According to it's website, the aim of the Department for Transport is,
"transport that works for everyone. This means a transport system which balances the needs of the economy, the environment and society.

In support of this aim, the Department has four strategic objectives which focus on the core areas of its business:

• to sustain economic growth and improved productivity through reliable and efficient transport networks
• to improve the environmental performance of transport
• to strengthen the safety and security of transport
• to enhance access to jobs, services and social networks, including for the most disadvantaged."

Reality

The UK's transport system fails to balance the needs of the economy, the environment and society.

• when the DfT refers to "reliable and efficient transport networks" it means "roads". See reference below for an article showing why this happens.
• according to the Commission for Integrated Transport (a government body) "transport (including international transport) is now the largest end-use category of emissions in the UK, accounting for between a quarter and one-third of UK carbon emissions,(depending on which definitions are used). Within this, road transport is the main component, of which cars are the most significant element." Not to mention the damage caused by roads in urban and rural areas, nor the damage caused to people's health
• in the UK in 2006, 302 people were killed on the railway. Of these, 226 were trespassers and 59 were suicides - leaving a total of 17 deaths; the total number of deaths in road crashes in 2005 was 3,201.
• access to jobs, services and social networks is being undermined by policies that are causing closure of local facilities, whether hospitals, shops or post offices. According to The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in its 2007 report on the urban environment, "the physical form of urban areas has significant implications for travel patterns. Relatively compact and mixed use developments have the potential to reduce travel needs, make local facilities more viable and accessible, and encourage the use and provision of public transport, where available. In contrast, when housing, employment and services are widely separated, and facilities can only be accessed by car, lengthy journeys become a necessity rather than a choice, and those without access to a car may suffer a new dimension of deprivation."  The Royal Commission notes that, of 16 targets set in its report on Transport and the Environment, only two would be likely to be met in full.

Sources:
road bias of DfT: www.newstatesman.com/200708090012
climate change: www.cfit.gov.uk/docs/2007/climatechange/pdf/2007climatechange.pdf
road deaths: www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1208
rail deaths: www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/rss_report_06.pdf 
local services: www.rcep.org.uk/urbanenvironment.htm


                              © GiveUpYourCar.com - all rights reserved.