Effective road and traffic management
Written evidence from the RAC Foundation (ETM 17)
About the RAC Foundation
1.
The RAC Foundation is a charity which explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and responsible road users. Independent and authoritative research, carried out for the public benefit, is central to the Foundation’s activities.
Congestion
2.
The Foundation welcomes this inquiry. Traffic congestion has a major adverse impact on economic activity and quality of life. It arouses much public concern as recorded in various surveys: for instance the Department for Transport (DfT) reports that in their most recent research on public attitudes "over four in five adults thought that congestion was a serious problem in the country and nine in ten said that it was important for Government to tackle the problem although both of these proportions have fallen slightly over the last 2 years". Reduction should be addressed as a priority in transport policy.
3.
Whilst better traffic management (both by network regulation and in real time) has much to offer it will not go far enough in dealing with the pressure to be put on the main road network from expected growth. A longer term strategy is also needed.
4.
Various measures are currently used to assess and predict congestion. Whilst these do indicate some reduction in recent years because of the recession, congestion is still widely prevalent. Road traffic growth must be expected to return as economic growth resumes and the population increases (official population forecasts show 20 per cent increase over the next two decades in some Regions) and, without more intensive attention to management of the network, congestion will worsen.
5.
The Highways Agency creates "Stress Maps" showing the difficulties their network will experience in dealing with future demands, given current investment plans. The Eddington Transport Study (2006) set out in detail the implications for the whole road system of continuing with the then current policies, concluding that "if left unchecked 13 per cent of traffic will be subject to stop-start travel conditions by 2025". Our report Roads and Reality
[2]
, looking at the period to 2041, forecast major extension of congestion on the strategic network in the absence of substantial improvement. (It also displays Highways Agency national stress maps relating to three levels of traffic growth; pp57-59.)
6.
Recent work by HS2 Ltd in association with the DfT, in connection with the case for investment in high speed railways has estimated the severity of the increase in road congestion that is expected to obtain by the time high speed rail is operational (after 2025). It also demonstrates how little difference high speed rail will make: for instance only reducing traffic on the M1 by two percent (perhaps two years’ growth), even though that is on the same line of route.
7.
For many years network capacity has not kept pace with traffic growth. This trend will be exacerbated by the cuts announced in the Spending Review. Compared with the 2010-11 baseline, the average annual Highways Agency capital spend over the next four years will be cut by 35%. Highways agency resource spend is to reduce by 23% and local government transport resource spend is to reduce by 28% (all these figures are in cash terms and will be further eroded by the effect of inflation). Many of the schemes to be delayed or withdrawn by local government are capital or maintenance programmes for roads: some of them large schemes.
8.
The Eddington report noted that many road improvement schemes would offer substantial benefits. When the economy has recovered, a long term strategy of improvement based on substantial addition of physical capacity will be necessary if congestion is to be reduced effectively. Like Eddington, the RAC Foundation believes that the ever-worsening problem caused by the difficulty of funding sufficient infrastructure adequately to serve the nation’s growing needs can be solved if but only if the methods of charging for and administering our roads are changed to make them more similar to our other utility services.
Management
9.
For major trunk roads other approaches will assist. For example, the A12 in Essex and Suffolk is a particularly busy non-Motorway which had become notorious for its unreliability. It depended for major capital funding on the East of England Regional Development Authority and large-scale physical improvements will not now be funded. But following an Inquiry in 2008 an Alliance was created between Essex County Council, the Police and the Highways Agency. This began to demonstrate how careful attention to managing the road could significantly improve its performance. These measures included patrols to speed clearance after incidents, along with some limited changes in road layout. Sadly, following the Spending Review, £60m earmarked from the regional allocation has gone back into the fund allocated nationally by DfT; £60m earmarked from the Highways Agency goes back into their reduced funds; the initiative with patrols is being reviewed but politicians from both counties wish to keep it going in some form
[5]
.
10.
These experiences illustrate a general proposition: more systematic management of existing roads can increase their throughput, reliability and safety, but that will usually require more public expenditure.
11.
We fully recognise that the economic situation must constrain public spending but the importance of reducing congestion warrants special attention. Where projects such as widening cannot be supported at present there is scope for more limited improvements. For motorways the previous programme of Managed Motorways should be reinstated and further extended.
12.
Addressing congestion requires assessment of the causes-traffic flow levels, incidents, disruption from works or weather-their relative importance and hence appropriate solutions, having regard to availability of resources. Heavier congestion from traffic flows tends to lead to more incidents and hence more severe and extensive congestion, possibly spreading more widely if traffic is diverted to unsuitable roads. We recognise that proper procedures must be followed at incident sites but attention should be given to ensuring that roads are reopened as quickly as possible. A study for the RACF Foundation confirmed that there is much that can be and should be done
[6]
. Its recommendations were that
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Police authorities should maintain 24-hour cover by specialist accident investigation teams.
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Accidents should be investigated by the nearest team even if it is from a neighbouring force.
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Thought should be given to removing the investigation role from individual constabularies and creating a national unit.
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The role of investigating an accident site and also managing it, is too much for one team and the responsibilities should be split.
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Recovery vehicles should be called in as soon as possible so they are on site when needed.
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The Highways Agency should establish a geographical database of the motorway network linked to roadside markers to be used in conjunction with laser scanning so debris can be referenced and removed more quickly.
13.
It is not infrequent for major roads to be closed for many hours whilst the police collect evidence. To address this and in order to protect officers from the accusation that they had not done everything possible to collect evidence irrespective of disruption, it may be helpful if a protocol be agreed between the Home Office and DfT. For example: absolute priority to getting injured off site; officers not involved in these operations to commence investigation immediately; once injured away up to, say, four hours allowed for normal investigation; if this is proving insufficient due to special factors authorisation for an extension to be obtained from a senior police officer; any extensions to be reported to next meeting of the Police Authority with the reason.
14.
Congestion figures prominently in the objectives of the organisations responsible for management. A key goal of the Highways Agency is delivering reliable journeys. Local traffic authorities have a Network Management Duty to manage the road network to keep traffic flowing efficiently, overseen by a Traffic Manager. DfT support this by helping to promote and share best practice. Local Transport Plans are required to address congestion in their goal of supporting economic growth. A substantial proportion of delays associated with congestion are in urban areas, and, for major urban areas, the Urban Congestion Programme and the associated Fund provide a structure and incentive for reducing congestion.
15.
The capacity of the authorities to deliver on these objectives is crucially dependent on funding being secured and directed to the appropriate activity. Funding arrangements have changed following the Spending Review with a much simplified grant structure. Further, the Government has indicated its longer term intention to change arrangements with "decisions on local transport priorities ….to be taken out of Whitehall and placed in the hands of local people". (Philip Hammond statement 28 October 2010). There will be a need to provide for the involvement of local enterprise partnerships as they become established.
16.
It is important that these changes do not lose sight of the continuity of the road network. Motorways and the trunk roads are managed from a national perspective by the Highways Agency. Other A roads and many B roads for which local authorities are responsible carry substantial amounts of traffic whose journeys are not within the boundaries of a single authority, in many cases passing through a number. On minor roads and in urban areas through traffic is generally less but can still be considerable. Maintaining a consistently effective road network requires some oversight of individual authorities’ performance and strategies for improvement. This needs to be undertaken at central government level.
17.
We have noted with interest the report from DfT, Evaluation of the Urban Congestion Programme
[7]
. We strongly support the aim of seeking to establish how strategies are developed and the effectiveness of the various measures used as a basis for future guidance. We note that a key driver identified was the potential availability of funding for congestion relief, both from the Programme Fund and the Transport Innovation Fund. We would argue that funding arrangements should include incentivising components where appropriate.
18.
The report identifies some useful conclusions but also a number of difficulties. Further studies of this kind should be pursued to improve understanding of the effectiveness of measures in the particular situations encountered. An important question in this context is what factors can be most usefully measured in assessing the level of congestion and how to tackle it. We have looked into this in two studies, one taking a preliminary look at what analyses might be considered for the main road network and one looking at available information for the North West Region as a basis for trying to establish how this might be improved. The main conclusions are set out in the Annex, below.
Specific points
19.
The Committee asked for views on some specific points.
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On intelligent traffic management schemes (such as the Managed Motorways, like the M42) we note that experience to date shows satisfactory operation with improved journey time reliability, reduction in numbers of incidents and lower emissions. Drivers generally are supportive. The approach is both less costly than physical widening and, because land acquisition is not necessary, faster. We support the extension of its use as quickly as possible.
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On managing roadworks we are concerned that existing arrangements are not fully effective in minimising the period of occupation and hence the associated congestion. The DfT is preparing for changes in the legislation to increase maximum penalty charges for overrunning agreed periods of occupation and to provide for a new approach with the introduction of lane rental schemes. We believe that both offer the prospect of reduced congestion. They will more-accurately align the incentives on those responsible for roadworks with the public interest.
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The provision of bus lanes to offer freer movement of buses when traffic is heavy inevitably impacts on other road users, reducing available capacity. We recognise that more reliable bus journey times can lead to modal transfer and hence some reduction in car use but would argue that making the most effective use of the capacity available requires careful assessment of the implications of features such as bus lanes on all road users and planning installation and arrangements for use, such as timing, to maximise benefit.
Summary
20.
In summary, we argue that
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tackling road congestion must be addressed as a high priority within transport policy
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for the longer term substantial new physical capacity will be needed and a strategy should be developed for implementation in anticipation of the recovery of the economy
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in the short term public funding will be constrained and should be directed to lower cost measures: these can be effective
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commitment and delivery will need funding and appropriate arrangements for providing this
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current funding arrangements and those proposed for the longer term must recognise the continuity of the road network beyond local authority boundaries and include provision for central oversight
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where practicable funding should be linked to performance, as with the Urban Congestion Performance Fund
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a comprehensive review programme should be mounted to investigate the effectiveness of strategies and measures in use
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an important element of these reviews should be establishing what statistics provide the most useful and informative measures of the incidence and severity of congestion
21.
On specific measures
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the positive experience of Managed Motorways warrants wider application
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the proposed new arrangements to control occupation for road works should be pursued
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proposals for bus lanes and similar interventions should be evaluated in terms of their impact on all road users
22.
We would add a particular concern that a priority for attention should be developing new procedures for dealing with incidents which will allow roads to be reopened more quickly.
ANNEX
David Bayliss has produced two reports for the RAC Foundation which bear on the Committee’s interest.
The first of these, Monitoring the Performance of the Main Road Network, reviews information currently available on the performance of the main road network in England and considers what indicators might be developed to give a more meaningful picture of conditions and how these are changing. The report makes recommendations for measures to be investigated with a view to establishing which are successful in showing variation by time and location in a way that is meaningful and useful to the public. The results should help to identify appropriate components for an effective monitoring regime.
The initial list of measures proposed for investigation is
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variations in travel times by time of day and day of the week by type of road and region;
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variability of travel times on key routes at peak periods (morning, evening, Friday p.m., etc.);
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average delays by region;
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average delays and variability (peak and off peak) on (say twenty) key routes;
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regional differences in average delays, lost time and journey time variability and
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occurrence of large delays (e.g. speeds less than 50% of free flow speeds for over an hour)
The second report, Measures of Traffic Conditions in North West England, deals with a similar exercise focussed on the North West and covering all elements of the road network. It notes that, although data on traffic speeds and congestion for the region have been published for parts of the area for some time, variations in coverage over that period have made it difficult to draw useful conclusions. It argues the need for greater standardisation and continuity, and for more extensive survey networks to give an appropriate level of resolution. It argues also that, for effective coverage of the region’s road network as a whole, the balance of monitoring needs to shift to include more coverage of the non-trunk roads and urban areas. These reports have not been formally published, as they are working documents for a separate piece of forthcoming RAC Foundation research. They are however available to the committee on request.
January 2011
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