LES Bruzsa is a man that needs no introduction for transport operators in the know, known colloquially as the ‘Quad-father’ of modern high-productivity truck and trailer combinations.
For the uninitiated, though, Les and his team are responsible for the widespread adoption of countless innovative combinations under the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s (NHVR) Performance Based Standards (PBS) program. If you spot a new truck and trailer combination out on the road, Les was likely involved in its conception.
Since joining the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator in 2013, Les has steered the PBS program to great heights, allowing operators, engineers and fleets to apply for bigger and better road-going truck and trailer combinations.
We spoke with Les just days after he took out the Industry Recognition gong at the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) National Awards late last year, making it as fitting a time as any to talk about his achievements and where he sees the Australian transport industry heading into the future.
“We can talk about PBS and the future, but I thought you were calling to congratulate me for the big award!” Les joked, before telling us he actually had COVID-19 and couldn’t attend the awards gala.
Productivity meets safety
The PBS dates back, in some form or another, to the middle of the 1990s when the first innovative combinations were developed. In 2008 the National Transport Commission officially kicked off the program, which boasted a modest number of registrations in its early years. In 2013 the NHVR took the reins, before integrating the scheme into the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) the following year, and the rest is history.
“So, looking at the numbers, at the beginning of 2013 we had around 1,100 PBS combinations, meaning between 2008 and the end of 2012 we had a total of 1,100,” Les explained.
“At the end of November (2024), we had 25,117 combinations registered, so if you look at the growth since the NHVR took over the management of the scheme, it’s astronomical – especially in the last few years – particularly after COVID-19 when transport was such a key service.
“For instance, in 2021 and 2022 we approved around 2,200 combinations per year, then in 2023 it was 3,847 and for this year – with another month left – 5,158 combinations. I think it’s going to be around 5,500 combinations.”
“Our research indicates that roughly one third of the road freight task is carried on PBS combinations.”
The real-world implications for the growth of the PBS fleet include the obvious increase in productivity and reduction in total truck movements, but it has also saved lives.
“On average, the PBS fleet has roughly 23 percent greater productivity, and roughly 55 percent increased safety,” Les explained.
“We know we’ve saved around a billion truck kilometres this year because of the PBS scheme, so given that based on the latest data there’s between eight and nine fatalities for every one billion kilometres – the PBS Scheme has saved at least 8 lives this year.”
Tippers on top
In terms of the combinations proving most popular, Les explained that, despite tipper truck and dog trailer combinations still making up the bulk of PBS applications, the tide is turning as the enormously versatile 30m long PBS A-double gains traction.
“While the percentage of truck and dogs was close to 60 percent (of PBS combinations) a few years ago, now down to 42 percent, and we’re seeing other combinations coming through,” he said.
“If I look at the complete fleet, with more than 25,000 PBS combinations, still truck and dogs lead the pack with more than 11,000 of them – but A-doubles are the second place and they’ve overtaken prime movers and B-doubles in the scheme.
“The PBS A-double is the star performer now, so in the last couple of years the number of those combinations – and it’s not just the 30-metre-long ones but also the shorter 26-metre and longer 33-metre ones – are the clear winner.”
As it stands, Les outlined, the number of PBS A-doubles within the scheme (5,600) now exceeds that of prime-mover semis (4,200) and B-doubles (3,000). While the PBS A-doubles are nudging closer to truck and dog combinations, in terms of total registrations, Australia’s construction boom is driving continued demand for high-productivity tippers.
“I was predicting that A-doubles could overtake truck and dogs this year (2024), because last year we had 1,200 truck and dogs and more than 1,000 A-doubles,” he said.
“But it didn’t happen because, while we had around 1,600 A-doubles this year, the truck and dog numbers again jumped to more than 1,800. I thought the number of new PBS truck and dog combinations would plateau due to their penetration to the fleet, but we’ve got big construction projects and operators need new vehicles.”
The continued growth of truck and dog registrations can be attributed to the new breed of multi-axle dog trailer combinations bursting onto the scene, which boast even greater levels of productivity compared to three- and four-axle options.
“My observation is that, while the number of traditional three- and four-axle dogs stays at basically the same level, we’re seeing a larger number of new truck and dog combinations coming to the fore, and they are examples like a three-axle truck with five-axle dog, three-axle truck with six-axle dog, or a four-axle truck with five-axle or six-axle dog,” Les said.
“The larger truck and dogs are even replacing the B-doubles in certain areas, or they’re going into tipper fleets where before PBS you couldn’t run those combinations. Now, the PBS Scheme provides the flexibility to transport operators and a range of new vehicle options, so you now have these new combinations entering the fleet, and their numbers are growing significantly.”
Outlining other growth areas within the scheme, Les highlighted a jump in PBS B-triple numbers, which he attributes to the significantly improved access across the last couple of years. Prime mover and semi-trailer combinations, he says, have also grown in popularity – in particular the longer three-axles and the quad semis.
States to step up
It’s clear, talking with Les, that growth is highest in jurisdictions that encourage the use of high-productivity combinations – understanding their safety benefits, and inherent emissions and trip reduction potential.
“Obviously, the industry is switching towards high productivity combinations across the field, but I think the biggest push or opportunity is in the jurisdictions where gaining access for PBS combinations is easier,” he said.
“In Victoria and New South Wales, where they opened up significant networks for those combinations, the growth is considerable, and we can see those increases in the productivity figures.”
The jurisdictions open to the scheme are looking at the bigger picture and thanks to their cooperation, Les and his team are now armed with the data to prove that higher productivity vehicles may indeed be better for the road network.
“The freight task is going to increase so you want more productive and safer vehicles, you want to use less trucks, and that’s going to be beneficial to the road network,” he said.
“We now have the data and the evidence to prove that it’s not just a theory and that the PBS combinations are more productive and are reducing the number of trucks on the road.
“For instance, in the last six to eight years in Victoria payload productivity has increased by 16 percent, and in New South Wales it’s increased by around 6.0 percent, but in Queensland it’s only 0.5 percent mainly because of the access limitations. The take up rate of PBS combinations in New South Wales and Victoria is higher than that of Queensland.”
When asked where he sees the scheme heading in the near future, Les said he and his team are prioritising discussions with road managers to allow improved PBS access for transport operators.
“We are working with road managers to reduce and simplify the permit requirements, which means giving the industry certainty,” he said.
“Industry needs certainty that if they spend a million bucks on a high productivity combination, it’s not going to be parked up somewhere – they need to know they can utilise it. We are working with road managers in that sense.”
High-productivity future
Looking further ahead, Les thinks there is the potential to transition proven combinations out of the PBS fleet – streamlining the adoption of higher productivity combinations for operators.
“We’d like to transition the mature and proven PBS combinations with well-known performance characteristics out of the scheme, because when you have thousands and thousands of truck and dogs and thousands and thousands of A-doubles, it would be better to come up with prescriptive design envelopes and just say to the industry ‘design your vehicle like that’,” he said.
“If you meet those design requirements, you don’t have to go through the PBS assessments and so on – you don’t have to spend time and resources on a design. We’ve learnt so much about the performance of these combinations that we are convinced that we can create those blueprint designs, and we want the industry to use those – but it’s probably not something you’ll see in the very near future.”
The NHVR is currently reviewing the existing PBS standards in line with emerging new-energy vehicle technology, updated Australian Design Rules (ADRs), and other incoming safety technologies. With revised standards on the way, and the scheme’s recent growth, the future of high productivity in Australia looks promising.
