Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
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From The Times
May 9, 2008
Drivers in worse jam as traffic plan fails
Motorists are wasting more time sitting in queues on motorways and A-roads because the Government has failed to meet its key target for reducing congestion.
Delays have increased on the 100 key routes on which ministers promised three years ago to make journeys more reliable.
The Department for Transport attempted to bury its failure to meet the target by quietly releasing the figures yesterday in a large batch of reports on congestion.
The motorways pledge is the most important target because delays affect the entire population, either directly or through the cost to the economy of lost working time.
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The failure is particularly embarrassing for ministers because the target was criticised for being too weak when it was announced. A fall in journey times by a single second could have been trumpeted as a success.
The revelation comes as new figures show that the number of cars owned by British households has increased by five million to 27.8 million in the past decade.
All regions have had an increase in car registration, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. But the North East and East Midlands have had the biggest growth, of up 30 per cent each. In the past two years alone, there has been a 3 per cent increase in distance travelled by car to 5,900 miles per person per year.
The congestion failure originates from 2005, when the Government announced a target, known as a public service agreement, to “make journeys more reliable on the strategic road network” — the country’s 100 most important motorways and A-roads.
It said that the target would be achieved if the average vehicle delay on the slowest 10 per cent of journeys were less in the 12 months to April 2008 than in the 12 months ending in July 2005.
The average driver was delayed by 3 minutes 47 seconds for every ten miles travelled on the slowest 10 per cent of trips in 2005. But figures for the last 12-month period, ending on March 31, show that the average delay had risen by 4.4 per cent to 3 minutes 57 seconds. The worst delays were on the A556, the M26; the A453 from Kegworth to Nottingham; the M25; the M60; and the M1 from junction 13 to 6a.
The target was less challenging than a previous target, set in 2000, to reduce congestion by 6 per cent by 2010. That goal was abandoned in 2003 when the Government admitted that rising traffic levels would make it unachievable.
The new target was expected to be much easier to meet because it disregarded 90 per cent of journeys and allowed the Government to claim success if the time lost in traffic jams on the remaining 10 per cent had fallen by only one second.
A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency said that it had failed to predict the impact of long-running roadworks, such as the widening of the M1. Last summer’s flooding contributed a quarter of the increase in total delays.
Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said that the main reason for the failure to meet the target was the Government’s slow progress in delivering extra capacity. “They were likely to fail from Day 1 because traffic was growing each year but they were putting in almost no new capacity. The only measures that will relieve congestion are road pricing or building more roads.”
Professor Glaister published a report last November which proposed a combination of road pricing and road building, with some of the proceeds from tolls being reinvested to relieve the network’s worst bottlenecks. Using DfT forecasts and data, the report predicted that the number of cars would rise to 38 million by 2041. It recommended that 373 miles (600km) of new lanes be added to the strategic road network every year — equal to 100km of motorway with three lanes in each direction. The Government has approved an average of just over 100km of new lanes a year until 2015.
Eight years ago, the Highways Agency proposed using the hard shoulder as a cheap and rapid solution to motorway congestion. But to date it has enabled this on only 11 miles of the M42 near Birmingham.
In March, the Government said that hard shoulders would be turned into running lanes on hundreds of miles of congested motorways, with users paying tolls. The first of these lanes will not open until 2010 at the earliest.
Car traffic fell by 1 per cent last year compared with 2006. But traffic rose overall by 0.6 per cent; the boom in home deliveries has contributed to a 9 per cent increase in mileage by vans.
Car costs soar
— It will cost £600 more to run a family car this year because of rising fuel prices, road tax and insurance
— Mondeo Man, who paid £5,611 for 10,000 miles last year, now needs £6,256
— The 11.5 per cent increase in running costs has added 6.45p a mile for running a family car
— Farmers and rural drivers who need a larger 4x4 will be worst affected, with their costs rising by almost a fifth, or more than £2,000
— Even the most efficient cars, such as the VW Polo or Ford Fiesta, cost £300 a year more
— Petrol has gone up by 18.4 per cent in the past year, with the average price of a litre of unleaded now at 111p and diesel at 121p a litre. It now costs more than £8 extra to fill a 50-litre petrol tank
Source: AA
Congestion is a day-to-day fact of 'road life'. If we cannot get rid of it, isn't it about time we spent more on trying to forecast it and manage it more effectively, which may, as a consequence, offer some reduction?
John Holland, Guildford, UK
If we followed our continental cousins in banning HGVs from the outside lane of 2 lane dual carriageways and motorways it would improve things. How often are we stuck behind one that takes a couple of miles to overtake another and off the motorway probably both exceeding their 50 mph speed limit?
Keith, Cleveland, UK
Anyone who cannot distinguish between Highways Agency and police cars needs their eyes testing. Police will not bat an eye if you overtake at 80 mph on the motorway, so long as you are driving sensibly and considerately - remember to move back into the left lane after overtaking!!!
Chuck, Birmingham, UK
The only thing you can blame for Motorway hold ups these days is the Highways Agency Traffic Enforcement officers. Crawling up the inside lane disguised as Police, forcing drivers to slam on their brakes causing tail backs. And closing lanes for no apparent reason. Waste of tax payers money.
james, Bedford, UK
Rich of Calais - sorry but can't agree with limitations on lorries - they are essential road users delivering the goods we all demand. How many car drivers could use alternative transport? And if you did ban lorries at certain times that would increase congestion at other times.
John, Ayr, UK
So Stephen Glaister at the RAC Foundation wants to bring in Road Pricing.
He is supposed to represent motorists, but backs the government line.
Road Pricing is not and never will be an option.
Stephen Glaister needs to remember this if he is heading a group supposedly supporting road users
Peter Roberts, Telford, UK
Tib Christchurch.Immigration has everthing to do with congestion bafoon.
Get out of your sleepy backwater and take a drive in and around London and check the occupants of the vehicles.
Far too many people now are in the UK, full stop
Paul Anthony, reading, uk
Public transport is a wonderful concept and would be accepted by the entire nation if some attention was paid to the concept. A highly modern public transport system free to users would elliminate road congestion and reduce pollution.
Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia
More spin from Labour quangos. Create panic from artificial statistics (Congestion is deliberate due to Labour's road repairs/building drag ) then solve it by tax. Typically NuLabour loves regressive taxes that hit low income families the hardest. In this case their solution is Road Pricing.
Martin, London, England
Buses, of course, get stuck in traffic also. Could try the train, but the government recently let the operators hike up the prices so the car's still cheaper and you can sit in your own prvate space in the traffic jams instead of being jammed into a stationary bus.
Hugh Reid, Glasgow,
Another reason to vote Labour.
Er...
Steve H, Lincoln, UK
IS there any target or objective that this wretched Government has achevied since in power. Its the same dreary story of utterly empty proclamtions and headlines which the Government hopes will be soon be forgotten.
PC and smoke and mirrors is all that this lot is about.
peter french, ash, england
We the citizens are responsible for congestion. Both parents work and the kids have cars too. We dont use buses because we think were all middle class.
Get real! We just want it all. How silly to blame the government because our desire for material possesions outstrips the tarmac available to us.
Paul, Leeds, England
I can see where this is going, well if imigration is causing road congestion then the SMOKING ban in public spaces is causing an acute tax related money shortage, so hit the motorists with more taxes.................
Goverment!!!! Bandits more like....................
KEN S, SEDGEFIELD, DURHAM
In those immortal words:
EPIC FAIL
Ian , London,
The actual DfT report that these figures came from says that overall traffic in Q1 this year is the same as last year, and that car traffic actually fell by 2%.
Ian, Bristol, UK
Can anyone remember Prescott's 1997 promise of an 'integrated transport policy'. Well now we have it. All travel is dreadful - train, plane, or road. It was delivered by the most incompetent and dishonest government in our history.
Tony, Newark,
Please do not take France as an example, a country who lives in the past. Driving bans are bad not only for the French economy but also the bordering countries. Furthermore this ban also applies for the drivers returning home. Only perishable transport is authorised.
Tib, Christchurch, UK
If as Julian says 'cars should be taxed off the roads' where does he think the lost revenue to the government will come from, Road and fuel taxes amount to around £35000,000,000 going to government coffers.
Poor Gordy and his cohorts and anyone succeeding him would be disappointed.
Mullarkian, York,
FAO Colin Colchester
What has immigration to do with road congestion?
Tib, Christchurch, UK
Let me see - some root cause analysis, more people in the country due to mass immigration, so more cars on the roads, same number of roads as before, because no new roads are built = more congestion.
Root cause solution, reduce immigration by having a limit on non-EU migrant numbers?
Stephen, London, England
The title of this piece implies there was a plan. There was no such thing. There was a policy. This has now been ditched in favour of 'tax the motorist until their eyes water, then tax them some more'. They can do this as there are no alternatives to the car.
David Leslie, Perth, Scotland
So just another Govt c**k-up and broken promises. It is one a day these weeks. Just how many promises can the Nulab Govt succeed in breaking NEXT WEEK. I wait in anticipation!
M. Cawdery, Portadown, Co. UK, EU.
We've paid for a modern transport system about 20 times over, but we've been cheated out of it.
Frank Upton, Solihull,
So, this government fail again to carry out their own plans to increase road capacity, THEN tell us to use the hard shoulder and we will have to pay for their incompetence !
What a superb example of the failures of Communist-style planning; congratulations, zaNuLabour !
RM, London, England
The age of the car has past. We can welcome in the age of trains, bikes, busses and shoes.
Looking at the ammount of people who drive tiny distances, it's clear costs and traffic will have to get a lot worse before people to consider the alternatives, be ahead of the game, do it now.
Sam, Carlisle,
once again it comes back to uncontrolled let 'em all in immigration. i guess that a large percentage of immigrants will get an old car which like a mobile phone is looked on as an essential and in doing so add to the congestion problems. it's no wonder delays are increasing. another labour failure.
Tony Walker, Warrington, England
Maybe if they made public transport more affordable we may be able to afford to use it? I hate traffic jams as much as you, I also hate the aggression on the roads due to them.
As it is we are being punished both sides...for using public transport or for having a car to get to work.
Mags, Nr Oxford, England
The premise that you can't outbuild the growth of traffic must be wrong as the number of cars can't exceed the number of potential drivers, wheras despite their overscale representation on maps, there is plenty of room for new roads. 27 million cars must be close to the possible maximum.
Terry Hamblin, Bournemouth,
To Bob Yuille, Ok the petrol companies made X billions in the first quarter of this year (Worldwide profits), for finding, pumping, refining and getting the product to the forecourts, how much have the goverment made in the same period and for what?
Give your head a shake..................
KEN S, SEDGEFIELD, DURHAM
OMG, what difference will opening hard shoulders to drivers really make? we'll just get to the bottle neck a little faster, I've worked this out for nothing, the goverment will pay someone millions of our money to arrive at the same conclusion !!!!!
God help us, the countries being run by IDIOTS !!
KEN S, SEDGEFIELD, DURHAM
The figures can't have been helped by the growth of two relatively new phenomena:
1) The practice of completely closing roads for many hours for accident investigation
2) The Highways Agency flashing light patrols turning every puncture or minor shunt into a major roadside drama for rubberneckers.
Bryan Armstrong, London,
Just add the traffic problem to the list of Labour's failures.
albert hall, hove, england
In France, lorries are banned from travelling at the weekend (unless the driver is returning home or the cargo is refrigerated), and on a lot of stretches of motorway, they are forbidden from overtaking. Why not try this in the UK? Easy to implement with no building required! Might make a big change
Rich, Calais, France
All I can say is.... it's all a plan!
Andrew, England, UK,
More immigrants
Poor public transport
Congestion on our roads
What a surprise !
Colin, colchester,
I do really wish the Government would tax cars off the road, but unfortunately road tax and fuel duty will have to get much, much higher to have any effect. Perhaps £4 a litre would actually make people think twice before driving to Bluewater to but some more unnecessary consumer tat.
Justin, East Grinstead, England
Bill Peter, a second a mile doesn't mean much per individual, but if ten million people are being delayed 30 secs going to work each day then that is hugely costly to the economy.
Donald, Maidstone,
I do a lot of driving in both the UK and Europe
Despite MUCH POORER roads generally in Europe they rarely suffer from congestion
The reasons :
1. There are few sepped limits
2. The driving standards are MUCH BETTER
3. People IMMEDIATELLY return to the NEAR SIDE after overtaking
paul wilcox, berkshire, uk
Yet another NuLabour success story. With 10,000 new cars coming onto the roads every WEEK the UK can justly be described as one huge off-shore car park. No wonder the police are unable to cope with traffic law enforcement. Talk about a society programmed for self-destruct.
Peter Baker, fareham , uk
Just how does driving a foreign car, burning foreign fuel and producing nothing but noise and pollution add to the productivity of the nation? Reduce your mileage, reduce your need and you will have more time for yourself AND pay less tax. The problem is caused by letting the motor companies dictate
Clive Stringer, Eggesford, England
A reduction in population of 20 million. Not sure where you were in the 1980s but the UK population has increased by 5 million since 1970.
Simply kicking 20 million people out if the coutry will bankrupt us all.
Salty, Reading,
It might be a problem now but the goverment are going to TAX congestion away!!!!!!
KEN S, SEDGEFIELD, DURHAM
Increasing congestion and motoring cost are the result of government Department of Transport policy. They may recognise that the results are unpopular and embarassing but they are the intended results of their neglect and disruption of transportation in general and the road system in particular.
Bryan D, Brentwood, England
The problem is there are far too many people in this country. For some bizzare reason the government has encouraged more people to come, and now we are on the verge of gridlock. We need a reduction of about 20 million to get back to the figures of the early eighties for us to comfortable again!
Pete, St Albans, England
Wakey Wakey DfT!!
Useless HA expansion plans such as using the existing motorway hard shoulders; slowing traffic speed and congestion charging is a sure sign the present government has no intention of building more efficient and easier flowing junction motorways and trunk roads.
Chis Smith, East Sussex , UK
How can english people live with this? The trainprices are soaring so everyone are forced to take the car on roads that are a shambles and terrible congested. This would never be accepted in any other country in Europe. England is a laughing stock for all of us from other countries.
karen, London,
This is hardly a surprise. The cost of public transport, particularly trains, has gone through the roof, we've had a population explosion thanks to government policy on immigration and the economy has until now been growing. What did they expect?
Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK
Journey times up 10 seconds per 10 miles, i.e a second a mile. That may be important in F1, but hardly important elsewhere, don't you think?
Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Petrol prices in this country are a disgrace.
Far too much money is taken by Government imposing direct taxation on fuel.
Surely this could be reduced and the "Shortfall" recouped by increasing taxation on the record profits of oil companies.
A much needed boost to the present Government
Bob Yuille, Wednesbury, England