FTA says abandoning congestion charges will make way for better schemes

Government plans to abort the congestion charging policy via the TIF (Transport Innovation Fund) in favour of the UCF (Urban Challenge Fund) have been welcomed by the (FTI) Freight Transport Industry. They are backing alternative initiatives to improve road safety, tackle congestion and reduce carbon emissions; alternatives that don’t simultaneously disrupt local businesses and cost the taxpayer extortionate amounts.

Councils no longer have to introduce local road pricing to qualify for funding to invest in congestion reduction schemes. This is courtesy of the TIF, the ECF’s predecessor. Paul Clark, the Transport Minister has already voiced his support for the overhaul and will be speaking about it at the FTA’s Urban Logistics Conference tomorrow.

The Transport Minister will be the keynote speaker and will discuss the importance of Freight Quality Partnerships – something important in the HGV driving world at the moment – and also about the Quiet Deliveries Demonstration Scheme.

FTA’s Head of Urban Logistics Policy, Gordon Telling, says:

“We look forward to hearing more from Mr Clark at our Urban Logistics Conference on precisely what he thinks about more intelligent, lower-cost solutions to reduce congestion.

“As we have seen from FTA’s previous studies; quiet night-time deliveries, for example, can dramatically reduce the impact commercial vehicles have on peak-time traffic and the environment as well as benefitting businesses with more reliable delivery times and lower transport costs. Similarly, better use of consolidation centres and better street planning through the Roadscape scheme, all represent excellent opportunities for local councils to make significant improvements without spending a significant slab of public cash.”