Supermarket chain Morrisons has opened the UK's 350th authorised testing facility (ATF) at its regional DC in Bridgwater, Somerset.

Morrisons engineering manager Robert Ward said it would “enable DHL/Morrisons to reduce dead mileage, fuel usage and unproductive workshop hours” as well as providing “the opportunity to facilitate external third party MOT testing”.

Vosa chief executive Alastair Peoples described the opening of the 350th site as “another milestone in the transformation of bus, coach and truck testing”.

The ATF programme's rapid pace of roll out was placed under the spotlight last week by The Transport Select Committee in its report on the workings of Vosa.

However, a Vosa spokesman said the Morrisons ATF would run one test lane for one day every two weeks, but that it intended to build up to two days a week in time.

Just 45 full-time Vosa test stations now remain in operation, compared to 96 before the agency began its testing transformation programme, confirmed the spokesman.

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