NEWS RELEASE - Sunday 29th October 2000

Reshuffle: Executive must deliver on public transport promises

Commenting on the Scottish Executive reshuffle, TRANSform Scotland, an alliance of 68 transport and environment organisations (1), called on the Scottish Executive to fulfil its promises on delivering improved public transport - and called for the Executive to resist populist and misguided demands for more road-building.

TRANSform Scotland Campaign Manager Colin Howden said:

"Transport Minister Sarah Boyack will now have more time to deliver on Labour's manifesto promises of high-quality, accessible and affordable public transport. (2) Despite Labour's continual rhetoric about improving public transport, the Executive has so far come up with precious little extra funding for public transport schemes. It is difficult to single out any on-the-ground improvements over the past three years that have not been either privately-funded or planned under the previous Tory administration."

"Despite clear promises in both Labour and the LibDem's manifestos and in the Partnership Agreement, the Scottish Executive has so far completely failed to deliver the level of investment needed to transform public transport. The Executive has also failed to deliver substantial investment in walking and cycling, healthy and sustainable alternatives to short trips too often made by car. Instead, Sarah Boyack seems to have spent most of her time announcing destructive new road-building schemes." (3)

Regarding the split in the Transport and Environment portfolio, Colin Howden said: "With transport having such a severe impact on the environment, we believe that the Executive's fragmentation of the Transport and Environment brief is misled. We will be keeping a close eye to ensure that the Executive's commitments towards environmentally-responsible transport is not further diluted."

Regarding media reports that the Executive could make a U-turn on Transport Bill proposals for enabling powers for local authorities to introduce workplace parking charges, where appropriate, Colin Howden said:

"The Executive must not collapse on the Transport Bill proposals for workplace parking charges. The Executive must make the case why road charging and workplace parking levies are necessary to combat congestion and cut dangerous levels of pollution. The opponents of road charging appear to have nothing to offer in terms of reducing congestion, air pollution, climate change or the funding of transport - just empty rhetoric."

The proposals have been under attack by business interests perversely happy to maintain the unsatisfactory status quo of congested roads. TRANSform Scotland believes that the Executive must make the case to business that essential business users are the ones who will gain from a workplace parking levy.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

(1) TRANSform Scotland is the national sustainable transport campaign, bringing together 68 organisations - including transport operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, chambers of commerce and local transport groups - interested in transport, the environment and a sustainable Scotland. We can be contacted at 72 Newhaven Road, Edinburgh, EH6 5QG. Tel.: 0131-467-7714; Fax: 0131-554-8656; e-mail: campaigns@transformscotland.org.uk; web: http://www.transformscotland.org.uk

(2) Labour election manifesto, 1999, said that its biggest challenge in transport is "to create a high quality, accessible and affordable public transport system."

(3) The last year has seen the Executive find £140M for 5 new trunk road projects (in the November 1999 trunk roads review), three above-inflation increases in the trunk roads budget (see Scottish Executive press releases SE0817/1999, 06/10/99; SE0937/2000, 31/03/00 & SE2577/2000, 28/09/00) and promises to fund an M74 extension that could cost over £300M (see SE2577/2000, 28/09/00).

Against this background, only in the region of £42M has been found for new public transport, walking or cycling projects (£26M from the Public Transport Fund and £15.9M from the March 2000 UK Budget settlement).