By MARGARET S. KNOEPFLE
THE ENERGY crisis has focused attention on attempts by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ILCC) to reform its regulation of utilities, but the commission has also been overhauling its motor carrier division. The new manager of the motor carrier division is David N. Gibson who was lured away from the New York Department of Transportation in January. Gibson said he came to Illinois only on the condition that he would get "a firm commitment from the commission for change." He said a lot has happened during his first five months in the motor carrier division, but neither ILCC Chairman Charles P. Kocoras or any other commissioner has told him he's going too fast. Basically, Gibson said he has been tightening up administration in the division, where there was lack of good central control, and staff morale and communications were poor. Now he is on the verge of launching a new truck regulatory program. It will be the first time ILCC has produced a comprehensive plan for motor carrier regulation listing organization deficiencies, staff deficiencies and a legislative program that could become a model for other states. (Illinois is well-placed for such a role because Chicago is the transportation hub of the U.S.). Dissatisfied truckers ILCC's motor carrier division is in charge of licensing trucking companies that operate in the state and regulating their rates and services. According to Gibson, what the division has been doing for the past 20 years "is not too terribly effective." There has been dissatisfaction by truckers and shippers, and one example is noncertified "gypsy truckers." Gibson said, "They [the certified truckers] don't see us as doing anything. They ask, 'You guys are stopping our trucks. Why aren't you catching the guy that hasn't even bothered being certified?" Other questions Gibson said he wants answered are: "Do we expand the size of the enforcement program? Are only just and reasonable rates being put into effect? Are we regulating too many kinds of firms? Should we regulate farm trucks? Firms that operate only within a metropolitan area? "The law says we should do certain things," Gibson said, "but we need to set priorities in rates and enforcement . . . The problem has been that if you do too much with too little, you end up doing nothing .... I want the motor carrier division to accomplish what the law says we should be doing and to be more responsive to the public need." Advisory groups Gibson has recruited advisory groups composed of truckers, shippers, labor unions and the general public to give guidance to the ILCC on how to revamp and revitalize its motor carrier division. He is also organizing a series of statewide regulatory workshops at which he will meet with individual carriers and shippers to make sure that smaller carriers are represented. The response from all quarters has been good. "There is tremendous support for what we're doing," Gibson said. The first advisory group meetings are scheduled for late June. Once the groups have established a common direction, they will begin working on assignments and reports which will be submitted to Gibson and then to the commission. He emphasized that he will make the final decision on recommendations to the ILCC, but the advisory groups will see the recommendations he makes. Gibson feels that the commission and the truckers and shippers will agree on basic policy questions, though they may disagree on implementation. He explained, "There are so many groups in the state — each with their own interest that the consumer interest is often contrary to the interest of the owner of a trucking company." Nevertheless, he is convinced that the carriers wholeheartedly want to discuss state trucking regulations, having been denied participation at the federal level and been plagued with poor communication at the state level. In fact, the industry (which pays for ILCC operation costs through fees and licenses) is willing, Gibson said, to pay more for effective and fair regulation. Gibson wants input from the industry but emphasizes that his basic goal "is not a program to better serve the carriers but to better serve the people." To get consumers involved, he enlisted the help of Annie Moldafsky, Gov. James R. Thompson's newly appointed consumer advocate (who is also coordinating all of the programs designed to help consumers control energy and utility costs). Representatives of the Legal Assistance Foundation are among those who will represent consumers on the advisory committees. Gibson feels Moldafsky has recruited a vocal and enthusiastic group. Hidden transportation costs People are not aware of the transportation costs that are included in the price of the goods they buy, Gibson said. Unlike utility rates, the cost of transporting goods is a hidden one, amounting to only a small percentage of the price of each item. But it mounts up. "Collectively, the transportation bill paid by consumers in the state is enormous," he said. Regulators of carriers have been accused of keeping transport prices artificially high. There is no incentive to bargain with unions on wage increases if management knows it can pass the costs on through higher rates. The practice of setting rates by average prices rather than fair prices enables inefficient truckers to stay in business at the expense of the consumer. Gibson believes that if the regulatory program were changed, the hidden cost of transportation could fall. The change in the individual price of each item would not be dramatic, but the total amount saved could be substantial. What about the governor and the legislature? Gibson said reasonable modification of the motor carrier division is basically nonpolitical and that "Thompson was interested in what we're trying to do." But Gibson believes the final legislative package will be hard to sell because of lobbying and private interests. A draft report from the advisory groups should be completed by the end of the summer. By the end of the calendar year, Gibson expects to make his recommendations to the ILCC in time for the commission to prepare a legislative package for the next session of the General Assembly. July 1978/Illinois Issues/27
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