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FTA slams new claim that
Page 10
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fuel tax hike will cut jams
• The Freight Transport Association has reacted angrily to news that former BBC director general Lord Birt has been given the role of looking for long-term solutions to the country's transport problems.
A one-day seminar in Whitehall for Lord Birt on the country's transport system was held before Christmas. It concluded that road users in the UK are not paying as much as they should and that an increase on fuel prices would lead to a reduction in traffic volumes.
However, an FTA spokesman has blasted these conclusions: "The idea of increasing fuel prices in order to allot road space is a clapped out and duff proposition. We saw in 2000 the ramifications of a tax structure which placed preposterous burdens on the UK transport industry and any proposal to once again increase fuel taxes will be resisted with vigour."
The transport blueprint is expected to conclude that Britain's transport system is among the worst in Europe, with heavily congested roads and an absence of highspeed rail links.
However, the ETA spokesman adds: "What is new about any of these comments? They were said just a few weeks ago by the Commission for Integrated Transport. Saying that Britain's roads are the most congested in Europe is a bit like announcing that the sun rose this morning."