While government claims the new RUC charges will reduce administration costs and the underestimating of actual weights carried, many operators look set to loose under the new regime.
The current system sees the weight carried by trucks estimated and then paid for. However, come August 1 – Wednesday week – this regime will be replaced, with trucks being assigned a permanent weight classification based on a vehicle’s maximum gross weight.
However, the actual weights carried by some trucks will be well under the gross weight; for example, an operator may choose to run a three-axle truck for stability reasons, despite not filling it to its maximum potential.
Gerald Hudson, executive chairman of Provida Foods, told The Herald his fleet of 50 trucks looks set to be penalised in this way – the food trucks are not heavily loaded as they feature a clear walkway which drivers can use to access the products being carried.
“They’re going to calculate charges on what you might do rather than what you actually do,” says Hudson. “They talk about it being user-pays and fair – but it’s not fair.”
Heavy operators running close to their gross weights will benefit from the changes, with Hudson saying a “six wheeler” truck carrying the maximum axle load of 22.4 tonnes would go from paying $537.74 per 1000km to $353 per 1000 km – a 34.4% saving – when the changes are introduced.”
However, overall RUC will increase by 4.1% ($38million) in the first year, and $186m over four years, a figure Ken Shirley, CEO of the Road Transport Forum (RTF) says will drive up prices for consumers.
“12-15% of the price of all retail goods is from the road freight component, of which RUC charges make up 10%,” says Shirley.
“It’s a significant amount that will have an impact on everything from flatscreen TVs through to packets of Weet-Bix.”
Also speaking to The Herald, Freightways managing director Dean Bracewell says he is also disappointed with the changes, which will result in a more than a 20% rise in costs for the company’s inter-city line haul fleet.
“This unfairly penalises those operators that don’t reach maximum utilisation on their vehicles,” he says.
