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For car drivers on their way to work, for lorry drivers delivering goods from the warehouse to the shop, or for families going on holiday, the road network is a single continuous entity. But when it comes to the operation of the network, this is not the case: responsibility for managing different parts of the network in England is currently split between the Secretary of State, through the Highways Agency, and local highway and traffic authorities. This complicates road and traffic management: but ensuring that the road network runs smoothly is vital to the prosperity of the nation and congestion on the road network should be seen within the wider context of a general transport policy.
Our previous inquiry Transport and the Economy cited evidence that showed that the rising cost of congestion would cost the UK economy an extra £22 billion per annum by 2025. One option for reducing road congestion—road pricing—has been ruled out by the Government. Extensive investment on new roads is also unlikely given the current economic climate. In our inquiry we looked at other ways in which road congestion could be reduced by focusing on improvements to road and traffic management.
There is also no single cause of road congestion. Problems may occur on any road, in any part of the country, at any time of the day or night, depending on traffic conditions, the design of the road or junction, planned or emergency road and street works, accidents or incidents. Congestion can be very localised, or can involve the strategic road network. Our inquiry highlighted the diverse nature of factors contributing to congestion and showed that solutions for tackling congestion involve using a varied range of techniques and policies in the most appropriate contexts, and in a co-ordinated and coherent way, in order to get the most out of our road network. They include, among other things:
- maximising road capacity, making better use of information and communication technology;
- minimising disruptions on the road;
- better links between agencies and authorities with responsibility for various sections of the road network;
- the sharing of road management best practice;
- providing more reliable information for travellers;
- and improved driver behaviour, based on better understanding of and adherence to the Highway Code.
We have suggested numerous ways in which the Government can get the most out of the existing road network. The Government has taken steps in this direction in relation to the major roads managed by the Highways Agency, but more should be done to help ensure that local authorities co-ordinate their road and traffic management activities with other highways authorities, and have access to existing technology and make use of current best practice. The Government's commitment to localism needs to be seen in the wider strategic context so that traffic management can be effective across the country.
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