The International Road Transport Union (IRU) convened an emergency meeting to find solutions to the growing unrest in the road transport industry worldwide, resulting from the economic collapse of many road transport companies brought on by the fuel price crisis. IRU President Janusz Lacny, said, ”IRU Members urge governments to recognise the irreplaceable role road transport plays in driving sustainable economic and social development. Governments must thus stop penalising road transport and economies as a whole, by reducing the overall tax burden on road transport operators. Taxation on commercial vehicles and in particular on diesel fuel is excessive in comparison to other industry sectors, ignoring road transport’s irreplaceable role as a vital production tool and in ensuring the sustainable mobility of people and goods.”
IRU argued that commercial road transport is and will remain totally dependent on oil, with no economically viable alternative for the foreseeable future, so concrete measures, such as the introduction of a single professional fuel duty, significantly below the current minimum duty, applicable to all passenger and goods commercial transport industries, that is, road, air, rail and maritime transport, must be implemented immediately to demonstrate that road transport operators’ concerns are finally being heard.
