I read with interest your piece on the five councils seeking to block Sadiq Khan’s extension of the London ultra-low emission zone to the whole capital (London mayor has no legal power to expand Ulez zone, high court told, 4 July). The mayor of London is right to be concerned about citizens’ air quality, but councils are also right to be worried about residents’ needs. However, addressing these concerns isn’t as simple as taking cars off, or keeping them on, the road.
In London, where excellent public transport options exist, Ulez is certainly an effective way to reduce transport emissions. This isn’t the case everywhere. The transport sector’s biggest task is the need to decarbonise the vehicle fleet. But as we tackle this challenge, we must remember that transport networks exist to support society, so answer to wider needs. What is the plan to decarbonise transport and improve people’s access to it outside London? The truth is, we don’t have one.
How do we make clean vehicles available to all and enable fair pricing of fuel for those who can least afford it? How do we plan transport networks to properly support rural and remote areas, and not just design urban solutions? There are headline deadlines for internal combustion engine cars and light vans to be outlawed. But the technology for cars is still in the development stage and the technology for heavier vehicles including vans, buses and trucks is a long way behind.
It’s for these reasons, and a myriad more, that there is a desperate need for an English national transport strategy. Both the Scottish and Welsh governments have published their own strategies. Yet we have nothing for England, nor indeed anything that shows how the UK government intends to develop transport systems to support the UK as a whole.
It’s encouraging that the transport select committee has launched a call for evidence to inform strategic transport objectives, citing the work of the National Infrastructure Commission and the Institution of Civil Engineers in setting out the case for a strategic transport vision at a national level. Let us hope it gathers the evidence to develop a plan that prioritises decarbonisation.
Graham Dalton
Policy fellow, Institution of Civil Engineers; former chief executive, National Highways
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