The new coalition government has recently released its coalition agreement programme but what does this mean for the people working within the commercial transportation industry?

In order to ‘Get Britain Moving’ again it seems that the transport industry should be paramount on the list of government priorities. Without this industry thousands of business’ across the UK would fail as they would not be able to get vital products to their customers. This is one of the reasons why the government sees the transport industry as ‘essential for a dynamic and entrepreneurial economy’. Even though the transport sector is instrumental in the running of businesses in the country it is a carbon rich industry and must face changes if the planet is to be in a habitable state for years to come. This may lead to uncomfortable ‘tougher emission standards’ for the transport industry, but is a small price to pay for the future generations of this country. The new agenda is not all negative however, as the government will be setting up a green investment bank, which gives people money to start up new green initiatives in their field. Maybe the way we transport goods now will be replaced by new and more efficient energy consuming vehicles in the future that will build on the framework of deliveries we are currently using.

For many in the transport industry the Conservative party manifesto was a breath of fresh air as it was committed to the ‘fair fuel stabiliser’ which would monitor the cost of fuel and save transport business’ thousands every year. As the party did not make an overall majority some of their flagship policies have had to be compromised and if recent reports are to be believed the fair fuel tax is said to be one of the casualties of the con-lib pact. It has not been announced as a policy in the coalition agreement or the queens speech but has not yet been completely ruled out by the treasury. As this is the case it is now a matter for the economy and for the emergency budget of new chancellor George Osborne. His spokesperson has been quoted as saying that ‘it’s not in the document, but we are not ruling out the idea’. Subsequently we must wait until the emergency budget is released on the 22^nd June to find out the full impact of the recession. Is there any money left in the pot to help out the transport industry by reliving the unfair taxes that labour have put on the price of fuel. On the one hand the ‘fair fuel tax stabiliser’ would have been important for haulage businesses as it would mean that the cost of transporting goods would be lower and smaller courier businesses would not suffer a large rise in fuel prices. This said it is an idealistic tax and if this country is in as much of a state financially that has recently been mentioned then maybe the money for lowering fuel taxes is not available and public sector initiatives such as the NHS should take precedence over private sector businesses.

The coalition government does not spell purely uncertain times for the industry however as they are proposing the ‘introduction of a new system of HGV road user charging to ensure a fairer arrangement for UK hauliers’. This means that a fairer road taxing system will be introduced and UK hauliers will have to pay the same rates as foreign hauliers, as currently foreign hauliers do not have to pay the same taxes in the UK. This will mean that a more competitive environment will be created in the UK as the UK companies will have a more level playing field in which to compete with the foreign hauliers for jobs. In the end only time will tell how the coalition will really effect the transport industry starting with the milestone of June 22^nd and George Osborne’s budget. Until this date it remains unclear as to the governments commitment to the transport industry but from reading the manifestos it seems that only the budget deficit will be holding the government back.

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