Think-tank criticises government road plans
Date: 16 November 2007
A 'one-size fits all' approach to national road pricing should be abandoned in favour of a local approach, a new report has claimed.
The New Local Government Network (NLGN) has called upon the government to allow local authorities a greater say in the controversial road pricing measures.
It argued that control over the proposed scheme, which is likely to have a significant impact on haulage, logistics and owner operators, should be distributed on a regional level.
Council leaders should be given transport regulatory powers rather than unelected and appointed-for-life traffic commissioners, and they should be accountable to passenger groups, the report stated.
"It is nonsense in this day and age for unelected and barely visible traffic commissioners, who are currently appointed for life, to have powers to register and regulate local buses," said NLGN director Chris Leslie.
"Local communities across the country are crying out for better public transport, and these traffic commissioners cannot possibly have the local knowledge necessary to deliver the best results."
The think-tank also recommended that the government remove its £380 million fuel subsidy for bus operators and instead improve services with the funds.
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