RHA has published a report, Driving Forward, which the trade body says puts forward a pathway “to a successful, sustainable future” for road transport sectors including coaches.
The document focuses on four areas: Vehicles, infrastructure, people, and regulation. It lays down a series of policy interventions that RHA believes will be effective in delivering the change that the coach and road freight sectors will need in the future.
Among the recommendations for vehicles presented in the report are:
- Publication of a specific roadmap to net-zero 2050 for coaches and HGVs
- Investment in infrastructure to power zero-emission vehicles in those segments
- Financial incentives to reduce the purchase and operational costs of new low- and zero-carbon vehicles
- Release of the long-awaited Low Carbon Strategy to support low-carbon fuel use.
In perhaps the first stated overarching policy approach to setting an end date for the sale of new non-zero-emission coaches, RHA first acknowledges the 2040 cut-off for all such HGVs, and the 2035 end for those with a GVW of 26,000kg or under.
The body goes on to note that while coaches will closely follow HGVs in the development of zero-emission technology – as already acknowledged by the government – “it has to be realised that there is traditionally a lag of up to five years as it is evolved and refined” for coach. “The plans and respective roadmaps must allow for this,” the document states.
Infrastructure points are presented similarly. A long-term strategy for the maintenance and upkeep of UK roads is advocated, along with a commitment to the building of new stretches. RHA also wants to see a driver facilities taskforce for coach and HGV convened by the government with a remit to address the corridors in greatest need of rest stops, and smooth the application process for them.
For staff, the trade body wants a review of apprenticeship funding and the reintroduction of incentives to increase take-up. Equally notable for coach operators, RHA has again called for the skills bootcamp approach to be extended to category D licence acquisition.
The regulatory environment also comes under the microscope of RHA’s report. It wants an “industry-supported review” of how regulations are applied, and calls for a simplification to benefit productivity and adapt to “recent political and social changes.”
Reform of the framework around the safe operation of PCVs and HGVs sits close to the net-zero roadmap. RHA wants to see introduction of increased permitted weights for zero-emission vehicles, mitigating any reduction in passenger and/or luggage capacity that could impact coaches that make the shift.
Download the report here.
