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TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
Page 9
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Barry Proctor ponders whether the government's plans for a new toll road mean it has simply given up building any new roads.
Alistair Darling said last week that we cannot build our way out of all the problems we face; we have to strike the right balance, managing existing road space better and making sure we understand and take account of wider environmental concerns. Could this be the clearest indication yet that the government has given up building new roads in favour of tolls?
We all believed the M6 Toll would be Britain's only toll motorway but six months on the government has announced a proposed extension from Cannock to Manchester. It's realised it can hand the building over to a private enterprise and make a fortune in VAT without investing any money. But it will be about 10 years before the road is up and running. When will the government realise we need improvements now and not in the distance future or it will be too late?
Congestion has gone beyond a joke. I can't afford to pay a driver a day's wages for him to only manage to tip and load up in Birmingham and drive back to Stoke — not because he's sloped off for an extra long tea break but because he's stuck on the M6. I am seriously considering when the Working Time Directive comes in that we work a four-day week, 11 hours a day, load up for Monday on Friday and call it a day.
So what is the answer? Four lanes on the M6? Improving public transport? My experience tells me we have a long way to go. I was travelling by rail from York to Manchester Piccadilly to catch my connection to Stoke. The train was due to arrive at 4.50pm in Manchester but didn't pull in until 5.10pm, giving me two minutes to catch my connection home. And I was lucky: two other trains were cancelled, leaving their passengers to wander the platforms like lost souls.
Japan realised back in 1964 that the car was not the only way forward. The Bullet train does 300km/h and it runs 24/7 within seconds of its timetable. Forty years on and we are no closer to coming anywhere near their public transport system.
"When will the government realise we need improvements now and not in the distant future or it will be too late?"
Barry Proctor owns Barry Proctor Services, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.