|
A Breath of Fresh Air A Guide to Achieving Traffic Reduction Targets in UK Local
Authorities April 2001 |Authors
| Contents
| Introduction
| Part 1
| Part 2
| Part
3 | Part
4 | Part
5 | Part
6 | Part
7 | Conclusion
| Notes
| Professor John Whitelegg Edited
by Sam Bell and Molly Scott Cato The
Green Party's full policy on transport can be found at www.greenparty.org.uk/policy Contents Introduction: The Road Traffic Reduction Bill Targets and
Introductory Examples of European Best Practice Part 1: Identification of Policies Currently Available to
Local Authorities with Potential for Traffic Reduction Part 2: Selected Case Study Material to Illustrate Best
Practice in those Policy Areas Part 3: Identification of Policies with Traffic Reduction
Potential that Depend on Central Government Changing the Rules Part 4: Traffic Reduction for Heavy Goods Vehicles Part 5: Rural Areas Part 6: An Estimate of the Percentage Reductions from Each
Policy Area Part 7: A Review of the Economic Consequences of Traffic
Reduction Conclusion: Achieving the Targets Introduction I.1. The Road Traffic Reduction Bill
proposes that traffic levels in 2010 should be 10 per cent less than those in
1990. Traffic levels are measured by the total of vehicle kilometres
travelled by motorised transport in the UK. This total includes lorries as
well as cars and covers all motorised transport wherever it occurs, for
example in rural areas, city centres, suburbs, radial routes and routes
around cities. The reduction target is a national one and does not require
every individual local authority area to deliver the full reduction. It does,
however, require that national targets are achieved. Tables 1 and 2 show the total number of
vehicle kilometres travelled by motorised transport in 1990, 1996 and the
forecast level in 2010. Table 1: Traffic levels in 1990, 1996 and 2010 (bn. vehicle
km.)
Notes: Twmv are two-wheeled motor
vehicles. Goods vehicles are vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight. Light
goods vehicles are under 3.5 tonnes. Table 2: Total vehicle kilometres (excluding twmv, buses
and coaches and pedal cycles)
Notes: Twmv are two-wheeled motor vehicles. A target of 10 per cent less than 1990
levels is 334.4. I.2. Much of the growth shown in the
tables has yet to materialise and policies are needed in the short term to
prevent such growth happening. These policies will include land use planning
to reduce dispersion and traffic generation as well as policies to
"strip out" the current incentives to drive more. These incentives
include company car benefits, prices that do not reflect external costs and
subsidies to vehicle users through the provision of expensive infrastructure,
both road and car parking facilities. Introductory Examples of European Best
Practice
I.4.
These examples illustrate very clearly one important fact which will run
throughout this report. Achieving significant modal shifts¾shifting people
out of cars, creating more liveable cities, towns and rural areas and meeting
traffic reduction targets¾is responsive to policy. We can achieve traffic
reduction. The relative lack of progress in the UK in recent years is not
indicative of a fundamental problem or even a carefully balanced choice to go
for cars and freedom. It is the result of policy that has led in that direction
and the time has now come to change that policy so that it moves in another
direction. I.5.
This stance also implies a corollary. In moving away from car dependence and
shifting to lower levels of car use with higher levels of use of the
alternatives brings with it multiple benefits:
I.6.
This report shows how it is possible to achieve targets in traffic reduction.
Achieving these targets will not be a matter of a one-off technical design
operation. Traffic reduction will involve new ways of designing and
implementing policy as well as new policy objectives These new ways of
working will require:
Part 1: Policies Currently
Available to Local Authorities 1.1.
Local authorities already have a number of powers that are well-suited to
deliver traffic reduction. Very often they do not have the resources to make
best use of these powers and they will be faced with decisions from other
organisations (e.g. schools and NHS Trusts) that will add significantly to
traffic levels. They may also be faced with decisions from central government
that in the context of traffic reduction are perverse e.g. road construction,
location of new hospitals, granting of planning appeals to applicants. Local
authorities will also be concerned about traffic reduction measures that may
reduce their competitiveness as retail centres or as desirable locations for
inward investment. (These concerns are specifically addressed in Part 7 of
this guide.) The policy areas most likely to reduce traffic levels are listed
below. For the purposes of this discussion no attempt is made to distinguish
between the powers and duties of highway authorities, shire counties,
district councils, city councils or unitary authorities. The
Planning Process Parking
Reallocating
Space and Modal Preferences Traffic
Management Marketing
Green
Commuter Strategies Travel
to Schools Transport
Audits Policy
Audits Co-ordination
Part 2: Selected Case Study
Material Planning
Process Parking
Reallocating
Space and Modal Preferences Traffic
Management Marketing
Green
Commuter Strategies Travel
to Schools Transport
Audit Part 3: Identification of Policies
with Traffic Reduction Potential that Depend on Central Government Changing
the Rules 3.1.
Local authorities will need the active co-operation of central government to
deliver road traffic reduction targets. This is particularly so in the area
of fiscal incentives and in the area of regional "level playing
fields". In the absence of a very active supporting role from central
government local authorities will under-perform in achieving targets. Central
government action is needed in a number of priority areas:
3.2. Not all these policy areas will be discussed
here. It is to be expected that the 1997 DETR consultation on integrated
transport policy will emphasise some or all of these areas. Road
Pricing and Fuel Taxation 3.3.
The view of the OECD (1995:154) is that "The key to the sustainable
development strand is a substantial and steadily increasing fuel tax coupled
with (other) measures". The UK already has a policy commitment to
increase fuel tax by 6 per cent above the rate of inflation at each annual
budget. The OECD suggest that the impact of a 7 per cent p.a. rise in fuel
costs in real terms would be to "quadruple fuel prices in 20 years …
[leading[ ... to lower car ownership levels compared with what they would
otherwise be, fewer car trips and shorter trip lengths". An overall
reduction in car trip-making of about 15 per cent, a reduction in trip length
of about 25 per cent and an overall reduction of vehicle kilometres of
one-third is predicted if fuel prices rise by a factor of 2.5 (OECD, 1995:
156). 3.4.
The OECD view provides powerful evidence in support of the feasibility of
road traffic reduction targets. A one-third reduction in traffic levels from
this one measure alone is more than sufficient to deliver the targets of the
Road Traffic Reduction Bill given the adoption of measures that will slow
down and eliminate growth and given the existence of a considerable number of
non-pricing measures suggested in this report. 3.5.
The Stockholm proposals provide a model for UK local authorities. Stockholm
will be divided into ten zones covering the whole of the built-up area,
served by 90 fee stations. Light vehicles (e.g. cars) would pay 0.45 or 0.55
Ecu per transit on weekdays between 0600 and 1900. The lower charge is for
automatic debiting and the higher for manual systems. HGVs would pay 1.10 Ecu
per transit if fitted with noise-reduction technology and 1.40 Ecu if not.
Once again higher charges would apply to manual systems. The differential
charge for noise indicates a real environmental benefit from road pricing.
Vehicles can be charged on a number of different noise and pollution criteria
to help achieve air and noise quality objectives as well as congestion
targets. 3.6.
The Stockholm scheme is estimated to bring in about 140 million Ecu a year.
13 per cent is allocated to administrative costs, 79 per cent is refunded to
residents and the rest set aside for noise reduction and public transport
expenditures. (10) Parking
Taxes Level
Playing Fields 3.9. Traffic reduction strategies are likely to
falter in the absence of an "arms limitation agreement". Central
government can assist by taking the initiative to devise and implement
regional norms. Part 4: Traffic Reduction for
Heavy Goods Vehicles 4.1.
HGVs are a longstanding problem in towns and cities, on trunk roads through
villages and in or near national parks. In general their impact is much
greater than their numbers would suggest. Their impact on noise, road damage,
pedestrian and cyclist fears and air quality is large and there is a strong
case for reduction in ways that can protect the economy of towns and cities
and the consumer who has come to depend on goods and services supplied by
HGVs. Considerable progress has been made in this area in mainland Europe,
particularly Germany, whilst hardly any progress at all has been made in the
UK. In Germany HGV reduction strategies which pay attention to the commercial
interests of the companies involved are generally referred to as
"City-Logistik" strategies. 4.2.
City Logistics involves setting up new partnerships and styles of
co-operation between all those involved in the logistics chain and in
delivering/receiving goods in city centres. These partnerships offer
significant reductions in vehicle kilometres and truck numbers and are
currently in existence in Germany and Switzerland. City Logistics are a very
clear illustration of the importance of developing high quality
organisational arrangements and inter-company co-operation agreements in
addition to whatever new technology might be appropriate. City logistics have
taken transport operations into an area of development that builds links and
emphasises co-operation across all players and interest groups. 4.3.
In Germany partnerships between logistics contractors are reducing lorry
numbers and improving the urban environment. These partnerships (known as
City Logistik companies in Germany) are in operation in Berlin, Bremen, Ulm,
Kassel and Freiburg. The Freiburg example has several pointers to the future
shape of freight transport in urban areas. There are currently 12 partners in
the scheme. Three of the partners leave city centre deliveries at the
premises of a fourth. The latter then delivers all the goods involved in the
city centre area. A second group of five partners delivers all its goods to
one depot located near the city centre. An independent contractor (City
Logistik) delivers them to city centre customers. A third group, this time
with only two service providers specialises in refrigerated fresh products.
These partners form an unbroken relay chain, one partner collecting the goods
from the other for delivery to the city centre. 4.4.
The Freiburg scheme has reduced total journey times from 566 hours to 168
hours (per month), the monthly number of truck operations from 440 to 295 (a
33 per cent reduction) and the time spent by lorries in the city from 612
hours to 317 hours (per month). The number of customers supplied or shipments
made has remained the same. The Kassel scheme showed a reduction of vehicle
kilometres travelled of 70 per cent and the number of delivering trucks by 11
per cent. This has reduced the costs of all the companies involved and
increased the amount of work that can be done by each vehicle/driver
combination. 4.5.
These reductions in vehicle numbers and in traffic levels have benefited the
companies through higher levels of utilisation of the vehicle stock. It is
not in the interests of logistic companies to have expensive vehicles clogged
up in city centres, one-way systems and on circuitous ring roads. There are
clear economic benefits arising from lorry traffic reductions. Part 5: Rural Areas 5.1.
Rural areas have higher levels of dependency on cars than urban areas and
have experienced a steady decline in recent years in the range and quantity
of facilities that represent the normal everyday destinations for trips. The
decline in rural shops, post offices, schools and health-care facilities has
been documented in most of the UK's rural areas. For these reasons special
care is needed with traffic reduction policies in rural areas. 5.2.
Rural areas are not universally perceived as particularly difficult in terms
of public transport provision and facility development. Rural transport and
facility density in Switzerland and Norway are well developed and sit amongst
a number of other measures designed to support the residents of rural areas.
In the UK this support network is lacking and it would be unreasonable to
expect transport policies to make up for the huge deficits in other policies.
The existence of a "rural transport problem" is largely dependent
on the extent to which organisational and fiscal changes over the last 30
years have left rural areas unsupported. When this support is restored¾for
example, through financial incentives that will support small schools, post
offices, shops and rural enterprise as well as affordable housing¾then the
"rural transport problem" is rendered less intractable. 5.3.
Central government can support rural areas through a policy of providing resources
for small facilities in a dispersed pattern in a rural area particularly in
education and health care. Local authorities can support rural areas through
the provision of 100 per cent rate relief for shops and post offices (section
49 of the 1988 Local Government Finance Act). This already happens in East
and West Sussex where all but one of the districts offers rate relief to
village shops. 5.4.
Rural inhabitants will still need to travel and unless transport initiatives
are vigorously pursued this is likely to be by car. There are potentially a
number of alternatives to the car in rural areas:
5.5.
The exact mix of transport opportunities will vary from area to area and from
the deep rural situation to circumstances where a large market town is
accessible within half an hour by bus. UK experience with rural bus services
and community bus services up to 1985 was successful in many places but was
dealt a severe blow by bus deregulation in the 1985 Act. This Act is in
urgent need of reform to encourage innovative, community-run bus services in
rural areas. 5.6.
In spite of this unhelpful public transport regime there are still very good
examples of quality bus services in rural areas. The bus services in
Cerrig-y-Druidion in North Wales provide such a link (to Ruthin and Denbigh)
and are well used. 5.7.
Rural railways also continue to provide quality public transport in those
areas that are served by this mode. Recent research by TR&IN in
Huddersfield has shown how rural lines currently serve their populations
(Exeter to Barnstaple, Derby to Matlock, Ipswich to Suffolk and Huddersfield
to Sheffield) and how they could do much more to offer a quality, affordable
alternative to the car. 5.8.
In rural Oxfordshire a study of Cholsey and Chalgrove showed that residents
of the village with the poor levels of public transport (Chalgrove) travelled
30 per cent further by car than Cholsey residents. Cholsey has a bus or a
train at least every hour.. The survey (Environmental Change Unit, Oxford
University, 1996) also showed that the average distance for car journeys
within both villages was one mile or less, indicating a significant potential
for transfer to non-car modes. It would be mistaken to assume that rural
transport demand is dominated by large numbers of long journeys in situations
where there is no public transport. The reality is far more varied and has
considerable potential for intervention to bring about a shift away from the
car. 5.9.
In Germany the "Buergerbus" initiative has set a high standard for
affordable, frequent, community-managed rural bus services. These buses have
been funded by the state government of North Rhine Westphalia and are
operated by locally managed companies. They cover a network of market towns
and sparsely populated areas on a variety of frequencies and carry between
2000 and 18 000 passengers per annum. 5.10.
There is considerable potential for significant change in the diversity and
quantity of rural public transport services in the UK given changes in the
1985 Act and financial support from central government to local communities. Part 6: An Estimate of the
Percentage Reductions that Can be Expected from Different Policies 6.1.
In this section estimates will be made of the potential for traffic reduction
from different policy areas. These estimates are derived from case study
information in a number of countries and identify the range within which the
reductions are likely to lie. A threefold categorisation is applied to these
estimates:
Traffic
Reduction Estimates by Main Journey Purposes Table 3: Traffic
reduction by journey purpose
6.3.
The average per capita mileage reduction after the application of all the
specific reduction factors is 28.3 per cent. The reduction factors are based
on specific policies relevant to each of the journey purposes and on what has
been achieved already in various countries and contexts. Traffic
Reduction by Policy Area 6.5.
Table 4 lists the main policy measures suggested in this report and an
estimate of the potential level of traffic reduction associated with that
policy. Table 4:
Policy-specific traffic reduction estimates
Source: Hook, 1994. 6.6.
A number of important policy areas have not been incorporated into Table 4.
This is because they depend on central government action in some way or are
lacking in empirical/case study evidence. They are nevertheless very real
policy options which offer further flexibility and guarantees that effective
measures can be put in place. They include:
Traffic
Reductions by Geographical Variation Figure 1:
Traffic Reduction Triangle: percentage contribution to traffic reduction
targets Source: Bike magazine. Part 7: A Review of the Economic
Consequences of Traffic Reduction 7.1.
There is a well-developed literature on this subject. Most of the work is
German. in origin, where resources have been devoted to empirical research on
the relationship between traffic restraint (e.g. reducing the number of car
parking places in cities) and retail viability. This research carried out by
the German Institute for Urban Research in the late 1980s and early 1990s is
very clear: A
study in Germany suggest that retail trade in central city districts
increases with policies that encourage environmentally friendly transport
modes. Of the 38 cities studied, 14 had above average retail growth. Of these
14, 10 had below average provision of infrastructure for the car. (11) 7.2.
This is not really surprising. There is a large literature on the costs of
congestion and the scale of the defensive expenditures that have to be
deployed to cope with the air pollution, noise pollution, road traffic
accidents and congestion impacts of traffic growth and traffic concentration
in space and time (Maddison et al, 1996). 7.3.
Authoritative European surveys of the external costs of transport agree that
the total external costs of transport in 17 European countries amounts to 270
billion Ecu per year, an average of 4.6 per cent of GDP (IWW, Karlsruhe). The
road total is 50 times higher than the rail total and for all practical
purposes walking and cycling can be regarded as having zero external costs.
7.4.
The full implementation of already accepted EU policy in the area of
internalising the external cost of transport would significantly reduce the
number of vehicle kilometres of car and lorry travel while at the same time
expanding the use of other modes and liberating significant resources for
investment in social infrastructure (e.g. education and training),
environmentally high-performing buildings and innovation in design and
manufacturing to enhance the international competitiveness of UK businesses. 7.5.
In a seminal study of Japan's urban transport system and economic
performance, Hook (1994) associates Japan's reliance on non-motorised
transport and rail transit with its economic success: High
urban density and a transportation system heavily reliant on non-motorised
transport and its linkages with rail based mass transit have been critical to
Japan's economic success. By minimizing aggregate transportation costs, Japan
has been able to minimize its production costs, making its goods more
competitive in international markets. Further by discouraging the consumption
of private automobiles and encouraging savings, a larger pool of potential
investment capital was created, also critical to rapid economic growth....the
automobile far from being a symbol of economic prowess is more a symbol of
economic assets being wasted on consumption instead of on job creating and
productivity-increasing investment. Meanwhile the bicycle and other
non-motorised vehicles far from being a symbol of economic backwardness are
more symbols of a society able to meet its passenger transport needs in the
most cost effective and least environmentally damaging way, allowing scarce
economic resources to be invested elsewhere. (16) 7.6.
There are considerable benefits to be had from public transport investments.
Steer, Davies and Gleave (1997) in their report for Transport 2000 show that
the total non-user benefit from investing in the Midland Metro Line 1 amounts
to £112.85 million at 1989 prices. Evidence from Portland, Oregon (USA) shows
a major wave of economic revitalisation from the new transit system and its
associated land use planning (Centre for Clean Air Policy, Washington DC,
1997). Portland's economic decline in the 1960s and 1970s was reversed by new
high density housing in the down town area, conversion of streets to
pedestrian friendly configurations, replacing a riverside motorway with an
esplanade, stringent parking restrictions, free public transport in the
central area using a new light rail system and the scrapping of road schemes.
The result has been a revitalised city centre with 30,000 more jobs and 40
per cent of commuters using public transport. 7.7.
Detailed empirical research in Germany shows that there is no relationship
between the amount of car parking provision in the main city centres and the
amount of retail spending in those areas (Baier and Schaefer, 1997). Freiburg
with very low numbers of car parking spaces per inhabitant has a higher level
of retail spending than Wetzlar with four times the number of spaces per
inhabitant as Freiburg. In the case of public transport there is a very
strong relationship. The higher the number of public transport arrivals in
the cities the greater is the level of retail activity in those centres. On
the basis of this evidence it is possible to conclude that traffic reduction
in British cities will not damage the economic fortunes of retail centres. 7.8.
The literature and experience from all advanced industrial countries that
have invested in alternatives to the car and in forms of mobility other than
the car suggest that there are measurable economic benefits and gains from
doing so. Traffic reduction is not about stopping people travelling.
Transferring trips to modes of transport other than the car or planning for
land use arrangements and accessibility patterns that stimulate innovations
in supply (e.g. home deliveries) are more likely to create jobs than to
destroy jobs. Indeed sustainable transport policies with traffic reduction at
their heart are examples of strategies that have the potential to create
real, lasting local jobs that can sustain local communities at a time when
globalisation tendencies are making jobs far more mobile than at any other
time in the past 50 years. Conclusion: Achieving the Targets C.1. The evidence of international best practice
indicates that the targets in the Road Traffic Reduction Bill are feasible.
We can be confident about achieving this target in the UK for a number of
reasons:
C.2.
Local authority intervention in the UK will have to be carefully designed and
managed to produce a strategy that is appropriate to the particular
geographical circumstances. (This problem is addressed in Figure 1.) The
range of policies that are available now is more than enough to deliver the reduction
targets. Should there be difficulties there are more policies that can be
brought on stream in the future. The combination of several layers of
policies offers opportunities now to slow down and stop the growth so that it
does not happen, and longer-term flexibility through the land use planning
system presents a unique opportunity to deliver a major boost to the quality
of life of all UK residents and to the future viability and liveability of
both cities and rural areas. Notes 1.
Hammond, B. (1994), "Buses, bicycles and small town revivals" in US-European
Perspectives on the Climate Change Debate, (Washington DC: Center for
Clean Air Policy), pp 33-41. 2.
European Commission (1997) DGXVII (Energy). Improving energy efficiency
and reducing gas emissions in urban transport. Report of a series of car
free cities seminars. 3.
Car Free City Conference, Amsterdam, 1994, Regina Poth, page 45. 4.
Pharoah,T. and Apel, D. (1995) Transport Concepts in European Cities
(Aldershot: Avebury). 5.
Transport 2000 (1997) Roads 21: A Roads Policy for the Next Century. 6.
Network News, 6 (1997), the Quarterly Magazine of the National Cycle
Network. 7.
European Commission (1996), The Citizen's Network. Fulfilling the
Potential of Public Passenger Transport in Europe. 8.
OECD (1995), Urban Travel and Sustainable Development. European
Conference of Ministers of Transport, Paris. 9.
Transport 2000 (1997), Just the Ticket: Traffic Reduction through Parking
Restraint. 10.
European Federation for Transport and the Environment (1996), Briefing
Paper on Road Pricing (Brussels). 11.
European Commission (1996) European Sustainable Cities Report, Expert
Group on the Urban Environment, page 176. |Authors
| Contents
| Introduction
| Part 1
| Part 2
| Part
3 | Part
4 | Part
5 | Part
6 | Part
7 | Conclusion
| Notes
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