Traffic and congestion on Britain’s roads is dropping for the first time since the 1970s, undermining the case for the Government’s national road tolling scheme.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has recorded a drop in road traffic during two consecutive quarters of this year. Its figures show a 2.2 per cent average reduction in traffic across the nation. The slowest ten percent of journey times, on the most congested roads in the country, have also improved.
The news appears to contradict the Government’s case for the road tolling trials announced last week, which was justified as the only way to avoid what Transport Secretary Paul Clark described as “gridlock”. The system will require motorists to fit a satellite tracking box in their car and set up an account that could be debited depending on where and when they drive, with users being charged up to £1.30 a mile on the busiest routes.
The decline in traffic levels is thought to be caused by both the economic slowdown and rising oil prices, with many car users choosing to drive less. The RAC Foundation recently released a report that suggested the Government should seriously consider building more roads to beat congestion.
Unfortunately, traffic figures for major urban areas including London were unavailable from the DfT due to a ‘technical fault’. This makes it impossible to gauge the true effect on London’s Congestion Charge zone of the slowing economy.
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Re: Falling traffic undermines toll plans
Labour must be gutted that even when they bugger up all the traffic lights to increase congestion the economic problems reduce it anyway thus making their 'argument' for tolling null and void.
Do roadworks at night, phase traffics lights correctly and other common sense measures will reduce congestion a great deal. But of course you cannot raise loads of money in taxes to pay for the other massive mistakes you have made in government so it is unlikely Labour or even the Tories if they get in (as they will have to sort out the mess) will back off this misguided attempt to 'free the roads'.
Re: Falling traffic undermines toll plans
As a trained traffic manager (ahem) I can assure you it's a major difference. Most UK roads run so close to their 'saturation' point - when everything grinds to a halt - and even a reduction of a few hundred vehicles an hour on a major arterial route can make the difference between free-flow and gridlock.
Not that it will last of course. With the run up to Christmas, worse weather and falling fuel prices I bet that traffic volumes are already back up again, and that this report is already out of date.
Re: Falling traffic undermines toll plans
Good for you - but what are you doing on here then?
Oh, and after some digging - if you want to see a really lazy and one-sided story based on the same facts, try here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/traffic-levels-fall-for-first-time-in-decades-motor-firms-head-for-crash-1003948.html