Published: 04 December 2006
Eddington Transport Review
Sir Rod Eddington has published the findings of his study: Transport's role in sustaining UK's Productivity and Competitiveness: The Case for Action.
Sir Rod highlighted the vital role that transport plays in supporting the continued economic success of the UK - setting out clear steps to ensure that investment in infrastructure in the UK rises to the challenges that we face - in five key recommendations to Government.
Speaking to key transport and business stakeholders he said:
"Economic growth drives transport demand.
This creates both opportunities and challenges - including its impact on the environment. Government and the private sector will need to show considerable foresight to deliver a transport system capable of supporting the continued success of the UK economy, able to continue to compete globally and meeting its environmental challenges."
The report was commissioned by the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Transport in Budget 2005 and his brief was to advise the Government on the long-term links between transport and the UK's economic productivity, growth and stability, within the context of the Government's commitment to sustainable development and the environment.
Quoting extracts from the report:
Policy recommendations included:
To meet the changing needs of the UK economy, Government should focus on improving the performance of existing transport networks, in those places that are important to the UK’s economic success:
· Government action needs to focus on tackling congestion, capacity constraints, and unreliability on existing networks.
· In some limited circumstances, there may be opportunities to extend the network which offer good value for money, for example government may wish to explore the case for extending the reach of existing urban networks in order to deepen labour markets.
Over the next 20 years, the three strategic economic priorities for transport policy should be congested and growing urban areas and their catchments; and the key inter-urban corridors and the key international gateways that are showing signs of increasing congestion and unreliability.
These are the most heavily used and economically significant parts of the network:
· Look for signals of congestion, overcrowding and high productivity as high-level indicators that transport improvements may make a significant impact on economic growth and productivity.
· Bring forward and assess a wide range of alternative options to address transport performance in these areas.
· To achieve the greatest benefits from available funds, prioritise the options in these areas that offer the highest value for money, based on a full appraisal of their economic, environmental and social impacts.
Government should adopt a sophisticated policy mix to meet both economic and environmental goals. Policy should get the prices right (especially congestion pricing on the roads and environmental pricing across all modes) and make best use of existing networks:
· In line with the Stern Review, prices across all modes should reflect the true cost to society, including congestion, overcrowding and environmental impacts – through appropriate fiscal, regulatory, pricing or trading instruments.
· Use road pricing as the most appropriate way to tackle congestion: introduce widespread, congestion-targeted road pricing to deliver the potential benefits cost-effectively; setting out the key decisions needed to unlock the vast potential of road pricing.
· Explore the potential for high value for money better use measures that encourage changes in travel choices or exploit the opportunities provided by new technologies.
` ...reflecting the high returns available from some transport investment, based on full appraisal of environmental and social costs and benefits, the Government, together with the private sector, should deliver sustained and targeted infrastructure investment in those schemes which demonstrate high returns, including smaller schemes tackling pinch points:
· After considering the potential for pricing and better use, deliver sustained infrastructure investment where it offers strong returns in the three strategic economic priority areas.
· Do not be seduced by ‘grands projets’ with speculative returns.
· Implement proposals for additional runway capacity where the case is robust, having accounted for the environmental costs of emissions.
Further information
Eddington Review website & study
'Frustratingly slow: a report on road congestion and the Government's plans to deal with it
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