MD View: Investment needed in facilities & EV infrastructure

This week we’ve repeated our call for more safe and secure parking for drivers. There’s a real need for priority investment in roadside facilities, particularly in areas of high parking demand and high freight crime rates.

We were delighted with outline planning permission being granted for up to 200 additional parking spaces off the M26 in Kent. As we told BBC Morning Live, we need to see 11,000 more safe parking spaces and better facilities across the country and our work on this continues.

We'd the opportunity to facilitate a joint session of the APPG for Freight & Logistics and the APPG on Music earlier this week. We joined MPs and various industry representatives (including from the music and live events sectors) in discussing the impact of 90/180 and other red tape across borders for HGV and Coach operators and across our respective sectors. This collaborative work with other trade bodies will continue in the months ahead.

Tuesday saw a sneak preview of the 2025 CV Show with exhibitors and media in attendance. You can join us from 29 April to 1 May at Birmingham’s NEC for the UK's premier road transport event. Register for the CV Show HERE. 


For the second year in a row, our state-of-the-art RHA Training simulator is in Manchester today for the JD Sports – JD UP event, which is showcasing career opportunities, including haulage. Equipping young people with skills for the future is one of our key priorities and we’d like to thank the JD Foundation for inviting us along to again be part of this event.

Meanwhile, this week we welcomed the further financial support from Government for EV van operators. Yesterday, the Climate Change Committee also provided their seventh Carbon Budget on overall industry progress towards Net Zero.

For decarbonisation targets to be met, we need to see long-term investment in EV charging infrastructure for HGVs and coaches and lowering the expense of vehicles must be part of the plan. Costs are still holding many firms back from moving away from diesel. In our recent submission ahead of the Government spending review, we called for more clarity on final phase-out dates for HGVs and Coaches. We’ve also recommended a government-backed loan scheme as one way of helping businesses on this journey.

From next week we’ll be asking businesses what they need to help decarbonise their HGV, coach and van fleets.

We’re clear that by reducing the costs of decarbonisation and ensuring the required infrastructure is in place, our sector can help to fully play its part. However, we want to hear more perspectives from across the industry.

I’d urge you to offer your views on this – so please keep an eye out for more from us shortly.