Britain's transport system 'worst in
Europe' by Business
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Published: 00:05, Nov 26,
2001
BRITAIN has the
worst transport system in Europe, according to a government
report from a team led by a Scottish transport expert,
Professor David Begg.
The most congested roads, the longest
commuting times and some of the highest bus and rail fares can
be found in the UK, the Commission for Integrated Transport,
said.
Prof Begg, a former head of transport at
Edinburgh city council and now head of the Centre for
Transport Policy at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, was
chosen in 1999 by John Prescott, then the transport secretary,
to head the commission and advise on the government's
long-term transport plans.
It has found that British
motorists and passengers come out worst on almost every count
when compared with the rest of Europe.
The roads are
easily the most congested: 25% of main roads are jammed for at
least an hour a day whereas less than 10% of the main highways
in Germany and France get blocked.
The average daily
commuting time is 46 minutes while Italians, for example, can
get to work in half the time.
The UK's fuel tax is
Europe's highest and only Denmark and Sweden have higher rail
fares.
The commission said that the government's
ten-year plan to pump £180bn into transport would help solve
the problem, but political leadership was needed to overcome
decades of underinvestment.
Prof Begg said said: "This
report demonstrates what a mountain we have to climb. The
decisions that we take now as a nation will determine whether
we end up with a US style car culture or a sustainable
European multi-model system."
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