29 July 2010
Road Pricing Back on the Agenda
Independent budget review backs road user charging
- but fails to tackle unsustainable roads spend
Transform Scotland1 today (Thursday 29th) welcomed the Independent Budget Review's recommendation to implement road user charging.
Colin Howden, Director of Transform Scotland, said:
"The recommendation to implement road user charging re-opens the debate on this essential measure.2 It is now essential that the Scottish Government looks at this seriously in the context of its forthcoming review of the National Transport Strategy.
"We're also pleased that the Panel clearly supported our evidence on maintaining the existing transport asset base and in implementing inexpensive ways in which to reduce climate emissions from the transport sector.3 4
"However, having set out the need to 'scale back the capital programme',5 it is disappointing that the Panel appears to have carried out no scrutiny of unaffordable and unsustainable roads projects such as the Aberdeen western bypass or the proposed Second Forth Road Bridge. The review instead appears to have spent considerable efforts analysing potential cuts to public transport spending in the form of the bus concessionary fares scheme. With £8 billion needing to be found for measures to tackle climate change over the next decade,6 it is the Government's multi-billion pound road-building programme that needs to be, in the words of the report, postponed or cancelled if Government is to tackle climate change and deliver sustainable transport."
ENDS
CONTACTS:
Colin Howden (Director, Transform Scotland) on 0131 243 2691 (w).
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] Transform Scotland is the national sustainable transport alliance, bringing together rail, bus and shipping operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, businesses and local transport groups - see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/our-members.aspx> for details.
[2] Section 6.76: "The Panel suggests that the Scottish Government should consider the feasibility of adopting road user charging as a means to both better managing the use of existing transport networks and financing improvements to those networks."
[3] Our evidence to the Independent Budget Review is available at <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/response-to-the-independent-budget-review.aspx>.
[4] See sections 6.40 and 6.76.
[5] See section 6.34.
[6] See section 2.36 and 6.32.
END OF NEWS RELEASE