Will Burnham’s Regime Improve The Current Fleet Regulatory Landscape?

There are big questions ahead for the UK on transport, that go way beyond Bee Network buses – which is where new PM Andy Burnham cut his teeth in Manchester. EV delivery van fleets, local electric scooter food delivery, a crackdown on e-bike and e-scooter gangs running dope around estates would be good, plus the balance between 20mph urban limits and the extra costs added to EVERY single trade job, delivery or routine commute. Is anyone going to fix the potholes? Unlikely. So serious damage to private cars becomes a repair bill, or an insurance claim.

Then there’s a rail network that seems to have lost 30% of carriages since Covid and has some of the highest fares in the world, compared to average incomes.

Here are some thoughts from Corpay’s Paul Holland

Paul Holland, Managing Director for UK/ANZ Vehicle Payments at Corpay, including UK brand, Allstar:

“Changes in political leadership inevitably create a period of uncertainty, but fleet operators make investment decisions over many years rather than political cycles. What businesses need above all is clarity and consistency of policy, regardless of who is in Downing Street.”

“Businesses can adapt to change but what makes investment difficult is uncertainty about the direction of travel.”

“If the new government chooses to devolve more responsibility to regions and cities, there is an opportunity to deliver transport and infrastructure investment that better reflects local needs. However, for fleets operating nationally, local flexibility needs to sit alongside national consistency. Without that coordination, there is a risk of creating a more fragmented operating environment, making it harder for businesses operating across the UK to plan and invest.”

“The immediate priority is providing certainty on the issues that most directly affect fleet planning: the direction of the ZEV mandate, the planned fuel duty changes and how EV taxation will operate in practice. Those questions don’t change with a new Prime Minister and the sooner there are clear answers, the more confidence businesses will have to invest.”