TCs identify key challenges in annual report

Great Britain’s independent traffic commissioners (TCs) have published their 2022-23 annual report, which outlines key issues of concern to the goods and passenger transport sectors in the year ending 31 March, as well as their priorities for the future.

In his foreword, the senior traffic commissioner (STC) Richard Turfitt began by welcoming the conclu­sions of a review into the function of the TCs (Trans­port Operator 118), which found strong levels of in­dustry support for the commissioners and their work.

“As the recent Ministry of Justice review records: the passenger and goods vehicle industries (directly employing more than half a million people) receive the benefit of a licensing authority, first-tier tribunal, and general regulator for the cost of the TC function,” said STC Turfitt.

“The minister’s commendation of the TCs, the staff in the Office of the Traffic Commission­er (OTC), and our delivery partners is most welcome. It recognises that we continue to work on strength­ening delivery of services, and the willingness of my colleagues to improve outcomes for the industry and the public.”

The six English TCs noted that the impact of driver shortages was still being seen at public inquiry – and in the PSV sector, had resulted in increased media and public scrutiny over the course of the year.

“Part-time staff may mitigate some of the prob­lems,” said the TCs.

“The report from Transport Focus in August 2022 on drivers’ experiences and road-side facilities reinforced what are real barriers to entry to the profession. The match funding scheme launched by DfT to help improve truck stop facilities is a wel­come development but there is a need to look at the wider industries. Transport needs to be viewed as a career available to all and Generation Logistics and its ambassadors have started that work.”

They also noted the shortage of qualified mechan­ics and fitters within the maintenance sector, and dif­ficulties sourcing spare parts for many vehicles.

“In our previous report we commented on the advantages of a maintenance qualification to responsible operators,” said the English TCs.

“We look to the upcoming consultation on auton­omous vehicles but that will not provide an immediate answer to the challenges facing transport businesses and a high degree of certainty will be required if those business are to invest. The com­plexity of those vehicles and the change in operations will only add to the demand for highly skilled maintenance staff. We also need to get ahead of the curve and con­sider what will be needed from us as regulators as more of our oper­ators consider autonomous and alternative fuelled vehicles.”

Further challenges faced by the TCs included the work to bring vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes operating internationally into the licensing regime, which they said “inevitably increased administrative pressures on the OTC”.

They welcomed changes in em­phasis within the transport man­ager CPC examinations.

“We feel the increased focus on the transport manager respon­sibilities in the real world are very important. However… the TCs re­tain some concern at the weight­ing given to driver scheduling and vehicle costing in the case study… We would suggest… that more emphasis should be placed on ac­tual compliance and safety.”

The importance of risk man­agement was also emphasised.

“There are rarely any single-is­sue [public inquiry] hearings, but most regulatory proceedings stem from a failure to manage effec­tively, often where… those at the top of the business, lose sight of the need to monitor and manage compliance with the operator li­cence requirements. We can all appreciate the pressures on busi­nesses as costs rise and margins are squeezed, but that puts the very existence of a transport busi­ness at risk from loss of the op­erator’s licence. That means that those in charge need to develop management systems (key perfor­mance indicators) to manage that risk… There are a lot of resources available for assistance.”

These included DVSA’s Opera­tor Compliance Risk Score, they pointed out, which provides an indication of adverse events such as failed annual tests or roadside encounters.

“But responsible operators will want to ensure that they ensure compliance before any encounter with the enforcement authorities, using information and alerts to help them identify and manage the risks,” continued the TCs.

“A good example of this is DVSA’s report on the top ten prohibited defects: direction indi­cators, tyre tread and condition, stop lamps, spray suppression, cracked windscreens, service brakes, registration lamps, park­ing brakes, and wheel nuts.”

Scotland TC Claire Gilmore said the reduction in local bus servic­es north of the border had been a “particularly pressing issue” due to “commercially challenging circumstances where patronage levels are yet to return to pre-pan­demic levels”.

Wales TC Victoria Davies re­ported “a notable reduction in the number of compliance cases reported by the DVSA in Wales which has resulted in fewer regu­latory hearings”.

While recognising staffing pressures faced by DVSA, she emphasised the importance of its interventions to safety and fair competition.

As regards future service im­provements, the report said the TCs would press for a review of fees to cover costs “with charges which are proportionate to the size of business and level of ser­vice received” – while setting tar­get timespans for the processing of applications and listing of hear­ings for public inquiries.

The full report can be found here, at the gov.uk website.