21/02/2014

Keeping Business On The Move - Is Policy Working?

TomTom’s recent Traffic Index found that British commuters spend nine working days a year stuck in traffic.

Congestion around the UK’s cities is getting worse, as more and more of us take to the roads. We ask, is the government doing all it can to alleviate traffic within the UK?

As more and more of us take to the roads for our business, Britain’s infrastructure is becoming undoubtedly more and more congested, particularly around large urban centres like Sheffield, Birmingham, Newcastle and of course London.

Currently, there are a number of policies in place to prevent congestion hampering businesses, but according to Giles Margerison writing for TomTom’s Fresh Fleet Thinking blog, the government needs to take “a more intelligent approach to transport planning.”

Margerison believes that transport policy needs to be addressed, in order to meet the needs of the UK’s businesses who are “only now (beginning) to find their feet in the wake of the global economic crisis.”

In his article, Margerison highlights three particular policies that he feels have failed to reduce traffic congestion; Congestion Charges, the M6 Toll and parking fines.

London’s Congestion Charge was established in 2003, by then Mayor Ken Livingstone. The idea was that private car users would be charged to enter central London between the hours of 6am – 7pm, Monday to Friday. In many ways, the charge has been a success remaining in place for over a decade and arguably has resulted in a 20% drop-off in traffic in the congestion zones.

But Margerison cites business group, London First who call the Congestion Charge a “blunt instrument” which requires better day-to-day management. There are also suspicions from some that the charge is not about congestion but “has everything to do with cash generation.”

The fear is that if congestion charges continue to rise, then businesses will be forced to raise rates and this will impact on their customers.

As for the M6 Toll, Margerison claims that although this has provided a congestion free route it has proven to be an “expensive failure”, because the government chose to “hive (it) off to the private sector.” Meant to hold 100,000 vehicles a day, currently the toll runs at just a third of that capacity.

Margerison is wary of attacking traffic wardens, who he concedes have an important job to do, but he does cite the FTA who believe parking fines “represent a failure by local authorities to adequately plan and provide kerbside deliveries.”

Whilst technology has helped to alleviate some congestion, helping fleet managers to make their businesses more efficient and quicker, there are a few solutions being used to help alleviate congestion in the UK’s cities.

Car sharing is one way of helping to solve the congestion issue. By sharing a journey between four members of the same business, you can take three cars off the road.

There is also the option of the park and ride system, which gives commuters the chance to park up just outside the city and take a bus into the city centre. Again, this could take 20-30 cars off the road, and also provide revenue for infrastructure improvements.

Around the world, there are a number of transport policies that have proven successful in reducing congestion on the roads. Citizens of Shanghai have found that high-speed city rail links have had a positive impact. With discussions going on in the UK about the possibility of a high speed network linking Britain’s major cities, could we see rail as a potential solution to the congestion problem.

What do you think? How can we solve the congestion problem? Let us know in the comment box below. To read Margerison’s original article, visit the TomTom Fresh Fleet Thinking blog.

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