Transport Manager, PCV driver, MIDAS Passenger Assistant Trainer, CFR, Wife, Mum
Yorkshire UK
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RT @SarahChampionMP: Delighted to say Proud of #Rotherham small grants scheme is launched! rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk/ne…
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Today we put the case for haulage, coach and van operators to the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee roundtable in #Westminster. We set out the pressures operators face, from cashflow to infrastructure to UK-EU trade, and the part the sector plays in keeping the economy moving.
It was also a good opportunity for @RHA_Ferdy to remind MPs of our key #Budget2026 asks to scrap fuel duty increases and introduce a minimum 15 pence per litre rebate that would reduce the costs of moving people and goods.
The committee is currently setting its three scrutiny priorities for the year, so it was a good moment to be in the room. Chair @liambyrnemp and his colleagues heard our perspectives, and we’ll keep engaging with the committee as its work develops.
#RHACampaigns #RHACostsAndRegulation #FuelDuty #CostOfLiving
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It's #Budget2026 tomorrow and we continue to campaign for measures to reduce the cost of moving people and goods as fuel prices cripple businesses. Our MD, @RHARJSmith is calling for an essential user rebate of at least 15 pence per litre to help firms with cashflow, and for planned #FuelDuty increases to be scrapped.
"A fuel duty hike remains a food price hike. So when it costs more to move it, it costs more for us all to buy it," he told @GBNEWS.
He [The Chancellor] can't control the price of fuel, but he can control what the Treasury adds to it," he added.
gbnews.com/lifestyle/cars/la…
#RHACampaigns #RHACostsAndRegulation #CostOfLiving @JohnHealey_MP
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Fuel price hikes - Lee Ayers from #Andover-based haulier, Gregory J Smith Ltd told #BBCSolent listeners that operators' thin margins are getting squeezed. Transport businesses, especially SMEs, struggle for cashflow, which is why we urge the Chancellor to announce a minimum 15-pence-per-litre essential user rebate in his #Budget2026 speech tomorrow. This would relieve some inflationary pressure on haulage, coach and van operators. We also call for the new year's planned #FuelDuty increases to be scrapped - which includes the link to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) set for April.
#RHACampaigns #RHAMembers #CostOfLiving
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Friday & last day of term … finishing strong and completely done in! But progress has been made. Coffee, work, gym, work, Pj’s 💪🏻🚌there would be bubbles 🫧 but one of my little passengers doesn’t like them 💚
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#5amclub up, showered, cleaned. Just having a coffee and red light therapy to set me up. Hump day be kind please 🚌
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Justine Green retweeted
Eight days until the Budget.
Three clear RHA asks:
1. Freeze fuel duty and cancel planned rises.
2. Delink fuel duty from RPI.
3. Introduce a 15p/litre Essential User Rebate for trucks, coaches and vans.
Protect businesses, jobs and growth.
Comments welcome.
#RHABudget2026
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Half term is in sight.. new route has been interesting. Works better when we all communicate, school, parents, transport but what do I know? 😳finishing strong 🤞
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Ahead of #Budget2026, we're campaigning for an essential user rebate of at least 15ppl to help operators with cashflow, and to reduce the cost of moving people and goods. Please ask your MP - through our contact tool - to support our call.
#RHACampaigns #RHACostsAndRegulation #FuelDuty #CostOfLiving
We’re just two weeks away from #Budget2026 and your voice can help strengthen the case for the businesses that keep Britain moving.
Whether you operate trucks, coaches or vans, we’re asking you to write to your MP and seek their support for an Essential User Rebate of at least 15p per litre for commercial vehicle operators.
Our Ask Your MP tool has a pre-written letter that explains to parliamentarians that there’s widespread industry support for Treasury intervention to ease cashflow pressure.
Interim findings from our current Back the Business survey, as of 7 October, show that 82% support a fuel duty cut and 61% support an Essential User Rebate.
Our earlier fuel survey, with responses across fleet sizes and UK regions, found that 85% reported reduced margins, 57% faced pressure on working capital from fuel costs, and only 10% could fully pass rising costs on to customers.
For some operators, these pressures mean managing week to week, delaying investment and questioning which contracts they can continue to sustain. And that matters to everyone relying on haulage, coach services and vans to move goods, passengers and essential services.
The rebate must be additional to maintaining the fuel duty freeze and existing 5p cut, cancelling planned increases, and removing the automatic link to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) set for April.
Please continue supporting our campaign.
You can write to your MP – and ask your colleagues and peers to do the same: rhacontactmp.uk.net/
We’re still running our Back the Business Survey too. This gives us the data we need to go to the Government to make the compelling case that we need this support now.
Please offer your insight: surveymonkey.com/r/RHASMBUD
Comments welcome.
#RHACampaigns #BackTheBusiness #RoadHaulage #RHACoaches #Vans #FuelDuty
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Coaches connect communities, take children to school and bring visitors to destinations across the country. Behind those journeys are businesses facing considerable financial pressure.
Today’s National Coach Week parliamentary debate put those businesses, and the people who depend on them, firmly on the agenda.
We’ve worked with Alex Mayer MP over several months to help secure this debate. Our team engaged MPs across parties, connected them with operators in their constituencies and provided evidence of the challenges facing the sector.
That preparation translated into strong cross-party contributions. MPs highlighted local coach businesses and raised fuel costs, driver recruitment, parking, accessibility, decarbonisation and international travel.
Crucially, our call for an Essential User Rebate on fuel duty was raised with the minister, alongside calls to cancel planned fuel duty increases.
For operators running school transport on fixed-price contracts, rising diesel costs can quickly become a serious #cashflow problem. These pressures have consequences for services, jobs and communities.
I welcome minister Keir Mather’s recognition of those challenges and his commitment to continue making representations on behalf of the industry. The promised written update on younger coach driver restrictions is also a practical step forward.
But recognition must lead to action. We will keep urging the Treasury and DfT for immediate support ahead of #Budget2026, alongside policies that reflect the distinct needs of coaches.
Thank you to Alex Mayer, all the MPs who contributed, and the operators who shared their experiences. This is our evidence-led, collaborative approach in practice: bringing the realities of running a business into the decisions that affect its future.
Tomorrow’s #NationalCoachWeek parliamentary drop-in gives us another opportunity to build that support.
What would make the greatest difference to your coach business right now? Comments welcome.
#Coaches #RHACoaches #FuelDuty #BackTheBusiness
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Bravo 👏🏻 absolutely this, love to know what the answers were, @SarahChampionMP ? We’re still here but it’s getting harder and harder, please don’t forget about us
During today’s #NationalCoachWeek debate in Parliament, @lukeakehurst MP made a powerful contribution highlighting the challenges facing the UK coach industry, as part of a Westminster Hall debate.
Luke highlighted the challenges facing RHA member @stanley_travel, a family-run coach operator in his North Durham constituency, which has seen its weekly fuel costs rise by almost £10,000 as a result of soaring diesel prices.
He also raised the wider challenges facing coach operators, including driver shortages, inadequate coach parking and the need for a realistic roadmap to decarbonisation.
Crucially, Luke called on the Government to introduce an essential user fuel rebate for coach operators and cancel the planned fuel duty increases.
We thank Luke for championing Stanley Travel and the wider coach industry in Parliament.
The message is clear: coach operators provide vital services to communities across the UK, and the Government must act to support them.
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#drained it’s been a week of safety inspections 3/3 ⭐LOLER testing, MIDAS driver training & home to school transport. All this costs us, vehicles don’t run on fresh air, wages to pay. Running a small business is hard. Please pay invoices 🚌
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Huge cost pressures are taking their toll on our sector as diesel prices have hit record levels. Our member, Rhys Hackling, MD of Direct Connect Logistics told @guardian that his monthly fuel bill has increased from £50k to £65k a month and said the situation is affecting business confidence in the sector. Haulage, coach and van operators have little choice but to pass additional costs on given the slim margins in road transport.
Coach operators have warned that record diesel prices could force cuts to services including school transport.
Our MD, @RHARJSmith added that this is unsustainable, so it needs the Government to intervene now to back the businesses that keep Britain moving, and save firms and jobs.
A #FuelDuty rebate for essential users would relieve inflationary pressure. We're also calling on ministers ahead of #Budget2026 to scrap plans to increase the duty in the new year, and not to go ahead with linking it to RPI in April.
#RHACampaigns #RHACoaches #RHACostsAndInfrastructure #CostOfLiving
theguardian.com/uk-news/2026…
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