Transport management and telematics platform provider Microlise has become a corporate supporter for the high impact grass roots campaign FairFuelUK which last month helped stop a rise in Fuel Duty.
Microlise is the first telematics company to support the campaign and will be sharing the insight gained from data generated from the hundreds of millions of miles travelled each year, by vehicles connected to Microlise solutions.
Since its inception, FairFuelUK has been credited with helping to save over £30 billion in potential tax increases for the haulage industry, businesses and hard pressed motorists. The campaign was instrumental in lobbying the previous coalition government and celebrated a seminal moment in July; having achieved a fuel duty hold in the first Conservative budget for nearly 20 years.
“We see the beneficial impact that the FairFuelUK campaign has for haulage businesses, the field service sector and for UK PLC as a whole,” said Nadeem Raza, Chief Executive Officer of Microlise. “We already have a close working relationship with the group leaders, but have decided to make our support official and consistent in order to further help it to achieve its goals.”
FairFuelUK has 1.1m supporters and by its calculations has stopped fuel prices from being 16 pence per litre higher since 2011. Much of this is thanks to campaign founder Howard Cox and TV broadcaster and motoring journalist Quentin Willson in halting the Fuel Price Escalator.
“We welcome Microlise as a new corporate sponsor and look forward to working together. They bring a real insight into efficient and intelligent logistics to help with reducing fuel usage for their customers. It’s a perfect fit for the campaign,” said Cox. “We’ve achieved a lot in the last five years, but our mission is by no means over. Every time anyone fills up at the pump the government gets 65% of the takings in tax – the highest Fuel Duty in the EU. This throttles businesses and adversely affects cost of living, investment and jobs. With the support of Microlise we hope to achieve our next set of ambitious targets.”
For the 2015-2020 campaign period, FairFuelUK hopes to lower fuel duty by at least 3p/litre, to initiate an independent transparent pump pricing inquiry and see the introduction of measures to ensure tax is always displayed on fuel receipts. The campaign group would also like to see the removal of VAT on fuel duty to stop double taxation.
Microlise plays an important role for transport operators in the UK, in Europe and around the world, including household name retailers, delivery companies and manufacturers. The company’s mission is to empower its customers to improve their customer experience while reducing costs and environmental impact by maximising the efficiency of transportation assets.
Microlise joins existing top level campaign supporters including the Freight Transport Association (FTA), the Road Haulage Association (RHA), the Association of Pallet Networks (APN) plus the RAC.
FairFuelUK is currently running its UK Driver Opinion Survey 2015 which is set to be the largest survey of driver’s opinions ever undertaken in the UK. Complete the survey online at www.fairmotoring.com.
