Akeynote speech by Rt. Hon Alistair Darling MP
Secretary of State for Transport
I would like to use this seminar as an opportunity to explain what we have done since I set out the case for road pricing in June. I will set out how road pricing could be progressively introduced in the UK.
To move beyond discussion of the principles of road pricing, and, to explain how we can use road pricing to better manage our road network and reduce congestion. Before I do that, let me make a further point. There are some who believe that the case for road pricing is already accepted. Not yet. So is worth reminding ourselves again of the problem.
Although many more people know about the concept than they did a year ago, we cannot say that the case has been made and the argument has been won. So the argument bears repetition. As we become better off, we will want to travel more, and to travel further. And as we travel more, because we live on a crowded island, congestion is set to grow as well. This is bad for the economy and causes delays and frustration to motorists. If we do nothing, we will face eternal gridlock like they do in many cities in the US. We know we cannot build our way out of the problem, so we need to use modern technology to help cut congestion. And this isn¹t just about freeing up our towns and cities from congestion although that is
important.
We need to take action in order to be able to compete effectively in an increasingly global marketplace where India and China will represent a quarter of total world output by 2015. We need an effective transport system to enable us to compete. People need to travel goods need to be delivered on time. The prize here is cutting congestion by nearly half.
This in itself will bring environmental benefits. But more is needed there too, so alongside these proposals we need to ensure measures to encourage the use of more efficient cars, cleaner fuels and other emissions improvements.
No one policy can resolve all the problems we face. Remember that road pricing, that is moving away from the present system of motoring taxation to paying for road use on the basis of distance travelled varied according to how congested a road is is primarily aimed at cutting congestion.
We are already doing a lot to tackle the problem of congestion. We are putting sustained investment into transport. Planned spending over the next three years has been increased from £10.4bn this year to more than £12.8bn by 2007 and will continue to grow in real terms. And this will include new road capacity where that is justified. But it can never be an answer on its own.
We are also improving the way roads are managed - helping traffic to flow better. Everything from high-tech systems that set the timing of traffic lights through to reducing the time it takes to clear up after accidents, car pool lanes and a new system to manage traffic starting on the M42 next year.
All of these steps will make a difference but they will not solve the underlying problem of congestion. Without locking in the benefits, our roads will continue to fill up.
At the same time, new technology is opening up further opportunities to cut congestion. That is why more and more people can see the possibilities that road pricing might bring. It is encouraging that road pricing is increasingly being recognised as part of the solution to tackle congestion and not just by Local Authorities, but increasingly by business as well. But rightly, people want to know more about the practicalities. What does it mean for them? That is essential if the case is to be made and won with the wider public.
It is worth remembering that the solutions we provide for road pricing will have a big effect on how people travel and indeed live their lives, so we need to have broad support. So let me explain how those practicalities might be addressed in three key areas:
First, to tackle congestion in areas where it is already a problem today or soon will be.
Second, to do so in a way that also allows us to pilot technology for the longer term; a national scheme.
And third, and very importantly how to make the systems as simple as possible.
On the first point, for all the reasons I have explained, while other policies can help to reduce congestion in the short term, beyond a certain point, road pricing will have to be part of the broader solution.
That is why it is good to see so many expressions of interest from Local Authorities and PTE¹ s in the Transport Innovation Fund. The leaders of some of our cities and larger conurbations can see that they must begin to consider demand management, including road pricing if they are to be able to support continued economic growth. So far around 30 bids have been made by Local Authorities to explore how demand management might fit into an overall plan to tackle congestion including road pricing towns and cities.
We always said we would need to pilot a scheme in one or two areas so we will pick the best of these schemes. Successful bids will address areas with congestion now and in the next 5 years. They will show a commitment to investing in public transport alongside new forms of road pricing.
Inevitably on this timetable, we would need to rest on established technology, such as the microwave systems that are currently used in the US or Singapore for example (and here at the Dartford crossing).That is because we cannot rely on all vehicles having more modern technology in say 5 years it will take a bit longer than that.
But even in these early schemes, we can do better than a simple cordon scheme, like London, as TFL themselves recognise. And we can do better than a single all day price. Instead, we can tailor the prices to suit the traffic flows. And that is what is needed to change travel patterns. And, let¹s not forget, any such road pricing scheme would be only part of the overall transport solution. The Government is ready, and able, to invest in the complementary public transport and travel information schemes which together with road pricing would make the city a better place to live and work. To repeat, then, the first step is to use road pricing to tackle congestion where it is already a problem, or soon will be. And, to do so using established technology. But that then leads to my second point using these early schemes to open up real possibilities for testing a national scheme.
Just because we must use established technology as a base system for early pathfinders, does not prevent us testing modern technology such as satellite positioning. And let me make an important point. Schemes need to be consistent and capable of being part of a national scheme. Only the Government can ensure that is the case, which leads me to my third element.
We need to move away from the idea that Government is going to define and specify all this modern technology and, that we will simply build a big computer to sort it out. It will not work that way. Instead we need to start thinking of road pricing ³piggy-backing² on systems already being offered by the market. Some drivers already use a satellite positioning device as the platform for pay-as-you-go insurance. More and more will do so.
The time of their journeys and where they are is already being collected to calculate their pay-as-you-go insurance price. Yet the same information that is collected could just as easily be used by the insurer to calculate the road price for the same journey. In the same way, drivers who already pay a company for real-time navigational information could use that provider to calculate their road price. Of course, no-one would expect these companies to calculate, collect and pass on road prices out of the goodness of their heart. But this approach does have three potentially large benefits .The first benefit is that it frees the private sector to do what it does best - to decide on technology, and when to update it.
Government¹s role would be to make sure that the systems on offer worked properly. The second benefit is that begins to address people¹s genuine concerns about privacy. People already choose to pass their locations to an insurance or navigational company, in return for a service they value. They trust the companies with that information in a way that they don¹t trust Governments! In the approach I have outlined, Government would not need to see all that information. The road user¹s preferred company calculates and collects the prices; but only passes on the money. We are already working together with business, but we now need to do more to turn these ideas into practical solutions to deliver schemes that are affordable, acceptable, and easy to use and above all - tackle congestion. They define how we can use road pricing now where it is necessary, while at the same time building a platform which would enable pricing to be used more widely in later years. They work with the grain of commercial developments. They help tackle understandable concerns about privacy. Developing these ideas, and other aspects of road pricing, will require a lot more work. For Government, for local authorities and for the market. This is a significant challenge. But the rewards of success are substantial.
To conclude time is not on our side. We face a growing problem on our roads. I believe that road pricing can provide a solution to congestion. The best way of convincing people that it can work is by showing how road pricing works in practice. And that¹s what we intend to do.
|
Help & FAQs
Search BCF
Members
Groups
Events Calendar
Both car and bike
rating
rating