Small is Beautiful

Economist E F Schumacher may have coined it first at the time of the 1973 oil crisis but the Eddington report paraphrased it: small is beautiful when it comes to solving transport issues. And, yesterday, the government set out its long-awaited response to Eddington in its “Towards a Sustainable Transport System” (if transport can ever by truly sustainable). We’d already been given a glimpse, of course, so far as local bus services are concerned, in the Local Transport Bill.

As average diesel forecourt pump prices cross the symbolic £4.54 mark (£1 per litre) – and look set to rise further with hikes in world crude – The Times yesterday reported that the pilot individual “small is beautiful” travel advisor schemes in Darlington, Worcester & Peterborough reduced car travel by between 11-13 per cent and increased the use of public transport by between 13 per cent (Peterborough) and 22 per cent (Worcester). At £20-£38 per household, this is small beer indeed, compared with building our way out of congestion.

The new government report backs up this approach. “Decisions about small, everyday journeys can make a big difference”, especially when a quarter of all car journeys are less than two miles and a half are less than five. In a sense, though, if the report adds little new to the debate, it certainly summarises current thinking.

As we said on Monday, out goes a national congestion charging scheme, following the 1.8mil signatures on an e-petition against it. But, “small is beautiful” local schemes in up to eight new cities could be given fresh impetus, though the measures announced my take as long as five years. These are in addition to Manchester’s & Cambridge’s TIF schemes. The transport secretary Ruth Kelly stated, “Urban congestion charging backed by investment in public transport is our priority”.

While the abandonment of a national charging scheme may be bad news for the bus industry, the clutch of smaller, local schemes gives some fresh hope.

What isn’t totally clear yet is whether these local schemes will be linked somehow to the re-regulation of bus services. There’s a presumption that they will be. And if re-regulation, in what form; will there be scope, for example, for partnerships? Towards a Sustainable Transport System mentions powers in the Local Transport Bill for authorities to improve bus services and to “facilitate the introduction of local road pricing schemes alongside public transport in consultation with local people.” It seems likely that package measures combining improvements to public transport and road pricing may still be favoured.

But, here the hope begins to fade. Who when consulted is likely to vote for a local road pricing scheme?