THE NATIONAL Transport Commission (NTC) has revealed in a review of the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme that only 52 vehicle designs have been approved since its introduction in October 2007.
The NTC review said the majority of industry members have taken a ‘wait and see’ approach to participation, largely because early adopters have not realised the desired network access.
This scheme is also regarded as being costly, complex and time consuming.
The review makes a series of recommendations to improve the scheme, including national PBS legislation, to be administered by the proposed national heavy vehicle regulator and the development of a comprehensive set of PBS route maps, with sufficient detail so operators can decide whether investing in PBS vehicles will give them the route access they need.
Other recommendations include improvements to the way PBS vehicles are assessed; and a new PBS classification and route network for multi-combination vehicles with similar performance to B-triples.
ATA Chairman Trevor Martyn said the review identified some of the key problems with the present PBS scheme.
He called on regulators to give PBS vehicles automatic access to the roads they are classified to use.
The PBS scheme provides an alternative approach to heavy vehicle regulation, based on how well vehicles behave on the road rather than imposing prescriptive limits on their mass and dimensions.
When it was introduced, it was hoped the scheme would enable vehicle designers to develop safer and more productive trucks with guaranteed access to appropriate freight routes.
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