1. Introduction

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the outcome of the Spending Review on Monday 12 July. This set out how much each Government department can spend for the next three years.  In his announcement the Chancellor increased the Department for Transport's budget by £2.4 billion (an increase of 4.5% per annum) over the next three years. 

In light of the Chancellor's announcement, the Department for Transport is expected to publish the revised 10 Year Plan for Transport the week beginning 19 July, potentially on either the 20 or 22 July. This will be in the form of a new 5 Year Transport Plan which will set out the Government's transport priorities and spending plans until 2010, as well as an additional report with a time horizon possibly as far ahead as 2030. The revised Plan will be published alongside the final report from the feasibility study into road user charging, together with the government's response to the study.  This briefing sets out our concerns with the current plan, our aspirations for the revised plan, and seven key tests which the Way to Go campaign will judge the announcement by. 

2. Concerns with the current 10 Year Plan for Transport

Environmental and social justice campaigners have long held concerns that the 10 Year Plan for Transport represented a major shift in policy focus away from the Government's 1998 Transport White Paper. Whereas the White Paper's underlying aims were to reduce both the need to travel and our reliance on the car, the 10 Year Plan favours large scale, environmentally damaging infrastructure over smaller scale solutions, such as improvements to local bus services and conditions for walking and cycling. In undervaluing the benefits of small-scale measures, the bulk of the investment is aimed at catering for ever longer journeys (by rail and by road). This is despite the fact that one-quarter of journeys are less than two miles in length. This emphasis neglects the problems faced by people undertaking short local journeys.

The revision of the Plan, and the boost in funding to the Department for Transport through the Spending Review, provide an important opportunity to rectify the problems with the existing Plan.

3. The Way to Go campaign

The Way to Go campaign was launched in February 2004 by a coalition of 30 environmental and social justice groups, including: Age Concern; Campaign to Protect Rural England; Citizens Advice; Friends of the Earth; National Federation of Women's Institutes; and Transport 2000. The campaign has been calling for the revised 10 Year Transport Plan to give more money to 12 transport measures, detailed in the attachment to this briefing. Collectively, these will help reduce traffic levels, leading to a cleaner environment; vibrant, enjoyable neighbourhoods; tranquil, beautiful countryside; and a more socially-inclusive transport system. Our opinion poll research shows that the measures we propose are popular and supported by a large part of the population, with three quarters of the public saying the Government should cut traffic levels on Britain's roads and seven out of ten wanting more spending on public transport (results of YouGov Survey May 2004).

As part of the campaign members of the public were asked to send a special Way to Go postcard to their MP to show their support for the measures advocated by the campaign.  We are aware that tens of thousands of these postcards have been received by MPs and forwarded to the Secretary of State for Transport.  The campaign has also received strong support from MPs with over 150 (including over 110 Labour backbench MPs) having signed Early Day Motion 527 in support of the campaign. 

4. Way to Go tests for the 10 Year Plan

The Way to Go coalition has challenged the Government to allocate funding through its revised Plan to measures which will provide a transport system that is better for people, local neighbourhoods and the environment. When the revised Plan is published, the Way to Go coalition will be using a number of measures to judge if the Plan will help to achieve these aims.  We will be examining it to ensure it provides:  

1. No more money for new road construction (either new roads or widening schemes);

2. Extra funding for local transport, particularly for buses and measures to increase walking and cycling such as Safe Routes to School. This will help to reduce social exclusion. Our research shows that 11 of our manifesto measures (detailed in the attachment) would cost £4.6 billion capital spending until 2010 (or £770 million per year). This is equivalent to 40% of last year's Local Transport Plan (LTP) funding. A further £1 billion revenue funding would be required, per year;

3. Clear support, with grants, for maintaining and enhancing local urban rail services and rural branch lines, and for transferring freight from road to rail;

4. A strong endorsement for a distance-based road user charging system which would transform the way that we currently pay for car use. Such a system would aim to progressively increase the revenue from motorists so that the costs of motoring rise year on year;

5. A commitment to reduce the rate of growth of public transport fares. The introduction of a national rail card and of integrated / through ticketing on buses, should mean that for many people, the cost of using public transport actually falls;

6. A target to reduce the average journey length. Average journey length has risen from 5.2 miles in 1985/86 to 6.9 miles in 2002. This puts additional pressure on transport networks. The revised plan should provide a strong commitment to reducing the need to travel and ensuring transport policies support an urban renaissance; and

7. A clear commitment to a more equitable approach, which involves reallocating transport spending so that the most disadvantaged groups in society fairly benefit. In practice this means taking money away from road building, and spending it on the modes used by low-income groups, specifically buses and walking.

5. Further information

The Way to Go coalition includes the following organisations: Age Concern England; Campaign to Protect Rural England; Council for National Parks; CTC – the national cyclists' organisation; Carplus – the car club network; Citizens Advice; DaRT (Dial-a-Ride and Taxicard Users Ltd); Environment Transport Association; Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland; Friends of the Earth Scotland; Help the Aged; Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted People; JMU Access Partnership; Liftshare; Living Streets; London Cycling Campaign; National Council of Women of Great Britain; National Federation of Bus Users; National Federation of Women's Institutes; Railfuture; Ramblers' Association; Royal National Institute for the Blind; SERA (Socialist Environment and Resources Association); Slower Speeds Initiative; Sustrans; Transform Scotland; Transport 2000; Transport Salaried Staffs' Association; UNISON; Woodland Trust.

The Way to Go campaign

The Way to Go coalition is calling for the revised 10 Year Transport Plan to give more funding to 12 tried-and-tested measures that will help reduce traffic levels, leading to a cleaner environment; vibrant, enjoyable neighbourhoods; tranquil, beautiful countryside and a more socially-inclusive transport system. The measures are:

1. A cycle-friendly road network and cycle training for all

2. Services and facilities close to people so they don't need to drive

3. Increased funding for local public transport, particularly in rural areas

4. Networks of bus lanes

5. Quality standards that bus and rail services must meet

6. Safe routes to schools for all children

7. Lower speed limits - 20mph default in residential areas

8. Discount nationwide railcard available to all

9. Grants for rail freight projects

10. Greater incentives to buy smaller, cleaner vehicles

11. Streets, lanes and paths in good condition and pleasant for walking

12. Pay-as-you-go road user charging