Written evidence submitted by the Road Haulage Association (CISFL0015)

Introduction to RHA Scotland

The RHA is the leading trade association representing more than 8,500 road haulage and coach companies across the UK, 85% of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We are the UK’s largest trade association dedicated to the haulage, logistics, coach and van sectors. Our members operate about 250,000 HGVs.

Industry analysis indicates that for every £1 generated by the road haulage and logistics sector, approximately £3 is added to the wider UK economy through its extensive supply chains, workforce and consumer activity. Road freight moves 89% of all goods and 98% of agricultural and food products across the UK.

In Scotland, almost everything we depend on day-to-day spends time in the back of a truck on Scotland’s roads. We move Scotland, and we drive Scotland.

We are not just about HGVs. Coaches are integral to Scotland’s transport network, connecting people and communities while supporting employment, education, tourism, sport and local enterprise. Vans and light haulage have become increasingly important to the economy, especially with the rise of online retailing.

Yet this is a challenging industry to operate in. Road haulage is highly competitive, tightly regulated and low-margin. Most of our members typically run fewer than six vehicles and work with margins of about 2%.

We are critical partners for critical Scottish industries such as renewable energy, agriculture, aquaculture, forestry, housebuilding and the whisky industry, not to mention the filling of shelves in shops all over the country, which we all take for granted. So, if growth in the haulage sector stalls, so too does growth in Scotland.

One of the key inhibitors to our growth in Scotland is inadequate infrastructure, including that on Scotland's islands and, critically, the connections to and from them.

Q1. What are the current transport challenges facing Scotland’s island communities, and how do these challenges impact communities? (This could include but is not limited to: economic development, population retention and access to services.)

The RHA has 27 members on Scotland’s islands. The ability to transport freight to, from and in between Scotland’s islands is critical. Our members provide a genuine lifeline service for families, communities and businesses on islands from the islands of the Firth of Clyde, all the way up the Inner and Outer Hebrides, and over to Orkney and Shetland.

Whilst we benefit from a handful of fixed links, in the form of causeways and bridges, the majority of our freight movements are dependent on ferries both to get to, and between, the islands. In a handful of cases, we move goods on dedicated freight ferries, but most of our haulage takes place on combined freight and passenger services.

In the last few years, our island operations have become significantly more difficult as a result of well publicised issues with the reliability of ferry services. It is difficult to over-estimate the impact of these problems on our members’ operations, and by extension on island businesses and communities. The majority of our members’ clients operate within a “just in time” system, in which every minute counts for hauliers. This deepens the problems caused by delays.

If our members cannot move freight to the islands, community shops cannot put produce on their shelves. And if our members cannot move freight from the islands, local businesses lose revenue and profit, which impacts their workforce. This is particularly devastating for highly valuable, time-sensitive deliveries, for example from the aquaculture sector.

For those reasons, we are heavily favourable towards the concept of inter-island connectivity through fixed links.

Which communities, if any, would benefit from fixed-link connectivity in the Scottish Isles, and in what ways would they benefit?

In an acute sense, the communities which would benefit most from fixed link connectivity are the ones which currently experience the most regular and debilitating interruptions to their ferry services.

However, in the longer-term, our experience of serving communities which are linked by causeways and bridges made it clear to us that there are no communities which would not benefit from a fixed link, both to maintain communities and grow the local economy.

What are the downsides to fixed-link infrastructure, if any?

From the benefit of hauliers, there are emphatically no downsides to fixed links. There are only upsides.

Q2. What is the potential return on public investment in fixed-link infrastructure projects in Scotland’s island communities?

From the perspective of our member hauliers and the customers they serve, fixed links would provide very clear financial returns. A road link would bring with it significantly increased resilience, reliability and, most importantly speed - compared to a ferry, even if that ferry service was generally reliable.

That reliability and speed would reduce the cost of haulage, and therefore the cost of doing business for customers of our members. This would, therefore, promote faster growth in these companies and, logically, would allow them to invest in staff and local supply chains.

It may be important for the Committee to consider the industries serviced by our members on the islands - they are many of the highest, fastest growing industries in the country, and those upon which the Scottish economy increasingly relies. Most obviously, this includes the various renewable energy sectors, as well as aquaculture and whisky, the UK’s largest food and drink exports.

Better transport links would, inevitably, help these industries thrive and increase community wealth in the areas they serve, supporting the circular economy of essential local services.

What role, if any, could the UK Government play in supporting fixed-link infrastructure, given the devolved nature of transport policy?

We consider this a matter for discussion between governments and those more relevant to the construction and finance processes.

However, we would observe that there is recent precedent for the UK Government’s involvement in Scottish transport infrastructure, with direct funding for Transport Scotland to progress the bypassing of Crocketford and Springholm on the A75. City and regional growth deals have also demonstrated the potential for governments at Holyrood and Westminster to work collaboratively.

Q3. What lessons can be drawn from international case studies, such as the Faroe Islands’ tunnel network?

The Road Haulage Association operates in the UK only, and we therefore have no relevant research to share with the Committee.

However, if the Committee would find it useful, we would be happy to liaise with peers in relevant European countries, including the Faroe Islands, and report our findings to you.

December 2025