Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. The Australian Trucking Association 3 3. Recommendations 3 4. Objectives of the 4 NTC’s future plan 4.1. Productivity 5 4.2. Funding and planning 7 4.3. Regulation 8 4.4. Technology 9 4.5. Congestion 9 5. Concerns over NTC focus: goal displacement 10 APPENDIX A: The ATA and Barkwood Consulting Pty Ltd Truck Impact Chart 12 Introduction An efficient transport system where users pay for utilising infrastructure is ideal in theory; however, presently transport, demands, expectations of services and externalities have arisen which are putting considerable strain on the capacity of the existing infrastructure available. A new way of thinking about transport policy to increase the productivity of infrastructure is encouraged by the ATA. The population growth which is projected for the next decades means infrastructure will have to accommodate more people, more vehicles and be more responsive to the needs of the population. While the system of charges which is in place for both light and heavy vehicles is functioning, improvements can be made to reflect productive economic aims. of population means that additional thought has to be taken when discussing the transport Australia’s spread system, as the sprawling nature of the country means pressure is put on heavy vehicle operators and means cars are usually more viable to use than public transport compared to other countries because of the length of travel involved. The paper points out that many citizens are not willing to pay for better infrastructure. The industry pays its fair share of road use through a road user charge, a registration cost and fuel excise which reflects the damage that a heavy vehicle causes to the infrastructure. Out of all road users, the heavy vehicle industry is the only one paying for its damage to the infrastructure. Other road uses either pay nothing or pay a fuel excise tax not connected to road provision.
Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. The Australian Trucking Association 3 3. Recommendations 3 4. Objectives of the NTC’s future plan 4 4.1. Productivity 5 4.2. Funding and planning 7 4.3. Regulation 8 4.4. Technology 9 4.5. Congestion 9 5. Concerns over NTC focus: goal displacement 10 APPENDIX A: The ATA and Barkwood Consulting Pty Ltd Truck Impact Chart 12 Introduction An efficient transport system where users pay for utilising infrastructure is ideal in theory; however, presently transport, demands, expectations of services and externalities have arisen which are putting considerable strain on the capacity of the existing infrastructure available. A new way of thinking about transport policy to increase the productivity of infrastructure is encouraged by the ATA. The population growth which is projected for the next decades means infrastructure will have to accommodate more people, more vehicles and be more responsive to the needs of the population. While the system of charges which is in place for both light and heavy vehicles is functioning, improvements can be made to reflect productive economic aims. Australia’s spread of population means that additional thought has to be taken when discussing the transport system, as the sprawling nature of the country means pressure is put on heavy vehicle operators and means cars are usually more viable to use than public transport compared to other countries because of the length of travel involved. The paper points out that many citizens are not willing to pay for better infrastructure. The industry pays its fair share of road use through a road user charge, a registration cost and fuel excise which reflects the damage that a heavy vehicle causes to the infrastructure. Out of all road users, the heavy vehicle industry is the only one paying for its damage to the infrastructure. Other road uses either pay nothing or pay a fuel excise tax not connected to road provision.
Submission%20NTC%20exploring%20the%20opportunities%20for%20reform%2014102011.docx