Councils urge UK Government to spend rising fuel and motoring tax income on improving local roads

Councils urge UK Government to spend rising fuel and motoring tax income on improving local roads
October 16, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A total of £418 million extra a year could be spent by councils on improving local roads if the UK government funding mirrored rising income in fuel and motoring taxes, according to an analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA). Council leaders are now calling for the Government to deliver a new strategy to provide a fully-funded plan for the growing number of vehicles on the nation’s roads, which has increased 30% since 2000.


LGA’s analysis sets out the impact of the "congestion crunch" on local roads. Findings revealed that there are now 151 vehicles per mile compared to 119 in 2000. Secondly, travel speeds are down with the average speed on local 'A' roads is 25 miles per hour; a 1% decrease from last year. Finally, councils fill potholes every 19 seconds and are dealing with a £12 billion backlog of road repairs that will take ten years to clear.

In addition, the LGA has stated that the government needs to be more ambitious to support councils in keeping traffic moving to handle the increase in vehicles and forecast increase in traffic which will be up to 55% by 2040.

On the run-up to Autumn Budget, the LGA is also calling for the government to fully fund the statutory concessionary bus fares scheme, which councils are currently subsidising at £200 million a year.

The LGA added that councils need to be given control over the Bus Service Operators' Grant to enable them to protect vital bus routes and provide them with the funding they need for an efficient bus service.

UTC

Related Content

  • April 25, 2012
    Road safety - the challenge ahead
    More than 1.3 million people die in road accidents each year. If nothing is done, this already chilling figure risks to rise to 1.9 million deaths per year. Around 90 per cent of road fatalities occur in emerging and developing countries. Here, the mixture of population growth and higher numbers of vehicles due to rising incomes are proving a deadly combination, as infrastructure and regulatory environment have difficulty keeping pace.
    Read More
  • July 5, 2013
    Nottingham Ring Road improvement gets final approval
    Work can now start on a package of measures to tackle congestion on Nottingham’s Ring Road and improve public transport in the city after receiving final approval from UK Local Transport Minister Norman Baker. The scheme was one of those given funding approval in late 2011 as part of the Spending Review process and comprises: upgrading of key junctions and selective widening; reconstruction of areas of the carriageway most in need of repair; improved facilities to help change between bus services on the mai
    Read More
  • January 20, 2012
    Impact of speed limits in Barcelona
    When Barcelona imposed an 80km/h (50mph), the result was significant in environmental, accident, fatality and injury terms. The 80km/h speed limit had the same positive environmental effect as if 22,100 cars were eliminated from the roads in the metropolitan area. Moreover, a reduction in the consumption of fuel by more than 24,000 tonnes per year was also achieved, while accidents, fatalities and injuries also showed substantial improvement.
    Read More
  • October 19, 2012
    Benefits of investment in ITS technologies
    What price can be put on the value of a life? How much should be spent on preventing untimely deaths? Difficult questions such as these help to put the comparatively small costs of ITS systems into context. While monetary analysis may seem cold and inhumane in consideration of road casualties, death and costly clear-up are often the stark reality transportation authorities are dealing with. This issue of ITS International contains numerous examples of large benefits to be gained from relatively modest inves
    Read More

Highlighted Content