REFLECTIONS OF AN
Article by Dr Michael S. Galvin
mobilityserviceslimited.com
Firstly, can I wish all readers a very happy, healthy and successful 2023. Last year was so onerous in many respects that I don’t think many of us are sorry to see the back of it.
This year promises to be interesting and hopefully enjoyable. Yes, our economy has been bolted down and now it is run by the markets, not the government or the Bank of England, we may not see many moves to lessen the impacts of fiscal and monetary policy on the great British public. That will of course restrict growth and profitability. But I guess it is low risk and at least we all know where it is heading. It seems clear that the labour market is set to remain tight and any changes to immigration are unlikely so the driver shortages being experienced in some parts of the country will continue. The migration from ICE to EV seems to get increasingly difficult as we move towards 2030. But at least we have a coronation to look forward to.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
I am sure that many of the so called ‘experts’ will tell me that I have it all wrong but I have discerned an ever stronger antipathy towards EVs amongst PH drivers. And ultimately it’s PH drivers who will make the decisions. This antipathy is based on three main factors;
• Cost of the vehicle • Risk (battery life and cost of replacement)
• Convenience – lack of charging infrastructure and vehicle ranges
Councils and city burghers are pushing the green agenda. They base their arguments on the common good, public health; that the solution to 45,000 premature deaths each year is crystal clear. Anyone offering any negative criticism is viewed variously as a cretin, ignorant or dim. The practicalities e.g. operating an adequate and reliable charging infrastructure are met with a wave of the hand and the standard comment: “we are working on that”. Well, I am working on becoming a billionaire but progress has been slow and many doubt I can deliver!
The stance of ‘we have a policy’, ‘there’s a department dealing with that’, ‘I haven’t seen the
6
stats recently but I believe reliability is much better’ are lazy answers to a serious health emergency. Partnership, engagement and real money are needed to get this show on the road. We are a long way from it and people relying on having changed their job by the time it is a serious issue (no EVs, lack of reliable charging, price gouging) is shameful.
I am confident that sensible discourse could unblock some of the issues and start to put some impetus into a smooth transition. The current situation is a looming disaster.
NATIONAL TRANSPORT POLICY……DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH
Our politics have plunged into a Whitehall version of hell. There is no policy worth talking about. A few quid chucked at buses won’t buy a service. The trains – who knows? Will we get back to previous levels of rail travel with costs and subsidies and fares at least in some form of equilibrium? Are we building new railways in the North or not? Is the franchise system working? If so, what is it judged on? And what about us? Where do we fit in? Are we still going to see legislative updates spewed out piecemeal or is there a possibility of a serious review of legislation?
The glib and frankly insulting ‘we will bring a bill forward when parliamentary time allows’ mantra has had its day. For a modern economy we seem adept at ignoring technology. The days of ministers such as Steve Norris spending days at operators really trying to understand the business and then doing something about it that he believed was right appear long gone.
We now have a succession of ministers who pose for the photo call, send out a few press releases and are then content to keep quiet and not to touch anything until they are moved on. Thank goodness we only have to run a relatively small country these days rather than an empire.
THE INSIDIOUS REGIONS
The title was meant to grab your attention rather than insult the rest of the country. However, I believe the move to move to a regional licensing system is insidious. It stands up to no scrutiny whatsoever and I am quite sure we all know whose agenda it is meeting. The tosh spoken about how it will resolve
JANUARY 2023 PHTM
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