With few exceptions road traffic (total vehicle kilometres) has grown steadily for more than fifty years, the slight dips being most closely associated with periods of economic downturn and high fuel prices - as seen over the past couple of years. But on each occasion, as the economy has recovered and unemployment fallen, the upward trend has resumed. The forecast rise in population offers little hope that traffic and congestion will do anything but follow the same trend. A 17% improvement in the environmental efficiency of cars since 1997 has already helped offset the impact of traffic growth. When car journeys of varying length are compared, it is those between 10 and 25 miles that are seen to produce the largest amounts of CO2. These are the trips that are some of the hardest to replace by other means of transport. Most car users drive not because they want to, but because they have no other way of accessing essential services. It is considered that road improvement schemes offer better value for money than investment in the rail network. Transport generates almost 25% of the UK's total domestic carbon dioxide emissions, half of it coming from cars. If all drivers swapped their cars to the model emitting the least carbon dioxide in their class, emissions could be reduced by a quarter. It is suggested that road charging combined with big reductions in fuel duty might change driver behaviour, reducing congestion. Road improvement to reduce accidents is recommended. Long term planning of roads and likely demand is recommended. For the full text of this publication see: http://www.transportdebate.co.uk/page21/files/the-road-ahead---a-transp…
Samenvatting