News

Last week's Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) announcements by Chancellor Alistair Darling failed to provide much meaningful direction for the road transport industry. The consensus among the industry is that it was a disappointing statement for its lack of detail on creating a secure future for the industry, particularly in terms of transport infrastructure improvements.

Darling acknowledged that "in the past we paid a heavy price as a country for failing to invest  when it was necessary, particularly on transport". His announcement that transport investment will double - to £14.5bn a year by the year 2010 - was "putting that right", he said. The Chancellor revealed that extra funds will be allocated to strategic road network schemes, but tellingly did not put a figure on such investment. A further £31.3bn a year is to be spent on local and regional transport improvements, while rail has been promised an injection of £15bn over five years, after two years of double investment to upgrade the national railway network. The cash will provide for the construction of Crossrail.

Road pricing

The report says the 2007 CSR provides for significant road investment, in line with the conclusions of the Eddington Transport Study. It reveals the government's promise to take forward road pricing - and commits to using resources from the Transport Innovation Fund to allocate money for "appropriate" proposals for local road pricing schemes. Supporting  such schemes, it says, will tackle congestion. Manchester is currently pushing forward plans for a scheme, and possibilities are also being considered in Cambridge.

The Road Haulage Assoc-iation (RHA) is concerned that there is too much talk about road pricing and not enough about congestion. "Congestion is a massive problem and all the debate is being run down one little alley: road pricing," says RHA policy director Jack Semple "Road pricing is the government's problem for the future, congestion is everybody's problem right now."

Lack of clarity

Semple says the RHA is disappointed with the "lack of information about what the government thinks it's going to do about the Eddington study - particularly about roads". He points out there is little detail of plans for road projects, and a "lack of clarity in terms of road improvements and new infrastructure". He says the RHA is worried about "how much Crossrail might take some money that might otherwise have been spent on roads".

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) takes solace in the fact that the CSR provides a long-term commitment to the funding of transport infrastructure, but points out that the 2.25% rise above inflation until 2018 is "no more than the current commitment". It also expresses fears that the dominance of transport funding to Crossrail will reduce availability for other "essential" projects.

It says: "The FTA is disappointed that there is apparently little prospect of substantial investment in the short term and, consequently, freight's day-to-day operation seems doomed to continue to experience further congestion on an increasingly worn out roads network." But there is some good news, says the RHA, in that there is commitment to remove the M32, A36, A46 and parts of the M65 from the detrunking programme. "We are particularly pleased," says Semple. But he warns that there are fears for the future of road maintenance.