Reports:
Study of European best practice in the delivery of integrated transport: key findings
Foreword: Professor David Begg, Chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport
Chapter 1: Outcomes
Congestion
Road Safety
The Environment
Social Exclusion
Related Health Issues
Chapter 2: Inputs
Capital Investment in Transport
Revenue Support
Comparative Costs of Public and Private Transport
Chapter 3: Outputs
Public Transport
Cycling
Walking
Chapter 4: Transferability
Integrated Institutional and Funding Arrangements
Public Transport Co-ordination, Quality and Affordability
Balanced Use of Street Space
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Foreword: Professor David Begg, Chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport
When he announced his intention to publish the Government's 10-Year Plan for Transport, the Deputy Prime Minister and then Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions said that his ambition for the UK was to rival the best in Europe and he asked CfIT to establish the benchmarks.
This report is the first comprehensive comparison of the UK's approach to all modes of transport with that of the rest of Europe. It looks at travel patterns, public investment, costs of journeys and examines some of the groundbreaking initiatives on the continent that could deliver integrated transport benefits here. It also highlights where the UK leads the field.
But first a word of warning. Finding and verifying consistent, up-to-date data with which to benchmark performance has proved very difficult. Benchmarking is essential if we are to learn from the best and deliver a transport system to be proud of. CfIT looks to the EU and member states to work together the develop monitoring systems capable of facilitating further benchmarking exercises.
The evidence we are now publishing is a clear but stark demonstration of two generations of neglect, of a transport network starved of investment for half a century. A situation that forced people into their cars whether they wanted to or not. Here in the UK we have fallen a generation behind the best in Europe in planning transport in a holistic way. The Government's Integrated Transport White Paper and last Year's 10 Year Transport Plan mark a welcome and long awaited focus on integrated policies and a step change in levels of investment.
As a result of the previous neglect, the report shows we have more congestion than any other European country and the most intensely used road network other than in Spain. Despite the relative compactness of the UK we spend more time commuting each day than any other European nation. We have the most car-dominated economy in Europe.
As well as motorists, public transport users, pedestrians and cyclists have born the brunt of this neglect in the UK. Even with their superior transport infrastructure already in place France has been investing half as much again as us. Their high speed train services are visible proof of that investment. In Germany they have invested two thirds more. Until now we have trailed down near the bottom of the investment league.
There is one piece of good news, we lead the way in road safety. The UK has the lowest death toll in the European Union, less than half that of France and Italy. However, even on road safety we can't be complacent-pedestrians and cyclists are more than twice as likely to be killed in the UK as in Sweden and the Netherlands.
While we were not investing sufficiently in better public transport we were charging our passengers a lot more to use worse services. We offered the lowest subsidies for bus users of any European country - making our services three times the price of those in Holland.
It is therefore no surprise that while bus and coach use grew by up to 80% in 12 European countries over the 19 years to 1998, they fell in the UK. At last we are seeing shoots of recovery in bus here too - up 0.9% last year, albeit heavily concentrated in London.
These depressing statistics are a reflection on neglect and poor planning by previous administrations going back over generations but they demonstrate how vital it is that the Government's Integrated Transport White Paper vision is delivered through the 10 Year Plan. We in the transport business have a mountain to climb.
Transport spending is now being given a much needed priority in the UK along with health and education.
This will bring us much further up the European spending table. The Government's projected £180 billion public/private investment programme is already helping us to set Europe an example in at least one area - the pace and scale of the development of our light rail network where it looks as if only Germany will be outstripping us by the end of the decade.
The Commission for Integrated Transport (CfIT) commissioned WS Atkins to report on best practice in Europe in delivering integrated transport. The three reports and summary report produced by WS Atkins can be found on the CfIT website (http://www.cfit.gov.uk).
This report sets out the key findings of their work, looking at national comparisons of performance and highlighting the key factors in successfully transferring best practice to the UK.
Our report emphasises how crucial it is for us to stick to the timetable set out in the 10 Year Plan. Any delay will set back our recovery still further.
The Deputy Prime Minister's ambition to rival the best in Europe was laudable but this report shows it is going to be tough to deliver. Today we all stand at a crossroads between a US-style car culture and a sustainable European multi modal system. The decisions we take now and the levels of investment that we attach to them will determine where we end up.
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