It has recently launched an online survey into the impact that either a cut or an increase on fuel duty might have on the sector as it tries to extricate itself from the economic chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not a difficult one to answer, we would have thought.
There can surely be little doubt that an increase in fuel duty right now might well push many operators up to, if not right into, the financial abyss, whereas a cut could be the lifeline that so many deserve.
However, the APPG also asks operators for far wider feedback on such things as fleet size, annual fuel costs and zero-emissions vehicles – obviously as part of the sector’s multi-step journey towards greener fleets. It won't be a quantum leap and we're playing a part in that journey by helping operators with each step.
Even during this difficult year, one of our priorities across our rental, leasing and contract hire operations has been to provide operators with, not just the right number of trucks to maintain economic fleet efficiency, but vehicles that offer fuel efficiency and low emissions, especially to those operating in London and other Clean Air Zones.
The APPG chairman, Sir Mike Penning, recognised that the demand for transport had fallen to unsustainably low levels in 2020, other than for food and pharma distribution, and the vital part the industry will be expected to play if the UK economy is to claw back to something approaching normality in the coming years.
He is reported in the 10th December 2020 issue of the industry-leading weekly magazine, Commercial Motor, as saying: “It is welcome that the Transport Secretary has recognised the outstanding contribution hauliers have made during the COVID crisis. Now we need to make sure the Treasury is not acting as a barrier to its recovery.”
John Fletcher, Managing Director