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ROAD GOODS TRANSPORT EXPANDING

7th February 1964
Page 39
Page 39, 7th February 1964 — ROAD GOODS TRANSPORT EXPANDING
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

THROUGHOUT Europe goods traffic I carried by road has increased at least as fast as the total national product; public road and rail passenger services have levelled off or declined except in countries where there is still only a small degree of private car ownership; in every European country, travel by private car—in mileage covered—at least doubled from 1950 to 1961, and in West Germany, Italy, Sweden and Austria it increased five-fold or more; everywhere the railways' share in total freight tonmileage is decreasing while road transport's percentage is increasing steadily and continuously. These are just a few of the more important trends revealed in the very detailed " Annual Bulletin of Transport Statistics for Europe" for 1962, published by the E.C.E. in Geneva.

The Bulletin shows that air transport is the medium of passenger carriage with the most rapid and continuing increase (at an average annual rate of 13 per cent, in passenger-miles). The growth of road coach excursions and tours has generally slowed down or ceased, but international travel by private car is increasing even faster than internal, national travel.

Compared with a total volume of goods traffic (of all types) of nearly 12,000 ton-km. annually per head in the U.S.A. and 8,200 in the U.S.S.R. the volume is only about 2,000 km. per head in Western Germany. France, Italy and the United Kingdom. In countries with a planned economy the volume of goods traffic is increasing appreciably and steadily: it rose annually by an average of 10 per cent in Russia from 1954 onwards, and in Poland by 5 per cent.

The growth in road traffic (it rose by between 50 and 100 per cent on roads classified as European" from 1955 to 1960) has brought with it an increase in the accident toll. Road deaths increased by about 35 per cent in the seven years up to 1961, although in the same period traffic increased by about 120 per cent; the Bulletin suggests that the number of victims increases as the cube root of the increase in the number of vehicles. Certainly, it says. over 65,000 people a year are killed on the roads of Europe.

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Locations: Geneva

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