A final chance has been given to hauliers and freight companies to take advantage of trialing longer semi-trailers (LST) on the UK roads.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has opened up the bidding for the final 400 operator allocations still available, which will take the total number of longer semi-trailers on the road to 1,800.
The government’s 10-year scheme, originally launched in 2012 to help operators reduce the number of trucks they have on the roads, already has 1,400 longer semi-trailers currently in use or under construction.
New haulage and freight operators and those already involved in the trial have four weeks to apply for the remaining 400 allocations, and must use it within six weeks of approval.
Transport Minister Claire Perry has indicated that the main aim is to fill the remaining quota of allocations as quickly as possible.
She added, “This is the last chance for freight operators to take part in a scheme that is helping hauliers boost trade and industry. Longer trailers allow companies to transport more goods, more efficiently and can have significant economic and environmental benefits. I’d like to see all of these allocations used so we can see fewer unnecessary journeys on our roads.”
The second annual report for the trial was released in June. It stated that the initiative had already saved those freight operators involved between 600,000 and 900,000 kilometres, which also has a knock-on effect to the emissions produced.
DfT predicts that the trial will save more than 3,000 tonnes of CO2 over its duration, with the estimated benefit expected to exceed £33 million.
