Entries Tagged 'transport' ↓

Currently, 3,000 people die a year on the roads in the UK. That equates to nearly 10 people a day. Interestingly, if 1 person died on the railways it would make front page news. But, 10 deaths per day, is seen as an acceptable consequence of people’s right to drive at speeds that they want. Of course, speed is not the only cause of death; but, it does make a fatal accident more likely .

Death Rates from Speeding Cars

Research from the Department for Transport indicates that:

• 1 in 40 pedestrians struck by a car at 20mph dies, compared with 1 in 5 at 30mph.
• At 40mph the survival rate falls to 10 per cent.
• A 1mph cut in average vehicle speed reduces crash frequency by about 5 per cent.

A study of 250 pilot schemes for 20mph zone saw crashes fall by 60% and child fatalities fell by 67%

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With petrol prices rising, there is a strong pressure on the government to cut taxes.

However, cutting taxes would leave government finances with an even bigger black hole. If they did cut petrol taxes they would have to increase taxes elsewhere.

• When people campaign for tax cuts, you rarely hear them say. “Cut Petrol Tax, Increase VAT”. “Cut petrol Tax, increase income tax”

Also there are many long term  benefits of higher petrol prices.

1. Less congestion
2. Greater incentives to increase fuel efficiency and find alternatives to crude oil.
3. Less Pollution.
4. Less Obesity, because people might actually walk / cycle the 500 metres to the shops.

As  a motorist, I don’t like paying £50 for a tank of petrol. But, at the same time, I don’t think the Government should cut tax on petrol. I hope they continue to increase tax on petrol. Other countries, especially America should definitely seek to increase tax on petrol.

• Should Government Cut Tax on Fuel Duty?

It is interesting to note that Ken Livingstone has introduced a higher rate of the London congestion charge for cars which have high levels of fuel consumption (band G vehicles, which emit more than 225g of carbon dioxide per km) These are said to make up 15% of cars. It is clear that the policy is aimed at targeting the ‘chelsea tractors’ and encouraging people to buy energy efficient cars.I agree with this step, as I have always found that large SUVs 4WD to be unnecessary in London. They take up more space, are more dangerous (to pedestrians and cyclists) and contribute to higher levels of pollution. Therefore, it is good step to introduce a higher tax on these cars to take into account their higher social cost.

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I haven’t been following the London election for Mayor. I’m actually quite a fan of both Ken Livingston and Boris Johnson. Boris Johnson well he’s quite funny on Have I Got News for You. Politicians tend to be so boring these days that it is good to have someone with a bit of personality.

Ken Livingstone has quite a few good qualities. The Evening Standard is always trying to rubbish his period in office, but, that makes me suspicious. In terms of Economics, I think Ken deserves a lot of credit for having the political courage to introduce the congestion charge. The congestion charge has reduced some of London’s worst traffic problems. People don’t like paying taxes, but neither do people like sitting in a traffic jam. It annoys me how many voters expect solutions to problems without any tax.

Anyway this is a bit of a rant. But, you can see some arguments in favour of congestion charges here:

• Advantages of Congestion Charges 

A local authority wishes to reduce the use of cars in its area and is considering imposing a congestion charge as a mean of deterring the use of cars, ie every time that a car enters the area it will incur a charge .

Using the concepts of elasticities of demand , examine what you think will be the effect on how people will travel in this area if such a charge is imposed.

Driving already incurs taxes, most notably, petrol tax. However, petrol tax doesn’t discriminate for where congestion is worst. Therefore, councils could place a congestion charge on driving into a certain area. This extra cost would shift the supply curve to the left. The higher price would lead to a reduction in demand for driving in that area.

Diagram of Congestion Tax 

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If exceeding the speed limit is bad and causes harmful consequences should we not seek to enforce speed limits. It is argued that exceeding the speed limit causes various problems.

Increased risk of accident.

If we break the speed limit there is a greater chance of being involved in an accident. Since, at least, 3,000 people per year die on British roads; we should take all possible steps to reduce the number of fatalities. As well as the loss of life behind every accident and fatality lies an enormous economic cost. – loss of earning, hospital treatment e.t.c. The economic cost of driving slower is quite minimal. True some journeys may take a little longer, but, generally speaking the cost is limited

Increased pollution

This applies particularly to motorway driving. When we drive at higher speeds engines become more inefficient increasing carbon emissions. Continue reading →

I wrote previously about whether driving age should be increased to 18

I mentioned 4 benefits of increasing the driving age to 18, from 17, which include:

1. Cut the number of deaths.

The highest death rate for drivers is amongst the age group 17-25. If the driving age is increased there would a be a fall in fatalities arising from motor car use. This has a significant economic benefit.

2. Cut Congestion.

Less drivers on the road will reduce congestion and therefore, reduce costs for firms

3. Reduce Obesity

Driving encourages the population to become lazy and obese. If people can’t drive they will be forced to walk, use public transport and cycle. This will help lead to a healthier population, which in turn leads to less strain on the NHS

4. Young Drivers overestimate their skill

Young drivers, especially male drivers, are likely to overestimate their ability to drive at speed and in difficult conditions. For people of school age, there is often great peer pressure to drive excessively and in a dangerous way.

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Despite rising ticket prices and lower government subsidies, demand for rail travel in the UK is increasing and beating all expectations.

Network Rail have published statistics showing that demand for rail services has increased by nearly 45 per cent between 1996-97 and 2006-0. Annual growth is increasing by about 8%. Yet, the DTI is sticking to its forecast of 3% growth per year, in an effort to avoid spending more money.

Demand for Train Travel is increasing for Various Reasons

• Congestion on UK Roads. Demand for roads is also increasing faster than supply. To avoid lengthening traffic jams, people are turning to rail transport
• Long period of economic Growth. Higher economic growth causes increased business and therefore increases the demand for transport.
• Higher House prices in City Centres. People can often not afford to live close to their place of living, therefore they prefer to commute long distances on trains.
• Environmental Awareness - Trains are seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to driving, helping to reduce global warming.
• New Services being offered by Privatised Companies.

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