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THE GOVERNMENT'S pledge to cut congestion on major roads by
Page 8
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5% by the end of the decade appears to be in tatters, with overall traffic levels rising 1.4% last year.
The Department for Transport's latest figures reveal that truck and car traffic was up 1% and light van traffic 5% last year compared with 2002. In the fourth quarter of 2003 truck traffic rose by 2% to 7.2bn vehicle kilometres and van traffic by 7% to 14.7bn vehicle kilometres compared with the same period a year earlier. This compares to an increase in car traffic of just I %.0verall traffic levels in the fourth quarter were up 1.6% compared with the fourth quarter of 2002.
Shadow transport secretary Damian Green says that the continuing increase in road traffic proves the government's attempt to improve public transport has failed miserably: "The central pillar of the Ten-Year Transport Plan was to reduce traffic, and it has comprehensively failed.These figures show that people need to use their cars, but motorists are more taxed and harassed than ever before."
But the DfT argues congestion is different from the rise in cars.