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If you wish to comment on this work or join the debate
please complete the form. Links to the rest of the web site are in the Table of Contents
below this introductory essay Time for New Thinking on Transport
"Roads are The Last Great Stalinist
Enterprise" Ed Burkhardt the former chairman of Wisconsin Central
was referring to state provision inevitably resulting in a mismatch of supply
and demand, many roads suffering the transport equivalent of the former
Soviet bread queue, with lorries stuck in traffic instead of delivering the
goods and drivers imprisoned in congestion instead of with their families or
clinching a deal at an important business meeting. We have all been there and
are desperate for a solution. In addition to traffic suffocation - money is constantly
being taken from our pockets in taxation to be spent on transport in a way
that we may not have chosen for ourselves. Much of the 20th Century was characterised by building
roads to meet predicted traffic growth. When the evidence became overwhelming
that this road building actually generated the traffic growth hence fuelling
a vicious circle that was making congestion worse, the 1990s Conservative
Government made the correct decision to reduce road building. Road building
has also created a large financial burden on the UK which is highlighted by
Professor David Newbery of Cambridge University (Proceedings The Chartered
Institute of Transport Vol 7 Oct 1998) when he suggested transfer of Roads to
a company which would inherit not only the Capital assets but also the
liabilities in the form of debt would reduce the National Debt by 40%. This shows one of the major problems of evaluating the
roads - there are no proper accounts. Therefore with road tax and fuel duty
going straight to the exchequer, the press and motoring groups comparing
these road user payments with the cost, only of road maintenance,
conveniently ignoring capital and other costs, the impression is always given
that the motorist is being fleeced, when in fact roads are
subsidised. Although there may be debate about the figures shown on
this web site, proper accounts would demonstrate the true cost of roads and
if this resulted in £500 per person reduction of tax, how much of that would
be spent on roads or would some be spent in local communities reviving the
fortune of village and corner shops. The Solution We citizens own our roads, but have no control.
Therefore transfer from state control to a direct shareholding of all UK
citizens. All the assets, liabilities and costs of the road would also be
transferred, and the Government must return that money to us all that is
currently taken in taxation and spent on roads, servicing the debt of road
building and external costs of roads. The best way will be increased Personal
Allowance against tax (increased pensions for senior citizens) so that we can
see transparently how much roads have been costing us. Road Tax and Fuel Duty
must be abolished. As shareholders we will require roads to be managed to
make a profit and give us dividends. Therefore the most efficient way of
charging for road use will be implemented. Global Positioning System (GPS) Technology, already
available for route planning and vehicle tracking as used by the road
haulage industry, can be adapted for efficient road charging. If a driver wants to find out how much a journey will
cost, they will key in the destination, the best route will be offered
together with the price and expected time of arrival, taking into account
expected traffic levels, the weather, type of vehicle etc. Other
routes may be offered at different prices. The driver will choose a route,
accepting the price. The
technology will alert the driver to unexpected congestion or crashes and
where necessary advise the driver to take an alternative route. If the
driver is delayed, arriving at destination late, but not due to driver
choosing to drive slowly, there should be a compensation arrangement. For the
majority of local journeys, once a driver is used to the charging regime,
drivers may drive without keying in their destination – and so be charged
without finding out the price first. However, with the benefits of advise of
congestion etc and compensation for late arrivals, drivers may become more
keen to key in their destination at departure, even for local routine
journeys. It will
be important for road safety that these GPS units are predominantly audio,
any visual screens and controls being unavailable while the vehicle is in
motion. Charging
could be pre-payment, billed, or a mixture. The recording and payment of road
use can be fully automatic with no human intervention and so avoid civil
liberty implications. The most efficient commercial pricing will take into
account the different value of journeys. e.g. During the rush
hour the price will rise, those people for whom the journey is not so
valuable may choose not to pay the high price and travel at a less busy less
expensive time, thus freeing up road capacity providing reliable time of
arrival for those with journeys of greater value. The dangers of rat running can be minimised by charging a
high price for vehicles going straight through unsuitable roads without
stopping with a much lower price for residents and delivery vehicles. Consequences of this policy Provided this is introduced in one go so that the
money saved by the state is returned immediately to the citizen who will
therefore be able to afford to pay to use the road, there will be profound
consequences. Road use will change as people whose journeys are less
valuable drive less in the peak and more at quieter cheaper times, thus
getting better use out of existing road capacity. Where demand remains in excess of supply, the road
companies will be able to forecast future profits from growing the market
with commercial pricing balanced by improved more reliable journey times
to justify investment in building new roads that is sustainable and will not
put a financial burden on the UK exchequer. With more money in our pockets, we may choose to spend
more of that money accessing what we need with less transport, reviving the
economies of local communities, villages and neighbourhoods. Most important consequences Ø
Road
journey times will be predictable and reliable Ø
The
road haulage industry will be able to guarantee collection and delivery
times, receiving compensation for delays Ø
Lives
will be saved as the emergency services will be able to guarantee a clear run Ø
All
drivers will be able to guarantee their arrival time Ø
if
drivers are able to be flexible they will be able to lower the cost of their
journeys by travelling when the roads are less busy Ø
Pensioners
will have more money in their pocket and the freedom of how to spend
it! If they choose to pay a high price to drive at the most expensive
time - fine; but how many will choose to visit the grandchildren when the
roads are less busy and spend the money saved on extra treats? What's Wrong
with Government policy? The Government aspires to road pricing trunk roads
and for entry to city centres. However, this is not instead of road tax and
fuel duty, but in addition - in other words an extra tax. Because it is not comprehensive road pricing it will
immediately result in people taking alternative routes on less suitable roads
moving the congestion not removing it. The development of out of town retail and business
parks will remain irresistible and intensify to avoid paying the
selective road charges, damaging the economies of local communities and city
centres. Can the state be trusted to use the money from state
controlled road pricing wisely? Will they invest money the road user has
spent on roads to ensure road capacity matches demand so that we can have
reliable journeys? Will they return the surplus to us as tax cuts? No! most of this money will be wasted on bureaucracy or
politically correct projects such as spending it on transport the road user
has not chosen to use (see what the London congestion charge is being spent
on). Subsidising and regulating transport makes the Government
the customer instead of the user. Where demand is high, the lower than
commercial price generates excess demand, where demand is low - no
matter how low the price goes capacity supplied for the Government customer
is wasted. e.g. The London Freedom Pass given to all London
pensioners, may meet the politicians criteria of getting pensioners on public
transport - but the money to pay for this would surely be better spent given
direct to the pensioner (or not taken from them as tax in the first place).
The pensioner will then be empowered with real freedom to spend that money
how they choose. If they choose to spend it on public transport, or driving
that is their choice, it they choose to spend it in their local neighbourhood
they have improved the local economy. If the pensioner is too infirm to
travel their freedom pass is wasted, given the money they can buy what they
really need to give a better quality of life. ConclusionThe UK has a severe traffic congestion problem. Every day
millions of hours are wasted stuck in traffic and millions of pounds are lost
as goods don't arrive on time. We need a Government with the courage to give all citizens
their shares in the road network as road companies with the objective of
providing road capacity of a high quality that users pay a commercial price
generating profits for the shareholders (all UK citizens). All transport subsidies, roads and other, must be
abolished with the money saved returned to all UK citizens so that we have
the freedom to choose how we spend our money and can afford the commercial
price of road or other transport use. Inevitably with citizens having more money in our pockets
that is currently spent by the state on transport, some of this money will be
spent in the local community, reviving the economies of villages and local
neighbourhoods of towns. Where people do choose to spend this money on road use, it
will provide the necessary finance to expand road capacity to meet demand
without being a burden on the exchequer or future generations of taxpayers. The state
provision of roads with the Soviet style bread queues of congestion must be
replaced by commercial road companies providing road capacity that matches
the demand the user is prepared to pay for, generating profits to be paid as
dividends to shareholders who will be all UK citizens. Please use the links below to
navigate online. Introductory Essay: TIME for NEW THINKING
on TRANSPORT SUMMARY
PART
5 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS |
