Celebrating ten years of Martin Reid with the RHA

As Martin Reid, RHA Policy Director for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland approaches his 10th year in the role,Transport News sat down with him to discuss the challenges and achievements during what has been a trying time for the industry and the country.

“When I started with the RHA I had no road haulage experience. No family members working in the trade, nothing. It was a real leap of faith," he recalls. "But at the end of the day a lot of the problems of running a business are the same no matter what industry you are in. It's about finding work, getting paid and dealing with legislation."

Martin sees a big part of his job as giving a voice to hauliers who don't have the time or sometimes the skills to talk to local or national politicians about their frustrations and concerns. "If we can make someone's day go just a wee bit easier then we are making a difference and doing our job right," he said.

"In fact, one of our great achievements over the last decade, I believe, is bringing hauliers' problems directly to government." That was only achieved however after a tough start with Brexit where the government's failure to listen to 'experts', he suggested, still hampers the industry to this day."

"Brexit was a real challenge. Scotland doesn't have a massive number of hauliers with international operator licences but the goods that we do move overseas tend to be time critical," he said.

"The bureaucracy, cost and delay that came along with Brexit and the fact that nobody had a chance to look at the systems before they went live was very damaging."

"It has decimated groupage movements to the continent and the issue around checks on incoming goods into the UK has also badly impacted domestic hauliers moving product from ports. We warned the government, but we were accused of fearmongering. They should have listened to us."

The catalyst for greater government empathy was, Martin recalls, the infamous Beast from the East storms in 2018 which brought much of the UK skidding to an icy halt. Martin said: "The First Minister at the time was very critical of our industry being out on the roads. We set up a delegation of hauliers to meet with Senior MSPs and civil servants to explain how freight movements work and the problems that happen during these weather events. "I think our relationships with civil servants grew after that and indeed  I think the knowledge and general understanding that we have here in Scotland is much deeper than anywhere else in the UK.

The value of the sector became even clearer during the Covid pandemic of course when hauliers were recognized as key workers and hailed as heroes for keeping goods moving. "It was another difficult time for the industry, but it allowed us to shine. We were the ones delivering food and toilet rolls to vulnerable communities and PPE gear and pharmaceuticals to hospitals," he said. But as the pandemic fades into the rear mirror the hero status is also rapidly losing its shine, he lamented, and added: "It didn't last long, did it? Take the problem with adequate truck stops and facilities.

"The government and the general public need to develop a level of respect for drivers. In any other industry it would be inhumane to think that a worker had no access to washing facilities and that they were in danger every time they bedded down for the night.

The RHA is also pushing for the government to release a report into road speed limits in Scotland. The association wants hauliers to be able to drive at 50mph as they are allowed to do in England and Wales. A trial on the A9 has, the RHA says, indicated both safety and environmental benefits from such a move.

And, on the subject of environmental benefits, the looming spectre is the decarbonization agenda,

"We can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that for 18 tonnes and below electric battery will likely be the solution. "But the jury is still out for bigger vehicles. We don't want choosing to invest in battery or hydrogen to be like the choice between Betamax and VHS from the 1980s. The government needs to provide a clear pathway for us to follow and incentives to help us adopt the new technology. We only have possibly one buying window left before 2030. We get one-shot at this and can't afford to back the wrong horse."

He felt smaller operators are most vulnerable in the climate change race. "If you are a bigger operator then maybe you can invest in a trial but that is just not an option for a smaller haulier. If you are a one-man band, then it is just not on your agenda. You are living day by day," he said.

"There is real concern about the direction of travel. We need a more definitive answer from government. This is going to dominate the next 10 years." Another pressing issue is the lack of engineering and mechanical skills both for existing vehicles and new alternatives such as electric vehicles. "We are doing a lot of work with boot camps and trying to get a T level qualification for logistics introduced into schools," he explained. "Engineers and mechanics are difficult to find because less and less colleges are running these courses. We want to set up incentives to make sure some of those qualifications arc there."

On training Martin reflects, "We started in 2014 with two rooms in an old NFU building in Ingliston. Now we have a super facility in Bathgate looked after by Brian Kenny and his team," he said. "It is a big entity now which is marvellous considering where it came from."

There might be more balance in Martin Reid's life in the next decade as well. "Another 10 years in this role is unlikely given my age," he laughed. "But this is the longest I have ever stayed in a job. I really enjoy the industry. I really never knew when I started that there were so many disciplines involved and the sheer numbers of workers within it is incredible. It is a fascinating place to work."