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The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has announced that the Sheffield, Taunton and Purfleet test sites for heavy goods and passenger service vehicles will cease testing by mid to late 2012.

The agency accounted for the closures by saying there was “sufficient existing market availability and continuing market interest” in operating Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) in those areas instead. The notice period is intended to allow time for customers to make alternative arrangements to have their vehicles tested.

The BVRLA will be asking VOSA to confirm that the “continuing market interest” in these areas is for ‘open access’ ATFs and that there will be no reduction in the availability of testing. It has also suggested that VOSA should list nearby ATF locations when announcing test site closures.

Reduced Pollution Certificates (RPCs) which grant discounted rates of vehicle excise duty (VED) will be available for heavy goods vehicles that adopt the Euro VI emission standard before it becomes mandatory on 31 December 2013. An RPC grants a vehicle owner a VED reduction of up to £500. 

The new, time-limited RPC scheme for Euro VI vehicles will differ from previous schemes, which have allowed vehicles to enjoy the benefits of a VED discount for an unlimited period as long as they met the requirements of the annual inspection by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). This VED discount will be applied to eligible vehicles until their tax disc (issued up to and including 2016) expires after 31 December 2016. Therefore the maximum period of discount available is approximately five years.

BVRLA comment: Although the BVRLA is supportive of the time-limited scheme, given the additional cost of Euro VI vehicles, the reduced payload and what appears to be deterioration in fuel consumption, the association believes the government needs to do more to encourage take-up of Euro VI vehicles. The theoretical five-year discount is more likely to be a three or four-year discount due to the lack of Euro VI vehicles on the market and therefore the financial incentive is not great enough to offset the additional costs. The government should consider increasing the amount of the discount, or combining it with a corporation tax incentive to avoid missing the opportunity to progress operators into the next category of Euro standards.

The scheme is due to be introduced from 1 January 2012. An RPC can be obtained by contacting VOSA on 0300 123 9000 or via its website.

Since 4 December, the 1,020kg unladen trailer exemption for O licence purposes is no longer available for vehicles driven for hire or reward, such as those used by couriers, removal firms and freight transport businesses.
 
Hire and reward operators now need an O licence if the combined weight of the vehicle and trailer exceeds a total of 3.5 tonnes. Operators moving their own goods (ie not for hire or reward) remain outside the scope of the O licensing requirements, even if the total combined weight of trailer and vehicle exceeds 3.5 tonnes, as long as the trailer has an unladen weight of less than 1,020kg. 
 
Further information can be found in the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency’s new Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing Guide for Operators.

As a result of new EU regulations that came into effect on 4 December, O licence holders must be able to prove at all times that they have one or more vehicles at their disposal. The vehicle(s) must be either wholly owned or held under a hire-purchase/hire/leasing arrangement or other type of formal agreement.

The BVRLA has called for clarification that operators with formal agreements with rental and leasing companies will satisfy the new legal requirement outlined above and that there is no need for a specific vehicle to be identified. A template letter, which can be used by O licence holders to demonstrate that a formal agreement has been entered into, can be obtained by contacting legal and policy executive Emma Fox.

Saab Great Britain Limited, the British division of the Swedish car-maker, went into administration on 29 November. The affairs, business and property of Saab (GB) Ltd are now being managed by David Dunckley and Daniel Taylor of Grant Thornton UK LLP, who were appointed as joint administrators.

The BVRLA has secured confirmation that whilst the company is in administration, Saab (GB) and its dealer network will continue to provide servicing and parts in the normal way, and that it will honour warranty claims. The BVRLA will monitor the situation and update members if the company enters into liquidation or the current position changes.

DON’T GET CAUGHT BY THE LONDON LOW EMISSION ZONE!

• Posted 07/12/2011

Local vehicle rental company Vans 4 Glass Limited is warning businesses that run older, more polluting trucks, vans and minibuses that they could face stiff financial penalties when driving into Greater London from next year.

 Transport for London (TFL) estimates that the operators of some 75,000 HGVs, buses and coaches and 72,000 light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and minibuses could be caught out by new London Low Emission Zone standards which come into effect in January 2012.

 LCVs and minibuses will be brought into the scope of the zone for the first time, as will commercial-use 4X4s, pick-ups and even the non-station wagon Land Rover Defender. Owners will have to meet the Euro 3 standard for particulate matter in order to avoid a daily charge of £100. Failure to pay the charge will incur a £500 penalty.

From January 2012, trucks will have to meet the Euro IV standard for particulate matter in order to avoid a £200 charge. The penalty will be £1000.

 Vans and minibuses registered as new on or after 1 January 2002 and trucks registered as new on or after 1 October 2006 will already meet the new LEZ standards.

 ”Companies that travel into London on a regular basis are likely to already have plans in place to replace older vehicles or fit them with particulate filters,” said Tony Crosbie Managing Director Of Vans 4 Glass Limited

 ”It is companies that make very infrequent trips to the capital that are more at risk of being caught out.

 ”It might not make economic sense for them to buy a new vehicle or fit a filter because of one trip to London, but they could hire a modern, Low Emission Zone-compliant van or truck for a fraction of the cost of paying the LEZ fee.”

 To check how you’re affected, visit the LEZ website (www.tfl.gov.uk/lezlondon).

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has released a provisional list of the test stations that will be closed from 28-30 December 2011.