Western Isles hauliers meet transport minister 7/2/12
The axing of RET ferry fares for lorries will be discussed at a meeting between Western Isles hauliers and transport minister Keith Brown in Edinburgh this afternoon.
The delegation from the Outer Hebrides Transport Group (OHTG) will try and persuade the minister to stall the withdrawal of the subsidised charges until a revamped system is put in place.
Mr Brown is offering to set up a £1.5 discount scheme to replace the commercial vehicle RET but hauliers say this is not enough.
Though Mr Brown has denied the removal of road equivalent tariff scheme for lorries will mean increases of up to 172% in fares on some routes, his office has not supplied their calculations despite repeated promises.
Over 90 firms are backing an industry-
The meeting was originally instigated by the transport committee of Western Isles Council.
The government says that only people on the approved invite list will gain access to the meeting.
The OHTG group previously threatened to boycott the meeting unless MP Angus Macneil and Comhairle leader Angus Campbell allowed to attend.
The OHTG list of delegates for the showdown includes Gail Robertson of DJ Buchanan
Haulage/Co-