Roads and rail boost for region
Sep 26 2007 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
TRANSPORT minister Ruth Kelly yesterday gave her backing to calls for London-style transport powers in the North-East.
The Secretary of State said she would welcome plans to introduce powerful regional bus and road authorities based on the Transport for London model.
Speaking at a Labour conference fringe meeting, Ms Kelly said the Government intended to hand over transport powers to locally accountable groups in cities across the UK.
She said: “I don’t see any reason why big cities and urban areas should not have the same transport powers as London.
“The onus now is on local areas to put down workable proposals and start improving. We need to think not just in terms of whether a certain road is necessary or a tram route necessary but what the trade-off is in promoting cycling and walking and using transport powers to really make it work and get people moving about in cities.
“I don’t see any reason why we should not have strong locally accountable transport authorities and that is what we are hoping to achieve.
“The draft Local Transport Bill will give cities far more power to develop schemes that work for them. No longer will we think in terms of just one road or train route, we will completely change the way we look at what forms of transport work and how best to bring it all together.
David Wood, chair of the Tyne and Wear passenger transport authority, welcomed the proposals which The PTA have repeatedly asked for.
He said the measures set out in the draft Local Transport Bill would make it easier for Nexus to demand bus operators run certain routes.
“We want to change the system but unfortunately we do not yet have the powers we need.
“In the Tyne and Wear area we have had bus companies carving up cartels for themselves since 1986. We need the Bill to give us real powers to improve things.”
The North East Chamber of Commerce cautiously welcomed the proposals. Head of policy Ross Smith said: “We need effective public transport within the region’s two city regions and measures to strengthen that are welcomed.
“But we also need effective transport within Durham and Northumberland and between Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear.
“It is vital that no part of the North-East is left behind.”
At another Bournemouth fringe meeting last night roads minister Rosie Winterton added to road pricing worries by refusing to rule out using the money raised from any future scheme to subsidise lower council tax.
Gateshead Council has already written to the Government asking it to not ring fence road pricing funds and give the authority financial freedom with money collected. Ms Winterton said: “Right now I think we would prefer the money to be used for transport improvements, and that’s what I see it used for. But I cannot say where we will be in the future and I would not want to say that in 10 years time we still have to use the money in the same way because we do not know where we will be a decade from now.”
She added the Government wanted local councils to be responsible for introducing any road pricing schemes.
She said: “Solving these problems requires far greater involvement at the local level, that’s why it has to be introduced by locally accountable authorities who know what works in their area.”
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