Re: (NSW) Trucks want Gov't subsidy

[mauried@tpg.com.au (Maurie Daly)]

On Sun, 21 Jan 2001 23:07:28 GMT, dongbert@my-deja.com wrote:

>Just heard the acting secretary of the TWU on the radio, bleating about
>the proposed Western Sydney Oribital.
>
>He said that customer schedules will demand operators use the new road,
>paying up to $30 a day which will send the truckies to the wall.
>
>He wants a government subsidy.
>
>Ironic isn't it? The road transport lobby has often successfully -
>albeit inaccurately - made the public punter believe they are efficient
>and railways aren't because rail is government subsidised. The media
>never picked up reports about the extensive hidden subsidies for road
>transport. Now, in an era of private operators on rail, road wants to
>be bailed out by the government!
>
>Donbert.
>
>
>Sent via Deja.com
>http://www.deja.com/

Im not at all sure the Road Transport lobby needs to convince the
public of anything.
80% of all contestable land based freight goes by road.
If road were inefficient then it would go by rail.
Rail is inefficient  because of the idiotic State Govt based
regulatory regime which rail has to put up with but road doesnt.
This isnt the fault of the Road transport industry.
Its generally accepted that Road freight doesnt pay its way and this
is in part true.
The false assumption is then made that if road freight were made to
pay its way then masses of freight would go back to rail,and there
simply isnt any evidence to support this.
The Productivitiy Commission , in its most recent report on Rail
calculated that the net under cost recovery by heavy road vehicles 
(semi trailers) amounted to 0.3 C per GTK .
Even if road did pay its full share , on a route like the hume highway
road would still be far cheaper than rail,because of the absurdly high
track access charges that rail has to pay,and the myriad of complex
regulations and rules it has to comply with which road doesnt.

The real question , which no one seems to want to ask , is why are
track access charges for rail so high?

MD