'Get on your bike' minister tells drivers
Sep 28 2007 by Will Green, The Journal
TRANSPORT Secretary Ruth Kelly yesterday urged people to get on their bikes to cut congestion as she admitted the Government had made mistakes on transport.
She promised to give greater priority to cycling to improve public health and tackle congestion, but insisted she would not “duck” tough choices and called for a debate on road pricing.
Speaking at the Labour conference, the Transport Secretary urged towns and cities to take the lead in showing how better public transport and congestion-cutting measures could go hand in hand.
And the Government’s pledge to give councils stronger powers over buses to improve services that were still “not good enough” in many areas was reiterated by Ms Kelly.
But she admitted the Government had not always got things right on transport.
Ms Kelly insisted “chronic under-investment” was being addressed – although business chiefs said the North-East was still not receiving sufficient funding.
Once again, the Transport Secretary failed to mention improvements to the A1 and Western Bypass, but said a deal on the £15bn Crossrail project to improve train links in London was now “within our grasp”.
Her comments come after Ms Kelly earlier this week said road pricing was ultimately “inevitable” and refused to comment on calls to dual the A1 up to Scotland and upgrade the A1 Western Bypass to improve safety and boost economic growth.
Ms Kelly insisted Labour was best placed to address long-term challenges, but added: “That doesn’t mean that over the past 10 years we’ve always got everything right on transport. But no-one could deny that real progress has been made.
“The chronic under-investment in our transport system is being addressed.” She also said the railways were on a secure financial footing, with passenger numbers rising by 40% since 1997 – the fastest growing in Europe – and promised further improvements.
Action over climate change was pledged by Ms Kelly, who insisted it was the “real pro-growth strategy”.
She said the Government was pushing for international action over aviation and car emissions, with a carbon reduction strategy for transport being published later this year.
Ross Smith, from the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: “That under-investment is not being addressed fast enough in the North-East where we still have a far below UK average of spending on transport.
“Business has identified this as a critical issue time and time again over the past two decades and an investment in crucial strategic corridors in the region would play a vital part in allowing the economy to grow faster.”
The RAC Foundation, which campaigns for motorists’ interests, said it was a “big ask” for commuters to cycle when their average journeys were eight miles and warned pinch-points on routes like the A1 needed to be tackled. “It is always disappointing that politicians go straight to cycling because it is not going to be suitable for everyone,” said foundation head of campaigns Sheila Rainger.
Berwick MP Alan Beith was stinging in his criticism for the Government.
The Liberal Democrat said: “You keep hearing these grand statements from ministers and the Prime Minister himself and they don’t fit with what is happening on the ground.
“It’s conference rhetoric that is never backed up by real policies.”
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Tory parliamentary candidate for Berwick, also questioned whether the Government could believed on its policies.
“After 10 years of watching them spend my money without seeing the output locally, I will believe it when I see action.”
Shadow Tyneside Minister Alan Duncan, said road pricing was “a fat lot of use” for those stuck on the A1, and added that it was fanciful to suggest that cycling was the solution to the country’s transport needs.
