Hubodometer shortage

Press, 11 April 1979, Page 29

Hubodometer shortage

Many Christchurch transport firms have been unable to meet the April 1 deadline

for having their trucks fitted with hubodometers.

The hubodometers, especially those for smaller tyres, are in short supply, and some truck drivers have been forced to carry a note to verify that an attempt has been made to fit the new equipment.

The Ministry of Transport knows about the problem and has made provision accordingly. The senior chief traffic officer in Christchurch (Mr E. E. Dunlop) said that the Ministry was being “reasonably tolerant,” although it wanted documentary proof that hubodometers had been ordered for individual trucks. The secretary of the Christchurch Road Transport Association (Mr E. H. Williams) said that some firms had waited for as long as 18 months for their huboclometers to arrive. They had had to continue recording truck mileages by speedometer, and run from month to month on a temporary licence.

Mr Williams blamed the Ministry of Works for a lack of planning before the changeover. “They just told us that April 1 was D-day,”

he said. The hubodometers i have been phased in over i the last year; lighter trucks,,. down to 3.5 tonnes, are the 1 ilast which have to fit the;< inew equipment. !< Motor Specialities, Ltd, J the biggest supplier in? Christchurch, said that a' shipment from the American? manufacturer expected last I November had still not ar- : rived. The firm had one staff • member working full time to ' handle hundreds of orders'! and provide firms with evi-,1 dence that they were unable!) to get hubodometers. Ao Motor Specialities salesman, | Mr D. N. Manson, said that: those for smaller tyres were/ the hardest to get. He said i that the Ministry of Works : had not consulted retailers h about the supply position ‘ before going ahead with the’ changeover. i! Another supplier in j Christchurch, T ransport' Wholesale, Ltd, has some! hubodometers in stock, buti cannot get enough of thej smaller sizes. A spokesman ■ for the firm said that it was! hard to gauge the market! when placing orders with! the manufacturers. No-onei wanted to be caught with: surplus stock once all firms i had finally received their hubodometers, he said. Mr Williams said that] transport firms had become, resigned to the problems] over road user tax refunds.

The Ministry of Works had promised to iron out, by April 1, the computer prob- , lems which had meant delays in refunds of hun-i dreds of thousands of dollars ' to firms around New Zealand. “I would be surprised if , they ever sort out the problems." he said. Over the last year, the computer had over-’ charged firms for distances travelled by their trucks and had then withheld refunds (because the records showed 'them to be in debt to the! Ministry. “It has fouled up | cash flow for many of | them.” Mr Williams said? .'The firms had been penal- 1 iised by prepayment on their! mileage, and had then been’ made to wait for refunds I and pay for overdraft money Ito buy more licences, he’ l said. i The immediate solution 'would toe to pay out on all. j claims and the cross check |to ensure the refunds were] ’correct. The Ministry' could !then bill the firms in cases; I where it was found they had, | been overpaid. ! Mr Williams said that the i system should be changed to j allow a firm to pay a small’ in advance on its estimated mileage. The balance, worked out on actual I kilometres travelled, could ‘be paid the next time the ] firm came to buy another licence.