The current political debate is largely centred around the balance between public spending cuts and tax rises. But the importance of economic growth in dealing with the crisis in public finances should not be forgotten. The congestion that clogs up the road network is a major impediment to economic recovery as British employees and companies labour under the huge hidden costs of a creaking transport infrastructure.
Traffic congestion in the UK is damaging our productivity and quality of life. For our small and densely populated island, road building cannot provide a way out, and increases in fuel duty have proved to be politically unpopular. Road user charging is the only serious option open to tackle these problems. It provides a way of incorporating the cost of damage to the environment and the economy into the price of motoring, and restricts demand on the basis of motorists' willingness to pay.
Nearly 20 per cent of traffic on UK roads during the morning rush hour is on the school run and it is increasing every year. To tackle this problem, this paper argues that we should introduce a dedicated school bus network of the type used in North America.
In this pamphlet, Professor Begg reviews how far the Government has come, what has really been achieved and what can be done in the future to revive our transport network.
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