Pollution is 'too much'
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by Rob WIHock • The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution today (Thursday) publishes a review of the impact of transport on the environment since 1994 and echoes the message of its previous report: "We cannot go on like this."
The study of road haulage and logistics concludes there is more scope for piggy-backing so more freight can travel by rail. And it urges greater use of liquid petroleum and compressed natural gases in urban areas to reduce air pollution.
It commends research conducted by Safe Alliance on how to make better use of road freight. "Centralised distribution means longer journeys for suppliers, and just-in-time inventories makes them more numerous, with delivery loads
30", to smaller," claims the Safe Alliance report Off Our Trolleys? It recommends local sourcing to reduce congestion.
Since the RCF,P's report in 1994, a number of policy changes have been made: three major reviews of the national roads programme, with more than 200 new road schemes scrapped; a 32"-o reduction in expenditure on new roads construction; and a vehicle fuel duty increase of about 40%.
"Despite these measures," says the British Road Federation, "traffic has increased by nearly 5%. Figures for the first half of 1997 indicate traffic is growing at 2.5% to 3o a year."
The RCEP's new findings will be put forward for consideration in the Government's white paper on Integrated Transport Policy next spring.