VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) has released details of a new trucking policy, including a new licence agreement, in support of its strategic trucking program.

“The VPA’s new licence agreement will give our port a greater role in ensuring that trucking companies comply with the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that was developed by Vince Ready in the aftermath of the 2005 container trucking dispute,” said Captain Gordon Houston, president and CEO of the VPA. “This new policy supports the VPA’s goal to develop a more stable model for the container trucking sector in the Lower Mainland.”

The announcement of the new trucking policy from the VPA comes on the heels of the federal government’s decision to officially enact new regulations aimed at stabilizing trucking operations at B.C.’s Lower Mainland ports.

Under the new regulations, the Vancouver and Fraser River port authorities must, by law, establish a licensing system, set minimum conditions on licences and ensure these conditions are respected.

The VPA is now requiring all trucking companies that transport containers to and from the port to apply for a new licence that contains the new requirements. All existing licences are valid until Jan. 15, 2007. After that date the terms of the new licence will apply.

Other details of the VPA’s new policy will include: effective immediately, the VPA will only accept applications for new licences from companies that transport containers to and from the Lower Mainland ports exclusively with company-owned equipment and employee drivers; any trucking company that does not conduct business at the Lower Mainland ports for 90 consecutive calendar days will lose its licence. Long-haul carriers will be exempt from this provision; and all trucking companies applying for a licence must provide the VPA a signed copy of the MOA.

Any company that fails to do so will not be eligible for a new licence. New provisions will provide for the investigation, inspection and auditing of company records to ensure compliance with the MOA.

“The new trucking policy will increase stability in the container trucking sector by ensuring that companies do not continue to undercut each other to the point of another market failure,” noted Houston.