Roadtransport.com has joined forces with sister titles Motor Transport and Commercial Motor to launch a campaign to prevent any further closures of VOSA test stations until suitable, viable alternatives are in place.
VOSA has been tasked by the Department for Transport with transferring 85% of commercial vehicle annual tests to privately run facilities by 2012. As a result, VOSA needs to close a large proportion of its 90 test stations over the next three years.
This year two stations have closed – Par, Cornwall and Bredbury, Cheshire – with a third, Llandrindod Wells, due to close on 25 September. The fourth and only other station closure announced to date is in Steeton, West Yorkshire, which local operators and their MP are battling furiously to save. At the moment VOSA says Steeton will close by March 2010.
The alarming factor is that VOSA pledged at the start of the year not to close any stations until privately run Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) were in place. With no ATFs established – not even an ATF contract available for prospective ATF providers to look at – it is unreasonable and irrational that local test stations are already closing.
Many of our readers have told us that these closures are going to severely disrupt their businesses and add yet more costs to their bottom line - so we have listened and decided to take a stand by launching our ‘Stop the VOSA Closures’ campaign.