Traffic jams hurting Britain, says Standard & Poor’s
Discussion
FT
Now that S & P are saying it, will it make any difference? In the meantime, suffer the potholes,traffic jams in silence.
"The UK would benefit more from a boost to infrastructure investment than any other developed economy, according to Standard & Poor’s.
The rating agency said this was partly because road congestion was a fact of life in the UK, hurting the economy and the environment, and diminishing Britons’ quality of life.
“The average UK driver spends approximately 30 hours a year in traffic jams, and that figure rises to 84 hours in the London commuting area,” said S&P.
To address this, the report said, Prime Minister David Cameron had announced that the government would earmark £15bn in the next 10 years to improve the country’s major roads.
“At the same time, we expect spending to increase in the next decade, which will create significant opportunities for private capital investment in the sector,” said S&P.
The agency said INRIX, a road traffic and driver-services company, had found the UK was the third most congested country among large developed economies in Europe and North America.
“Inefficient investment in infrastructure has been one of the key factors explaining weak productivity performance in the UK,” said the report.
Citing the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness report, which ranked the quality of the country’s overall infrastructure 27th in the world, it said output per hour in the UK was below the average for the rest of the G7 industrialised economies.
Last year, one hour of work in the US produced 40 per cent more than one hour of work in Britain.
Estimating that the UK had an accumulated infrastructure investment deficit of more than £60bn, S&P said a clear opportunity existed. It claimed an investment of 1 per cent of gross domestic product, co-ordinated across the EU, would create more than 300,000 jobs in the UK in the same year as the increase occurred.
S&P said the UK could benefit more than any other developed country from the multiplier effect — the extent to which an increase in spending can lead to higher income and growth.
“The main reason is the additional boost to UK gross domestic product due to increased demand from its European trade partners.”
But the agency also said an increase in infrastructure investment would have a less beneficial effect if it was not matched elsewhere.
“All told, a concerted plan encompassing the EU as a whole would, in our view, have a much more meaningful effect on growth and employment than would isolated, country-specific increases.”
The report said there was no shortage of international examples where a large infrastructure project had brought significant benefits. It said the Channel tunnel, which opened in 1994, now carried an estimated 20m passengers — and almost as many tons of freight — each year between the UK and France."
Now that S & P are saying it, will it make any difference? In the meantime, suffer the potholes,traffic jams in silence.
"The UK would benefit more from a boost to infrastructure investment than any other developed economy, according to Standard & Poor’s.
The rating agency said this was partly because road congestion was a fact of life in the UK, hurting the economy and the environment, and diminishing Britons’ quality of life.
“The average UK driver spends approximately 30 hours a year in traffic jams, and that figure rises to 84 hours in the London commuting area,” said S&P.
To address this, the report said, Prime Minister David Cameron had announced that the government would earmark £15bn in the next 10 years to improve the country’s major roads.
“At the same time, we expect spending to increase in the next decade, which will create significant opportunities for private capital investment in the sector,” said S&P.
The agency said INRIX, a road traffic and driver-services company, had found the UK was the third most congested country among large developed economies in Europe and North America.
“Inefficient investment in infrastructure has been one of the key factors explaining weak productivity performance in the UK,” said the report.
Citing the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness report, which ranked the quality of the country’s overall infrastructure 27th in the world, it said output per hour in the UK was below the average for the rest of the G7 industrialised economies.
Last year, one hour of work in the US produced 40 per cent more than one hour of work in Britain.
Estimating that the UK had an accumulated infrastructure investment deficit of more than £60bn, S&P said a clear opportunity existed. It claimed an investment of 1 per cent of gross domestic product, co-ordinated across the EU, would create more than 300,000 jobs in the UK in the same year as the increase occurred.
S&P said the UK could benefit more than any other developed country from the multiplier effect — the extent to which an increase in spending can lead to higher income and growth.
“The main reason is the additional boost to UK gross domestic product due to increased demand from its European trade partners.”
But the agency also said an increase in infrastructure investment would have a less beneficial effect if it was not matched elsewhere.
“All told, a concerted plan encompassing the EU as a whole would, in our view, have a much more meaningful effect on growth and employment than would isolated, country-specific increases.”
The report said there was no shortage of international examples where a large infrastructure project had brought significant benefits. It said the Channel tunnel, which opened in 1994, now carried an estimated 20m passengers — and almost as many tons of freight — each year between the UK and France."
I'm sure it will make no difference at all!
Sadly S & P reports are not widely read by Joe Public and the Mail/Express brigade think we all go too fast anyway!
I have the misfortune to live in Sandhurst and start work in Bracknell at 9 a.m.
My 7 mile commute took the usual 45 minutes this morning - thankfully I only do 3 days a week and one of those is a Saturday when it only takes 15 minutes.
Using the train means a 1 mile walk to my nearest station, then go via Reading and walk a mile and a half at the other end - the bus just does a more circuitous version of my route.
Now the local council are spending a few million quid putting traffic lights on all the roundabouts.
It's like they don't want you to go there, yet when they try to promote the area they claim it's an area with wonderful transport links - right, maybe off peak but most businesses are shut then!
It's not like this is Central London!
The latest great idea is to give planning consent for loads more houses.
How do these people actually get their jobs? Certainly not based upon any measure of rational analytical abilities.
I guess it's time to move or retire.
Sadly S & P reports are not widely read by Joe Public and the Mail/Express brigade think we all go too fast anyway!
I have the misfortune to live in Sandhurst and start work in Bracknell at 9 a.m.
My 7 mile commute took the usual 45 minutes this morning - thankfully I only do 3 days a week and one of those is a Saturday when it only takes 15 minutes.
Using the train means a 1 mile walk to my nearest station, then go via Reading and walk a mile and a half at the other end - the bus just does a more circuitous version of my route.
Now the local council are spending a few million quid putting traffic lights on all the roundabouts.
It's like they don't want you to go there, yet when they try to promote the area they claim it's an area with wonderful transport links - right, maybe off peak but most businesses are shut then!
It's not like this is Central London!
The latest great idea is to give planning consent for loads more houses.
How do these people actually get their jobs? Certainly not based upon any measure of rational analytical abilities.
I guess it's time to move or retire.
k that, I'm doing 60 hours a month!
Mr Gear said:
The infrastructure is fine. It's people driving kids to school and commuting ridiculous distances or even commuting short distances and STILL using the car that is the problem.
An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
Very much so! I recently had to make daily trips to hospital in Sheffield for eight weeks. One of them was half term week and my driving time for the 12 mile trip that week was reduced by up to 20 minutes - over 12 miles!!An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
Mr Gear said:
The infrastructure is fine.
An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
False. The UK has one of the worst motorway networks in Europe.An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
Much more detail on
http://www.abd.org.uk/green_and_pleasant_land.htm
Mr Tidy said:
I have the misfortune to live in Sandhurst and start work in Bracknell at 9 a.m.
My 7 mile commute took the usual 45 minutes this morning
Get a bloody bike! Even a bicycle would have that done in 30 mins. I did my 25 miles down to SW5 in 45 mins this morning, in the pissing rain. And I enjoyed it.My 7 mile commute took the usual 45 minutes this morning
Mr Gear said:
The infrastructure is fine. It's people driving kids to school and commuting ridiculous distances or even commuting short distances and STILL using the car that is the problem.
An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
This.An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
How many car journeys are less than 2 miles and could fairly easily be walked or cycled?
Car dependency has increased massively over the last 30 years or so that I have been paying attention to the issue...
dcb said:
Mr Gear said:
The infrastructure is fine.
An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
False. The UK has one of the worst motorway networks in Europe.An attitude change is required, not more motorways.
Much more detail on
http://www.abd.org.uk/green_and_pleasant_land.htm
Out of interest why do works take so much longer and require so much road to be shut off in the UK compared to any other western country?
The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
0a said:
Out of interest why do works take so much longer and require so much road to be shut off in the UK compared to any other western country?
The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
I too have wondered this. In France they seem to be able to repair roads, or change central barriers, by just closing a few hundred metres at a time rather than the 10 miles or more that it will take them a weeks to complete as is done in the UK. The French also seem to work longer hours at road works to reduce the length of time the disruption lasts.The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
Glosphil said:
0a said:
Out of interest why do works take so much longer and require so much road to be shut off in the UK compared to any other western country?
The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
I too have wondered this. In France they seem to be able to repair roads, or change central barriers, by just closing a few hundred metres at a time rather than the 10 miles or more that it will take them a weeks to complete as is done in the UK. The French also seem to work longer hours at road works to reduce the length of time the disruption lasts.The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
chevy-stu said:
Glosphil said:
0a said:
Out of interest why do works take so much longer and require so much road to be shut off in the UK compared to any other western country?
The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
I too have wondered this. In France they seem to be able to repair roads, or change central barriers, by just closing a few hundred metres at a time rather than the 10 miles or more that it will take them a weeks to complete as is done in the UK. The French also seem to work longer hours at road works to reduce the length of time the disruption lasts.The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
Glosphil said:
I too have wondered this. In France they seem to be able to repair roads, or change central barriers, by just closing a few hundred metres at a time rather than the 10 miles or more that it will take them a weeks to complete as is done in the UK. The French also seem to work longer hours at road works to reduce the length of time the disruption lasts.
In Italy they seem to be able to repair roads, or change central barriers, by just leaving the road open and having a man with a flag (and a fag!)LouD86 said:
chevy-stu said:
Glosphil said:
0a said:
Out of interest why do works take so much longer and require so much road to be shut off in the UK compared to any other western country?
The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
I too have wondered this. In France they seem to be able to repair roads, or change central barriers, by just closing a few hundred metres at a time rather than the 10 miles or more that it will take them a weeks to complete as is done in the UK. The French also seem to work longer hours at road works to reduce the length of time the disruption lasts.The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
LouD86 said:
chevy-stu said:
Glosphil said:
0a said:
Out of interest why do works take so much longer and require so much road to be shut off in the UK compared to any other western country?
The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
I too have wondered this. In France they seem to be able to repair roads, or change central barriers, by just closing a few hundred metres at a time rather than the 10 miles or more that it will take them a weeks to complete as is done in the UK. The French also seem to work longer hours at road works to reduce the length of time the disruption lasts.The section of M1 I now avoid driving has 20+ miles of roads works, after 3pm on a Friday I have not seen anyone
working on any of it.
Why can we not (not) work on a mile, instead of closing 20?
Or pay the workers better in exchange for NSL?
Lots down to piss poor LA co-ordination and piss poor letting of contracts and sub-letting of contracts and sub-sub lettings of contracts....etc.,etc.
We could do it better IF the way our construction industry worked was to fundamentally change. Not going to happen though.
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