Restrictions on Personal Vehicular Transport

2. Public Policy and the Private Car

The vehicle licensing statistics published in June 1997 show that some 26.3 million vehicles are now licensed in Great Britain, including over 22 million cars. Over the ten years to the end of 1996 the total stock of motorcars has grown by an estimated 2.6 per cent per annum. Motor traffic has increased at an even greater rate: up by 36 per cent in the last decade. Great Britain has the highest traffic density of the countries in the European Union and, even though it does not have the highest per capita car ownership, it has the greatest proportionate reliance on the private car of any EU country. Forecasts of future car ownership suggest that, from the present level of about 380 cars per 1000 population, by 2025 there will be 550 cars per 1000 population with an eventual saturation level of between 600 and 650. Predictions of future vehicular traffic show at a minimum an increase of about 60 per cent over 1990 levels by 2025; quite possibly rather more.

Air pollution, traffic congestion and traffic accidents are all consequences of the use of motor vehicles. The vehicle industry has made considerable progress in reducing vehicle emissions and producing more fuel efficient cars. Nonetheless the current transport share of carbon dioxide emissions is approaching 25 per cent, up from 20 per cent ten years ago. Exhaust emissions also include carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and, in the case of diesel engines, particulates (microscopic particles of carbon, sulphur or metal). These emissions contribute to local air pollution and can have an adverse effect on human health and thus disability.

There are technical ways of reducing emissions very substantially, but longer term growth in traffic is likely to more than off-set these reductions, hence there is a strong argument for further restrictions on vehicular use.

Some years ago, the Confederation of British Industry estimated that congestion cost the country £15 bn a year. In 1993, in a report by the AA, the estimate was given as £19 bn; more recently (1997) research by National Economic Research Associates suggested a figure of £7 bn . Whatever is the true figure, it is clearly a large amount. Congestion of itself can act as a form of demand control but as the IHT paper, "Road Transport, the environment and sustainable development" pointed out it is an inefficient method of traffic demand management.

Compared with many countries, Great Britain has a good road traffic accident record. Over the last ten years numbers killed in road traffic accidents have fallen from almost 4,900 to just below 3,300, while the numbers seriously injured have dropped from around 58,000 to 37,000. Notwithstanding this progress, road traffic is still the cause of about two out of every five accidental deaths, while some of those people injured will be left with lasting disabilities. As part of a general European policy, the Government is committed to achieving further reductions in road casualties up to and beyond the year 2000.

In the face of all these problems it is hardly surprising that methods of controlling and reducing the use of private cars should be sought. These measures fall into two principal categories: fiscal and physical. While Government policy on these measures will not be known within the time frame of the preparation of this report, the possible measures include:

Fiscal

Increasing the costs of fuel at a rate greater than that of general inflation.

Increasing the costs of parking.

Introducing road pricing and/or area pricing.

Physical

Limitations on both residential and non-residential parking space. Control of access into congested areas (e.g. town centres) and traffic management schemes that exclude private cars/give priority to public transport.

The complement to these measures is the improvement of public transport services and of the pedestrian and cycling environment. For obvious reasons improvements in the cycling environment are not generally relevant to disabled people other than in ensuring that if cycling increases care is taken to avoid any hazards to disabled people, especially those with sensory impairment.

Creating better pedestrian environments is relevant to disabled people, as will be shown in the following section. So too are improvements to public transport services, particularly those concerning the design of vehicles as proposed in the draft regulations being formulated under the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. But developments in both these areas have to be considered with some care against the background of the mobility needs and problems faced by disabled people.

It is also most important that these improvements should be made before any restrictions directly affecting the mobility of disabled people are introduced. If this is not done some more severely disabled people could face a significant loss of personal mobility.

Updated: 9 November 2000

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