The UK trade association for lorry, coach and van operators, with its head office in Peterborough and offices in Scotland and West Yorkshire.
The Road Haulage Association, usually called the RHA, describes itself as the UK's largest body dedicated to operators of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), coaches and vans. It is a trade association, which means businesses join it so that they have a shared voice and practical help. Its work covers campaigning, advice, training, information and business services, including audits, risk assessments and employment contract templates. It has about 8,500 members who, between them, run around 100,000 commercial vehicles.
The RHA has a long history. An earlier version ran from 1932 to 1935 with about 9,000 members, and the current association was formed in 1945 when the Associated Road Operators merged with the Commercial Motor Users' Association. In 1960 it published the Black Book, a guide listing around 140,000 recommended haulage rates, though a change in competition law in 1974 meant it could no longer recommend rate rises and the book was dropped. The pages we could read give no formal mission statement, so we have not invented one. What is clear from its campaigns is what it stands for: fair treatment and a strong voice for road transport businesses.
The RHA's head office is in Peterborough, and it has further offices in Bathgate in Scotland and Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire. Its members operate right across the UK, and it campaigns nationally on issues such as fuel duty, the cost of fuel, rules affecting lorries crossing to Europe, and freight crime, which is the theft of goods from lorries and supply chains. Its freight crime campaign drew wide media coverage and contributed to parliamentary debate.
The RHA also runs campaigns aimed at the public and at young people. Love The Lorry, launched in 2015 with an event at the House of Commons, grew into National Lorry Week, an annual programme that teaches school-age children about the industry and promotes logistics careers. In 2022 it launched National Coach Week, the first campaign dedicated to the coach sector. The RHA also supports the independent RHA Benevolent Fund, a charity that helps people connected to road transport in times of hardship. According to Wikipedia, it was listed in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and holds a Silver award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme. These are accolades reported by a third party.
People working at the RHA do jobs that support hauliers rather than drive lorries. They include advisers who answer members' questions on regulation, training staff, policy and media specialists who run the campaigns, publishers of its magazine Roadway, and finance and membership teams. If you like persuading people, writing, or understanding how rules affect real businesses, an association like this shows how campaigns are built, from a briefing in Parliament to a story on the news.
Website: www.rha.uk.net
PURPOSE helps school and university students explore 62 sectors and over 1,000 entry-level careers in the UK, then connects them directly with employers.
Explore PURPOSE