Press Notices
06.07.05:
CfIT welcomes funding for road pricing schemes
CfIT's new Chair, Peter Hendy, has welcomed the Secretary of State's announcements on the Transport Innovation Fund. He said:
"Recent work by CfIT[1] has shown that demand management is critical in tackling congestion. Investment in public transport alone is not enough to encourage people to switch from using their cars.
We are pleased that the Transport Innovation Fund will support those local authorities who come forward with pilot road pricing schemes by contributing towards their set up costs. Public transport improvements linked to the road pricing plans will also receive financial assistance.
There will not be a better opportunity for local authorities to solve their growing problem of congestion and to provide better public transport."
The Government has decided that LRUC will now be incorporated into a wider consideration of national road pricing. CfIT hopes that lessons learnt so far on technology, cost-effectiveness and deliverability from LRUC will bring rapid decisions on a national scheme.
CfIT welcomes the progress on the congestion reduction targets - focusing on improving the worse 10% of journeys on Highways Agency roads over the next 3 years. For urban areas, CfIT is keen to see how demanding the targets will be.
Notes to editors:
- CfIT's research in to World Cities showed those cities focusing only on public transport investment have not been able to secure significant change to travel behaviour. Whereas when the "carrot and stick" are introduced in tandem a modal shift from car to more sustainable modes of transport can be achieved.
- The Commission for Integrated Transport provides independent advice to Government on strategic policy issues.
- For more information, please contact Katie Allister on 07811 277 223.
