State Council presses for improvements in road freight sector

The State Council issued a guideline to boost the restructuring and upgrading of the road freight sector.

Further efforts should be made to widely apply trans-regional tests on freight vehicles' safety technology, emissions, and overall performance. And in 2019, annual inspections on freight vehicles will be conducted online.

Departments concerned should speed up the formulation of security management for road transportation of hazardous goods, the guideline said.

Control on vehicle traffic should be further optimized, and new energy delivery vehicles that meet requirements will enjoy preferential policies.

With new technology, trucks will not have to stop at weighing stations for overload inspection, it said.

A slew of exemplary projects will move forward, highlighting multi-mode transport, integrated urban-rural transport, and urban green delivery.

In cold-chain logistics, lighter freight, and car-free carriages, exemplary road freight enterprises should be promoted.

The development of Internet Plus emerging business modes should be further encouraged and regulated. And departments concerned should establish an interlinked information sharing mechanism for freight credit.

Outdated diesel vehicles should be rendered obsolete soon, and advanced freight vehicles should be promoted nationwide.

Meanwhile, departments concerned should stringently crack down on overload vehicles.

The guideline also requires improvements in vocational training for freight drivers and protection of their rights.