LONDON: The Confederation of British Industry has urged the government to make available immediately 1 billion pounds for improving the country's transport network. The industry body has also sought provision of 60 billion pounds in long-term investment programme.
The CBI has made these demands on the basis of a survey of its members, which found that inadequate transport infrastructure is harming business interests. Nearly 52 per cent of employers queried claimed their supply chains were affected because of transport problems and 48 per cent said their reputation had suffered. And just over half said the reputation of Britain as a place to do business had been affected by insufficient transport facilities.
The demands came as CBI is holding its annual conference in London and Britain's transport secretary Alistair Darling is to address the inauguration session.
CBI's director-general Sir Digby Jones said while there has been an increase in spending in the transport sector, it is not sufficient because of the years of under-investment. He added that the government should not shy away from the recommendations of the Eddington review panel, which is reviewing the country's transportation needs.
The government had initiated a 10-year transportation plan in 2000 with a spend of 180 billion pounds. CBI estimates the total needed for the sector over the next 10 years is 300 billion pounds. It wanted the 1 billion to be spent on road and rail projects on an emergency basis.
Sir Digby said delays of years on account of the need to get planning approval for projects cleared by the government are causes for concern. He cited the instance of several ports where objections on approved work are holding up trucks in laybys for days together before loading or unloading. He said the previous government's proposals to have fast-track approvals have not been implemented due to objections from environmental and other lobby groups.
The CBI study said companies generally believed transport delays resulted in loss of productivity, increase in costs and insufficient customer service. It also affected staff, who would report for work late. The survey, which covered 500 companies and 500 staff, found 86 per cent of the businesses regarded the country's road links as important and 63 per cent of employees drove to work.
It found that most employers have initiated steps to adapt to transport problems but with relatively limited effects -- including changed delivery schedules or logistics. One in 10 companies have moved operations, while an important adaptation has been to allow more staff to work from home. More than four in 10 companies have implemented such schemes. However, many of the companies covered said the number of staff working from home had not increased in the past five years.
The respondents are also not convinced that the government had acted on its suggestion that congestion can be solved through a national system of road pricing, under which motorists would be charged according to the roads they use, the distance they drive and the time of day. The CBI, while backing the principle of road pricing, feels the government has not made a strong case of the suggestion.
This stance is one that most people who have to travel to and from work on Briains roads and railways will be in agreement with and has been caused in no small part to little or no investment in the Country's transport infrastructure over the past decade. Gridlock Britain is already here at certian periods on some roads, with the number increasing and rail services do not offer a viable alternative either.
This issue is just one in a long line of problems the Government needs to act on, others include pensions, oil and gas affecting energy costs, jobs, the economy, housing, education and of course the health service. It seems years of neglect have begun to catch up and it is time to face up to difficult issues rather than avoiding them or simply conducting more 'research' and 'studies'.
Posted
on : Mon, 28 Nov 2005 10:25 GMT | General News
By : Paula Jenkins
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