Thanda, thanda, cool, cool

Exactly seven days ago (19 June 2023), Minister for Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Jairam Gadkari (27 May, 1957) affixed his signature, making it mandatory for all commercial vehicle manufacturers to provide airconditioned comfort inside driver cabins with effect from 2025.

Expectedly, the media corralled opinions from stakeholders on this initiative. Again, there was a division between those singing hosannas and picking holes. Nothing unusual. After all, the impact of this move is bound to elicit such diversity of opinion because of cost implications. Paise, paise, paise! Plus, India is a democratic country. Noisy, yes!

By and large, truckmakers welcomed this move because they are already witnessing a surge in demand for aircondition-fitted trucks. It is a fact that they lobbied hard to stall this initiative for a long time.

In 2018, the first special secretary for logistics in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, N Sivasailam, addressing the big boys of the automotive industry at the SIAM annual jamboree, pointedly told them that they could easily absorb whatever additional cost in airconditioning truck driver cabins. Don’t dilly-dally.

His simple and logical argument was that HCV OEMs bestow a hefty discount to potential buyers to push sales into a few lakhs of rupees per vehicle. Why not write off an additional 40–50,000 rupees?” he asked. The response was total silence.

It is no secret that the domestic truck makers of yore were compelled to introduce modifications to truck cabins after the advent of foreign truck makers. Chalta hai, chal no do attitude. Business smart, one can say. Nonetheless, they changed tack and began their modernization drive when circumstances forced them to. Good for them. Good for all.

Nonetheless, Gadkari has made the airconditioned truck driver cabin mandatory. His logic was equally immaculate. He punched holes into the HCV makers’ argument that airconditioning of trucks would induce “sleep” of drivers and thus lead to a higher incidence of accidents on highways by saying that the long-distance airconditioned buses did not prove their contention.

What is the response of the transporters’ lobby? Muted. Airconditioned driver cabins are fine, but what about the minister NOTpaying more attention to other serious hurdles for transporters on highways? Of course, valid argument.

Not that Gadkari is deaf, but he is helpless. He concedes that transport being on the concurrent list of the Constitution, state governments checkmate the federal government. Ironically, his party-ruled states are untameable. Madhya Pradesh has been the perfect example for such a state-center face-off in tackling corruption on highways.

The chest-beating over the Gadkari move is louder, particularly in the Namakkal-Sankakiri belt, the cradle of trucking in the south. Such a reaction is expected given that a large chunk of the fleet is owner-driven, and they fear the additional cost of air conditioning (one-time fixed and recurring expenses in filling gas) would eat into their thin margins. That is not off the mark.

Analyze why Gadkari did what he did. His concern is to trim the logistics cost, assumed to be around 14%. The National Logistics Policy 2021 talks about reducing it to single digits in the next five years. Laudable.

How do the airconditioned cabins enable achieving that goal? Good question. Indian truck cabins are hot boxes. Poor ergonomics. Fabricated on the roadside by the unorganized and unregulated mechanics. Fully Built Units, or FBUs, are not yet the norm. Of late, HCV OEMs are moving in that direction, supplying FBUs and gradually replacing the cowl-type chassis sale.

Better ergonomics does not mean luxurious interiors but basic facilities that would make truck driving comfortable. Such comfort would reduce fatigue, a major cause of road accidents, and improve mileage. Covering 500km plus in a 24-hour cycle by a single driver would become a norm, not an exception.

Roads have become better. Vehicles, too. It is high time some attention is paid to the driver’s comfort. That’s what Gadkari is trying to do.

Air-conditioned cabins would automatically enhance productivity in terms of more distance covered. Swift freight movement. Remember the $5 trillion dream. More freight movement at a faster clip. Quicker project implementation. More moolah for the government in terms of tax collection. More moolah for transporters even at the current freight rates, about which they complain.

Last but not least is the driver’s compensation. Driver earning is linked to the km driven. Thus the Gadkari drive would lead to more km covered and hence higher earnings for drivers. It is a win-win for all stakeholders.

It is not that they don’t understand and refuse to concede the basic provisioning. But, trying their best to delay the rollout.

2025 is less than 18 months away. Sufficient time for truck makers to switch to the new provisioning. Cribbing is a human trait, cutting across nationalities or borders. Such noise is inevitable.

The fear that drivers would keep the air conditioning running even while idling is not exaggerated. There is technological intervention available to ensure such misuse is tackled. Over the years, this writer has climbed several original air condition-fitted Volvo driver cabins, particularly in the ODC segment on the highways, to find that air conditions unoperational. Why? Fleet owners don’t refill gas! Easy to cheat. Drivers don’t complain. Ethical? Not at all. But that is the way the transport segment functions. Temperature control of driver cabin a la perishable cold chain movement? Remotely? Can’t rule out.

However, it is a spurious argument to say that trucks are airconditioned. What about their home, which is not? Such switches between home and workplace won’t affect their health? Laughable. Relax. Don’t jump the gun.

All the noise over the cooling comfort for drivers would die down over time. All will embrace, and better days are ahead.

It is not airconditioned driver cabins in trucking is a novelty. In the mining vertical, it is the norm.

One last word. Such a comfortable workplace might even attract better-educated but jobless youth to ogle at truck driving as a career option. If the workplace environment is good and earnings are good, why not? Remember, another hot-button issue: the driver shortage pegged at 22%.

It is a cool and calculated Gadkari move. Not a gamble. Does any of the stakeholders have any option? Hobson’s Choice, it is. Think long term.