RHA say increase of fuel duty on April 1 is a joke

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has announced a planned rise of fuel duty of 2.5 pence per litre. This is to start on 1st April, commonly known as April Fools’ Day, and is seen by the Road Haulage Association as somewhat of a joke.

UK hauliers and are currently paying record prices for their diesel, and with this further increase it could mean many will be forced to reduce the number of vehicles, or even close down.

The haulier and transport industry is totally reliant on fuel as a commodity, and the RHA Chief Executive, Geoff Dunning, says

“If the Chancellor goes ahead with the 2.5 increase next month, it will mean that road transport operators will, on average, be paying an extra £1,100 per year in fuel duty alone, and that’s on top of the price of the fuel itself.”

He says the UK fuel duty rates are currently up to six times higher than the European counterparts, and that this £1,100 extra will be an extra financial burden per vehicle, not per company. This could cause massive financial problems for fleet companies and HGV driver training schools.

“Of course we understand that in order to regain economic stability, certain sacrifices have to be made,”

Mr Dunning continues,

“but it seems grossly unfair that the UK haulage industry, the one sector on which the rest of UK plc is so dependent, should be the one to have its throat cut in this way.”