[sustran] Re: British Transport Policy

[Kerry Wood]

Hi everybody

John's news from the UK is bad but could be worse: I can tell because it IS
worse in New Zealand.

Government policy is to corporatise the roads (they have backed away from
privatisation). ALL the roads, right down to the most minor access streets
and unsealed country roads. 'Fortunately' they are unlikely to agree to
anything mild enough for a minority government to get through parliament,
so we shall have to wait for a new government to be elected, find its feet
and decide that transport is a priority. Another round of consultation is
due soon, apparently more as a delaying tactic than anything else.

The objectives are reasonable enough: to improve the efficiency of
transport provision. The Ministry of Transport has done some good work on
transport externalities, and has identified 'most probable' environmental
externalities for noise, local air quality, greenhouse gases and water
quality. The roading system has been valued, at a depreciated replacement
value of US$ 3500 per head of population, and an opportunity cost
suggested.

A major problem is the lack of any recognition that roads have uses other
than as a conduit for motor vehicles. There is no explanation of how
organisations required to make a profit to be prevented from converting bus
lanes back to traffic lanes, removing cycle lanes and narrowing footpaths.
Or charging bus operators for the traffic they take from the roading
operator?

Official publications contain no discussion of any objectives other than
economic objectives, or of market failures in transport.

The user pays principle is adopted enthusiastically, with satellite
tracking proposed for all vehicles, in a country where 97% of roads are
rarely congested.

A minor silver lining is an Energy Efficiency Bill which is so inoffensive
that it may actually get somewhere, and because it is so generalised it may
even be useful. It makes no mention of any energy using sector or any
policy approach, instead leaving an existing policy group to develop policy
in consultation with other stakeholders. A particularly useful bit is is
the authority to develop 'market transformation plans' to offset market
failures (plenty of those in transport)





Kerry Wood
Transport Consultant
Phone/fax + 64 4 801 5549  e-mail kwood at central.co.nz
1 McFarlane St  Wellington 6001  New Zealand