§ Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Transport what are the total costs to public funds in terms of maintenance and other charges, per road-mile or in any other convenient form, of (a) a 40-tonne lorry and (b) a 32-tonne lorry.
§ Mr. David HowellMaintenance and policing costs per road mile for the present 32.5 tonne lorry are estimated to be about £8 per 1,000 tonnes of freight carried. Because of its higher carrying capacity, the corresponding costs for a five axle 40 tonne lorry of the kind recommended in the Armitage report would be about 10 per cent. less. Estimated costs per road mile for an individual 32.5 or 40 tonne lorry are about 9p and 10p respectively.