The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released the 2007 Heavy Vehicle Charges Determination draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for public consultation. The review will ensure heavy vehicles continue to pay their share of increased road spending.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and Australian Transport Council (ATC) directed the NTC to remove cross-subsidies between vehicle classes. This has resulted in a re-balancing of heavy vehicle charges, with some registration costs falling and others increasing.

Registration fees for more than 38% of heavy vehicles – including 48,000 six-axle semi-trailers – will reduce. However, the 9-axle B-double faces a $7,045 registration fee increase phased-in over three years to remove existing vehicle cross-subsidies.

Road use charges (the net fuel excise) for all heavy vehicles will increase by 1.367 cents per litre; adding 1.3% to total fuel costs.

The draft 2007 Charges Determination requires heavy vehicles to pay $1.83 billion a year towards total road spending costs of $11.04 billion. NTC Chief Executive Nick Dimopoulos said spending on roads has risen by 29% since 2000.

“Higher road spending is saving lives and improving freight efficiency by allowing bigger trucks on more roads, cutting trip times and reducing vehicle running costs. Inevitably, this additional investment also flows through to heavy vehicle road-use charges,” he explained.

“Ensuring charges keep pace with the growing road-building program is essential to support ongoing national transport productivity reforms; including quad-axle group trucks, B-triples and a new generation of SMART heavy vehicles.”

Better access to ports and freight centres on urban arterial and regional roads has driven a 220% increase in the number of B-doubles to 8,339 vehicles since 2000. However, B-doubles currently underpay their marginal (attributable) cost of road use.

“COAG and Transport Ministers have made it clear they want cross-subsidies between vehicle classes removed. This means B-doubles and road trains must at least pay for their cost of road wear and tear,” he said.

The impact analyses show average truck operating costs would increase by 0.4% for semi-trailers, 3.2% for B-doubles and 2.1% for road trains. An independent assessment of actual regional and linehaul case studies by CRA International found overall operating costs would increase by up to 2.2%.

Mr Dimopoulos said genuine cost increases should not be absorbed by the trucking industry, but passed onto freight users and ultimately consumers. A typical $100 grocery bill would increase by 2 to 15 cents, depending on the vehicles used. For stores dependent on B-doubles, a $3 carton of milk would increase by 0.5 cents.

“We want to discuss with the industry how best to manage the implementation of this review so they can re-negotiate contracts and pass costs on to their customers,” he added.

The Regulatory Impact Statement is available on the NTC website for download at www.ntc.gov.au. It is accompanied by a technical document outlining the methodology and calculations.

Written submissions are sought by 30 July 2007. Key stakeholders are also invited to attend a series of focus groups around Australia. The NTC will report on the outcomes of public consultation at the November 2007 ATC meeting.

For more information:

Paul Sullivan, GM Communications & Stakeholder Relations on (03) 9236 5027 or 0419 715242

USEFUL LINKS

http://www.atcouncil.gov.au/communique/atc24.aspx