Transport Activists Roundtable
19 April 2006

Climate Change: Discussion centred around the publication of the Climate Change Programme. Disappointment was expressed about the Government’s lack of action on transport issues but the Environmental Audit Select Committee is investigating climate change policy including transport.

Friends of the Earth have done some work on how to calculate carbon levels around airports which will help aviation campaigners.

A recent survey shows that the general public does not believe the Government will ever provide more public transport or, although they agree it would be a good idea, that revenue from road charging will ever be used to improve public transport.

The All Party Climate Change Group is consulting on the need for all-party consensus on climate change. Norman Bradbury has sent in a submission.

Stephen Joseph suggested we write to David Cameron regarding climate change related to transport issues which he has not yet attempted to address.

Comprehensive Spending Review: Friends of the Earth are putting in a submission on transport and climate change and social inclusion issues and is hosting a Core transport activists roundtable working group meeting on Wednesday 3 May at the Environment Agency, Millbank.

Road User Charging: There are few signs of developing a national scheme but the Department for Transport indicates it would like to see more local schemes in town centres like Kingston and Greenwich. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling seems more keen on area wide schemes and there is now a DfT department working on RUC.

However, the DfT has still not accepted that RUC should address climate and other environmental issues but see it only as a congestion relief measure.

Barker Land Use Planning Review: A TAR group will attend a presentation on 26 April 2006. Friends of the Earth have sent in a submission.

Alan Wenban Smith has written a paper on transport and land use planning issues for T2000.

Energy Costs: The DfT has revised its oil cost estimates upwards from $22 per barrel to $35 even though it has now actually exceeded $70 per barrel.
Its road and aviation traffic predictions are therefore based on $35 per barrel.

Airport Watch is intensifying a campaign to get political acceptance of the need to address aviation and climate issues. The Environment Agency has prepared a response to the Aviation White Paper.
Norman Bradbury 24/4/06

Whitehall update by Stephen Joseph, Transport 2000 31 March 2006

Rail
The big news here is that the Government has announced that it will produce a long term rail strategy, looking at its aims for the railways up to 2035. The strategy is likely to be a White Paper and will be published immediately after the Comprehensive Spending Review in July 2007, along with the High Level Output Specification covering the 2009-14 period.

It will plan on the basis of high GDP growth over the period but also high environmental concern, and will have three big themes:

Capacity, coping with growth, which is expected to be significant especially around urban areas

Environment: improving rail’s environmental performance and advantages over other modes, for example by making new trains lighter

Catering for rising passenger expectations, for example in ticketing, information, security etc.

There seems to be some recognition at last of the value of small schemes to allow modest upgrades of the railway; there is a new dedicated Network Rail fund for such schemes. The railway is also likely to be a beneficiary of TIP funding (see below).

One helpful sign of progress is that a review of the Northern Rail franchise, which was rumoured to be an agenda for cuts, has concluded that cuts would save little money and so the status quo is staying.

However, the new Greater Western franchise is starting with consultations on a new timetable which would involve significant cuts in local services. This has resulted in big protests and the proposals are now under review.

Climate change
The Government has published its long awaited review; the transport section includes only the commitments already announced, with a big focus on biofuels and putting aviation into the European emissions trading scheme.

There is at least a recognition that promoting public transport, walking and cycling and also smarter choices would reduce emissions, but there are no new measures announced.

The document also says that the DfT carriageways road programme will result in only a small increase in emissions up to 2010.

Background briefing says that this strategy is not the end of the story — other measures will be announced when agreed. Taking this up, Transport 2000 has written to Mr Darling suggesting a range of new measures, including carbon audits of the next LTPs and of all RTSs, a cross-government initiative to reduce workplace (commuter and business) car travel, road user charging pilots, new speed policy measures such as a 50 mph limit on single carriageway roads, and pressure on the Treasury to double air passenger duty.

Well, we thought we’d try. One genuinely new commitment which may end up meaning something is that there will be a new Planning Policy Statement on tackling climate change, which will be about the “location, siting and design of new development”.

The Budget
This did at least include some environmental measures, and groups concerned with other policy areas seemed genuinely keen on the measures there. The headline measure on transport was of course the new upper band for vehicle duty, and how small it was, plus the freeze in fuel duty (again).

However, buried in the detail were some other measures that may be rather more significant: a review of the “Employee Car Ownership Scheme” which is a tax arrangement enabling those who want to to buy gas guzzlers outside the company car scheme (which was itself tightened up).

There was also a commitment to put low emission incentives into a capital allowance scheme for business cars. Background briefing was that there was nearly an increase in Air Passenger Duty, but the Treasury held off because they want to look at other options. The Budget also included a move to a national free-fares scheme for pensioners and the disabled, following widespread recognition that the local district-based scheme introduced from 1 April this year will be costly and bureaucratic.

Meanwhile, some commuter plan employers have had discussions with the Revenue & Customs about travel plan incentives; these established that the Pfizer-type schemes of crediting people for not driving to work are legal though cannot be tax-free, but that employers can balance the tax they pay on those getting credits by charging those who continue to drive. There was also some discussion of drawing together current benefits and possibly new ones into tax-free travel vouchers, and we plan to pursue this.

Roads, Regional Funding Allocations, LTPs, Transport Innovation Fund etc As most people will know, the regions submitted their advice on these allocations in January, amid lots of backstairs intrigue, and Government decisions are awaited, probably after the local elections.

We and others are concentrating on opposing a few schemes that are damaging and in the RFA priority lists, such as Lancaster-Heysham, and Brownhills in the West Midlands. There is also a lot of lobbying about schemes that were not in the first priorities, such as the Weymouth Relief Road and the Al North of Newcastle.

The final Local Transport Plans have been submitted at the end of March, and vary from being positive documents supporting sustainable transport to long lists of road schemes.

Meanwhile new guidance on the Transport Innovation Fund has developed two categories, “congestion TIF”, funding road pricing pilots, and “productivity TIF”, which funds schemes contributing to national productivity.

The latter category looks to have a large budget, the Regional Development Agencies have been invited to submit schemes that could be funded through this TIF in the short term.

So far, the RDA suggestions are (perhaps surprisingly) rail-based, especially about enhancing railfreight links to ports, upgrading Birmingham New Street etc.

There is some suggestion that in the medium to long term this TIF funding will go on schemes like Crossrail. We have suggested that funding for smarter choices programmes might equally contribute to national productivity, but do not expect to be listened to.

The National Audit Office has announced a study into the cost escalation in road schemes highlighted by Roadblock and opposition parties.

City Regions, road charging, buses etc
These apparently disparate subjects are bound together by a review of local government now taking place, with a White Paper due in July. City Regions are now seen as economic powerhouses and there is support for better governance arrangements.

Transport has been identified as a particular issue; whether the outcome will be to export the London model of a conurbation-wide Mayor and transport authority, or simply to strengthen the existing PTE/PTA structure, is unclear.

The DfT wants reform for two practical reasons — to get a government structure that is more likely to take forward road charging, and to sort out buses. The bus issue comes from wanting to provide an alternative to the car, but also an alternative development to expensive light rail.

The idea seems to be to provide for city-wide bus partnerships which can bring together all operators and local authorities to plan the network. including fares and times. Discussions are taking place with the Office of Fair Trading about this. There is little further news on road charging — options for pilots are still being looked at. There is however renewed interest in building on the pay as you drive insurance scheme run by Norwich Union, to test out the technology, tracking, billing etc.