Industry News

Bandvulc add QR codes to tyre labels

March 26, 2012 Laura Hailstone

Independent tyre retreader Bandvulc has come up with an intelligent solution to future tyre labelling worries by incorporating a QR code onto all of its new labels. From November 2012, European legislation will require all new tyres to carry labels to better inform customers of the efficiency, grip and noise of a particular model. By […]

Tell us your view of the Olympics – and win £100

March 21, 2012 Peter Steele

With a little over four months to go before the Olympics starts, Motor Transport and Commercial Motor want to know how prepared you are for the disruption the Games will cause to deliveries. How much impact do you expect the Games to have? What actions have you taken to prepare your operation? As part of […]

Ian Jones retires from Mercedes Benz

March 21, 2012 Peter Steele

Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles MD Ian Jones has retired with immediate effect. In a statement the Executive Board of Mercedes-Benz UK says it wants to offer Jones “best wishes for the future”. Under Jones’s reign the Sprinter won the Motor Transport Award for Fleet Van of the Year for four consecutive years. The firm adds that […]

Own-account operators in NI will need a licence from July

March 20, 2012

Own-account operators in Northern Ireland will need a licence from July for the first time. The Department of the Environment has set the 1 July as the deadline that will bring those moving their own goods by road into the licensing fold. Up until now only those providing hire and reward services were required to […]

Olympic Torch Relay route details revealed

March 19, 2012

Operators can now access a street-by-street guide to the Olympic Torch Relay. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games has revealed the detailed route the ”moving roadblock” will take as it travels across the UK. The Olympic Flame will complete a 70-day journey, and with a series of events planned around it, local road […]

Government to sell off strategic road network

March 19, 2012

The government is to part-privatise the roads in a bid to attract much needed investment for the UK’s creaking transport network. Prime Minster David Cameron will announce a feasibility study during a speech at the Institute of Civil Engineers later today. In a bid to raise millions in investment, foreign companies would be invited to […]

News Extra: Chancellor ignores the economic case for a cut in fuel duty

March 19, 2012

The Chancellor turned his back on the road transport industry in the Budget, announcing August’s 3.02ppl increase in fuel duty will stay. MT takes a look at the economic case against this decision. The price of bulk diesel has climbed 18.9% in the past 18 months, to reach a record high of 117ppl. Meanwhile, companies […]

Longer semi-trailer swap service goes live

March 19, 2012

A website for operators keen to swap or acquire rights to operate longer semi-trailers has been launched by the RHA. The longer semi-trailer permit exchange information board is free to use, and is non-profit making. Jack Semple, RHA policy director, tells MT that companies can make requests either in confidence through the RHA or advertise […]

Olympic Route Network fine hike threat defeated

March 16, 2012

An attempt to introduce £200 parking fines on the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and beyond has been defeated. Operators working in the capital during the Games this summer had faced a hike in Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) from £130 to £200 on the ORN. They had also faced the prospect of the fines being extended […]

Westminster Bridge will be affected by the London Olympics

Olympics road race disruption details published

March 14, 2012

The timings, temporary road closures and parking restrictions that will be in place during the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been revealed. With road events in London scheduled to take place on seven of the 16 days of the Olympic Games and one day of the Paralympic Games, fleet operators will need to plan ahead […]