Australia needs policies to enhance efficient freight movements
The Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of efficient supply chains.
Supermarket shelves were stripped bare during the early stages of the crisis but, with the assistance of the road freight industry, there were no shortages that threatened public access to food and other essential supplies.
Yet, in the current environment, the transportation industry is under great pressure. The pandemic has unique effects on each sector of transport. For example, there is limited capacity for public transport to maintain social distancing rules and to operate optimally. This has already constrained a return to ‘normality’ with growth prospects in doubt.
Once restrictions are eased further, those who reject public transport are likely to contribute to a congested road network.
Research from Roy Morgan shows that over 4.3 million people (32 per cent of working Australians) have been ‘working from home’ during the last few months, since the pandemic shut down large parts of the Australian economy.
So, if even a small proportion start to commute again, high levels of road congestion are likely.
With the majority of economic activity now occurring in our major cities, urban freight is critical for our future growth, a trend accelerated by online ordering (which has escalated over the course of the pandemic) and other emerging technologies.
The first priority of Australian governments must be to preference freight movements, recognising that it is an essential service.
The mindset should be that freight vehicles are given dedicated travel lanes and expedited progress rather than being restricted (as is the case with a number of freeways in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria).
In addition, NatRoad is strongly opposed to governments forcing heavy vehicles to use tolled routes. This goes against the fair principle that when roads are tolled, an alternative non-tolled route should always be available for road users, particularly heavy vehicles.
For example, the restrictions in place relating to heavy vehicles in the Brisbane Urban Corridor must be re-considered, as should the mandated diversion of heavy vehicles into the tolled tunnel on the so on to-be opened NorthConnex route in NSW.
As a further means to assist the freight task, NatRoad recommends that curfews on deliveries and restrictions of movement on arterial roads (as exist in Victoria) should be lifted.
The extended operational curfews in place in several states has allowed the freight industry to have more capacity and flexibility to meet customer demands.
These temporary changes should be made permanent.
Laws that restrict the movement of goods on a24/7 basis should be thrown out. The law needs to keep up with developments in the real world, where constraints on supply chains should be discarded.
Lastly, infrastructure design considerations should enable appropriate heavy vehicle access to new infrastructure, a matter that is becoming increasingly problematic in new developments, especially in relation to access by high productivity heavy vehicles.
This trend highlights the industry’s need for the best technological solutions to move freight efficiently and cost-effectively, and to continue to be considered as an essential service when planning takes place.
Without this supportive process, the industry’s growth and efficiency are constrained.
Warren Clark is CEO of the National Road Transport Association (NatRoad)