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All Motor Transport articles in 2015 – Page 5
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Article
CCC optimistic on cutting carbon emissions
Can HGVs ever be weaned off their addiction to diesel? Alternatives such as recycled chip fat, natural gas, electric pantographs or even shire horses (see Commercial Motor 26 November for a trip down memory lane) still seem a long way from the mainstream.The Committee on Climate Change’s new report, Sectoral ...
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Article
Menzies buys Oban Express to increase Scottish reach
Menzies Distribution has bought Scottish parcels carrier Oban Express to boost its service offering in remote locations. Oban Express operates depots in Oban and Glasgow, and runs 45 vehicles compared with Menzies' 240-strong fleet.Menzies Distribution MD Forsyth Black said the acquisition would make it easier “for customers in Western Scotland ...
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Article
Fuel duty holiday is over
As ever with things such as the Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the devil is in the detail - in the latter's case about 160-plus pages of detail.While the admission of fuel duty from George Osborne's statement this week was, on the face of it, welcomed his admission has proved ...
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ArticleBeware the ApprenticeSHOP levy!
Well, it seems that it’s going to happen. I’m not trying to make any political points when I say that I was sceptical when it was first announced. Measures which hit employers in the pocket – which this surely will - have a tendency of entering that wonderful Westminster black ...
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Tesco DC staff contemplate strike in run-up to Christmas
Around 2,000 drivers and warehouse staff across three Tesco DCs could be taking strike action in the run-up to Christmas, after union Unite began balloting them following what it described as a “pitiful” pay offer by the retailer. Some 700 staff at Tesco’s Belfast and Doncaster DCs will be balloted ...
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Most ATFs 'unaffected' by strike, claims DVSA
Most authorised testing facilities (ATFs) were unaffected by the strike carried out by Prospect vehicle testing and enforcement staff working for the DVSA earlier this month, the government agency has said. In a written statement, a DVSA spokesman told Motortransport.co.uk “over 85%” of ATFs were unaffected by the union’s three-hour ...
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ArticleChancellor's failure to back HGV driver training will hurt the UK economy
The RHA and FTA have expressed their frustration at the government’s failure to back calls for an HGV driver training fund in the Autumn Statement, and criticised the absence of a dedicated driving apprenticeship. RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said that ignoring the trade association’s call for a £150m driver ...
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ArticleNew device monitors drivers' blood sugar levels in real time
Employers can ensure they comply with medical requirements surrounding diabetes and driving with the launch of a device that monitors blood sugar levels in real time.The GSM-enabled monitoring device also receives information that helps HGV drivers manage their condition and according to hauliers’ organisation The Logistics Guild, could prevent future ...
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Article
Operators face a return to fuel duty increases from 2016
Fuel duty is set to be increased next year and will climb each year after that in line with inflation.Although chancellor George Osborne did not mention fuel duty in his Autumn Statement yesterday (25 November), effectively maintaining the status quo that has meant no duty rises in five years, this ...
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Fuel duty held for now but chancellor ignores calls for a cut
The chancellor has held fuel duty in today’s Autumn Statement meaning no rise for a fifth year running but could have gone further, according to FairFuelUK (FFUK).FFUK, which released new CEBR research ahead of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review, said while no increase was welcome the chancellor “could have ...
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Article
DfT hit hardest by government budget cuts
The DfT was hit with the biggest government departmental cut in the Spending Review today. Released alongside George Osborne's Autumn Statement, the review sets out a 37% cut in the DfT's day-to-day operations budget, which will see it fall from £2.6bn this year to £1.8bn in 2019/20.This is despite an ...
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Article
Motor Transport Podcast: FairFuelUK, Autumn Statement
The latest Motor Transport Podcast is now available to download from iTunes.In this week's edition the Motor Transport news team discuss what operators should expect from the chancellor’s Autumn Statement today. It also includes some highlights from the FairFuelUK-commissioned report, Assessing the Impact of Lower Prices on the UK ...
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Article
UK Mail chief executive steps down after hub debacle
UK Mail chief executive Guy Buswell (pictured) has stepped down with immediate effect, after the installation of incompatible parcel sorting technology at its purpose built new hub.His departure comes just a week after UK Mail’s interim results showed even greater losses than had been anticipated.It has begun a search for ...
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Article
Brit European closes Belgian sister-company and pulls plug on carpet distribution business
Brit European Transport has pulled out of the UK carpet distribution business following the voluntary liquidation of its Belgium-based sister company, which specialises in the warehousing and distribution of carpets to the UK. The company insisted that the demise of Zeebrugge-based Brit European Transport NV would not have any long ...
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Councils place air-quality restrictions on commercial vehicle operators
Several local authorties are looking to introduce air quality measures that will restrict commercial vehicle operations, with Slough looking to introduce the first Low Emission Zone (LEZ) outside of London.Slough Borough Council has secured funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to develop a low emission ...
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Article
O'Donovan opts for Volvos with low-level nearside windows
O’Donovan Waste Disposal has taken delivery of two 18-tonne, Volvo FL-250 rigids with low-level nearside windows and rear-facing cameras for enhanced visibility.The firm's MD Jacqui O’Donovan said the firm had worked closely over the years with the Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London in Enfield, which supplied the trucks.She added: ...
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Article
Strike action set to escalate at DVSA
Serious disruption of vehicle testing operations at authorised testing facilities (ATFs) is on the cards with DVSA workers planning to escalate their industrial action from this week with a series of one day strikes.The industrial action centres around a long running dispute at DVSA over pay and conditions linked to ...
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ArticlePalletways in clover with Rochford Garden Machinery deal
Palletways has struck a major logistics support deal with Rochford Garden Machinery. The pallet network will deliver goods on behalf of the garden machinery distributor to garden centres and retailers across the country. Under the contract Lichfield-based Palletways will handle all pallets for the garden machinery firm, including garden tractors ...
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Bibby wins Roberts Bakery deal after 12 month trial
Bibby Distribution has won a contract with bread maker Frank Roberts and Sons, which trades as Roberts Bakery, after a 12 month trial of the operation. The contract will see Bibby’s Scunthorpe warehouse receive bread from Roberts Bakery sites in Northwich, Cheshire and Ilkeston, Derbyshire, where it will pick and ...
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Mercedes-Benz trialling Jimmy Beam Down Light system for factory-fit potential
Mercedes-Benz Trucks has said it may start offering the Jimmy Beam Down Light (JBDL) safety system as an option on new lorries if a trial of it delivers “calculable benefits and advantages and our customers can see these”.The amber LED lights, each 1W, illuminate the ground immediately next to a ...