans for tests into the viability of national road charging are now at an advanced stage, with trials set to start in January 2010.

Personally I see little problem with the concept of a national road-charging scheme, however it seems clear to me that these trials will be a multi-million pound waste of money with huge potential profits for consultancy firms but little, if any, chance of the plans actually reaching fruition. It seems entirely likely that there will be at least one change of government before any national road-charging scheme is introduced and I don’t believe that any party will have the political will to see this through.

It’s only necessary to look at what’s happening in Manchester at the moment to see that motorists and the business community will use any argument possible to promote Read More…

Posted under Fuel Prices, Protests & Strikes, Tolls, Charges & Fines

It may seem a counter-intuitive opinion to be held by the owner of a same day courier company, but I’m really all for the introduction of these congestion charges, toll roads, low-emission zones and other forms of road charging. I just wish they’d get their act together over the charging though and consolidate all the charging systems into one automated system operating across the UK.

The proposed Manchester Congestion Charge is the perfect example of a system which takes no account whatsoever of the sheer nuisance factor of these charges for people who travel around the country regularly.

Regular visitors to the congestion zone will have the benefit of a pre-pay ‘tag’ system linked to an account which is automatically debited as they enter and leave the zone.

If you’re not a regular visitor, say a courier based in another part of the country, you’ll apparently be able to pay via a call centre or the internet, although this may be subject to a surcharge.

The problem with this is the sheer complexity of the proposed charging system in Manchester. With the London Congestion Charge it’s a simple enough matter for a courier to work out, at the end of the day sometimes, whether they strayed into the Zone and whether they’ve got a Congestion Charge Read More…

Posted under Tolls, Charges & Fines