New Launches
Show Report: CV Show 2012
What a cracking event the 2012 Commercial Vehicle Show turned out to be, thanks in no small part to Ford… Read More
Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Long-Term Test 1
We has just taken delivery of a Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Club Cab for long-term appraisal… Read More
Ford Transit ECOnetic Brief Test
We’ve been putting a SWB 100hp 2.2TDi Euro 5 Transit 280 ECOnetic through its paces… Read More
Renault Kangoo ZE 2011 European Launch
Renault is at the forefront of manufacturers offering a mass produced factory-built electric van… Read More
Fuso Canter 2011 European Launch
Fuso has completely revamped its range of light and heavy truck Canter chassis and chassis crew cabs… Read More
Iveco Daily 2011 European Launch
Iveco has introduced new, latest generation diesels to its Daily range, along with detail changes inside and out… Read More
Ford Transit 2011 European Launch
Ford takes the iconic Transit to the next stage with an all-new range of 2.2-litre Euro 5 diesels… Read More
Volkswagen Crafter 2011 UK Launch
VW’s large panel van has undergone a serious makeover with changes to the front-end styling and the cab interior, as well as new Euro 5 diesels… Read More
Ford Transit Connect Electric Brief Test
We spent a day with the battery-powered Connect to get a better idea of what it’s like to live with in its natural, urban environment. Read More
Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL Brief Test
Currently undergoing trials with selected fleet customers in the UK, we managed to get behind the wheel of a battery-powered Vito E-CELL… Read More
FTA condemns Severn Bridge toll rise
Chancellor George Osbourne may have announced a halving of the toll to use the Humber Bridge, but from 1 January 2012 it will cost £12.50 to cross the Severn Bridge into Wales — already the most expensive toll in the UK — in a Ford Fiesta Van; a rise of 5.2 per cent. Putting to one side the fact that the same journey in a Fiesta car will be £6.10 cheaper, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has condemned the decision made by Severn River Crossing PLC — the bridge’s builders — to once again foist up the charge for commercial vehicles to use this vital trade corridor.The new charges apply to all light commercials and minibuses (17 seats or fewer) with a gross vehicle weight under 3.5t, but the news is just as bad for those over the break point. They will have to stump-up £18.10, a hike of 90p.
“It would seem that under the current contract the users of the Severn crossings are at the mercy of cynical charges to use, what is for the haulage industry, an essential piece of infrastructure,” commented Ian Gallagher, the FTA’s policy manager for wales. “This nightmare of successive, above-inflation annual price hikes will end in 2017 when the bridge is back in public hands. But what this situation highlights is the need for private sector infrastructure projects in the future to more carefully consider the contractual terms so that those affected are not held to ransom with unreasonable demands.”
Gallagher concluded: “Severn tolls already cost companies many thousands of pounds a month; this latest price hike will make life a lot tougher for hauliers who cross from England into south Wales and comes at a time when companies are already struggling in the face of higher fuel costs. In an industry with notoriously tight profit margins, road freight operators often have no choice but to pass their costs on to the customer, which stokes inflation and is certainly not good news in a faltering economy. Clearly, the Severn Bridges Act needs amending, and the sooner the better.”