Rising transport costs for MS Society branches
Rises to the cost of fuel, vehicle excise duty and new restrictions on London’s low emission zone could cost the charity’s branch network an estimated extra £130,000 over the next two years unless drastic provisions are made.
This week, Transport for London (TfL) have agreed to meet the MS Society to discuss concerns over the capital’s low emission zone after the MS Society issued a letter to the Evening Standard.
The letter from the charity’s head of policy and campaigns, Dan Berry, said that whilst the charity supported Government bids to make transport greener, organisations like the MS Society would need longer to ring in the changes. Taxing charities out of the market in the short term could leave many people affected by multiple sclerosis feeling trapped in their homes.
“It’s no secret that public transport isn’t up to scratch when it comes to transporting passengers in wheelchairs. Many of our branch members rely on the use of our mini bus service to transport them to hospital appointments and branch meetings.”
“To ask a local charity to pay £200 each time they take a member to a hospital appointment is a complete farce. Our members would rarely leave their homes if it wasn’t for our service but despite that the government has given little consideration to voluntary organisations and the vulnerable.”
Here’s a detailed look at what rising transport costs mean to our branches:
Low Emission Zone
From July, Transport for London launch the second phase of the low emission zone – incorporating diesel vehicles over 3.5 tonnes or those that have more than 9 seats. In 2010 further restrictions will apply to diesel vehicles over 1.2 tonnes or those with more than 8 seats.London branches whose vehicles don’t meet the standards will be forced to pay £200 each time they enter a low emission zone or shell out roughly £4000 to adapt their vehicle by fitting abatement equipment.
The total cost to branches to adapt their vehicle is expected to be around £48,000.
Check your vehicle against the new regulations
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED)
The current cost of road tax on minibuses in 2008 is £210 for the year, but the government has scheduled an increase to £300 for 2009 and minibus users will be expected to pay £430 by 2010.We estimate that increased VED will cost our volunteer branches around £40,000 in 2009, an extra £11,900 from 2008 and an increase of 43%.
Fuel costs
Families and businesses are not alone in feeling the impact of fuel price increases. Branches, in total, use approximately 8,000 litres of diesel fuel every month.In 2007 the estimated cost of fuel each month, based on the average price of diesel at the time at 96p per litre, was £7,600 – meaning a total annual cost of around £92,000.
Fast track to 2008 and the average cost for diesel per litre is £1.29, and is continuing to rise. The total cost of fuel each month is £10,320 which equates to £123,800 over the year, a rise of £31,000.
