How do we improve transport in the UK?

Question

What's your experience of transport in the UK today?

The Department for Transport is only meeting two out of seven targets, according to the House of Commons Transport Committee.

Missed targets include those for congestion, air quality, and introducing concessionary bus fares, but road safety and rail punctuality aims had been met.

What are your biggest concerns about transport in the UK? What are your suggestions for improving the system?

Answer 1

Am I the only sane one in the country? Crush all illegal cars. Crush cars of drivers who feel insurance is not necessary. Crush cars of people too stupid to wear a seatbelt (therefore too stupid to be allowed to drive). How much congestion have I just cleared? Makes the roads safer as well. Will create demand for public transport, create jobs and reduce the tax burden on the country.

Answer 2

The problem seem to be that a lot foreign and continental transport have been allowed on the same roads as public and private transport and therefor clogging the system. What could be done is to restrict the amount of imports and exports and ease the congestion. Or with the money the government has is to build wider roads for commercial use only.

Answer 3

We need targeted improvements in infrastructure.

These should include road improvements around congestion hot spots, especially an inner London ring road and major rail improvements on the lines of high speed networks in other European countries. The latter would make rail travel more competitive with high CO2 emission domestic flights.

Simply taxing people for the inconvenience of congestion and road charging is a negative approach which will only increase living costs and do nothing to improve the competitive economy of this country.

Answer 4

Whilst I think it is the case that public transport in Britain is nowhere near as bad as motorists and the press would have you believe, it is true to say that it is fragmented, poorly advertised and co-ordinated and very expensive.
You must realise that government (for which read the treasury and civil servants) are actively anti-public transport and pro-car, and always have been. This is because they get lots of tax revenue from cars, whilst public transport tends to require subsidy. For this reason they quite deliberately scupper as many rail and tramway improvements as they can. Buses are all owned by private companies - who are only in it for profit.
Abroad they tend to do things differently and just accept that an adequate, co-ordinated and user-friendly system of affordable public transport is vital for the efficient running of the country.
Perhaps when all major roads have become gridlocked we might see something happening. Meanwhile don't hold your breath.

Answer 5

well to ease congestion i think brand new cars should have a 5 year life then dismantled and recycled there should not be cars on the road older than 5 years. its an idea of my own what u think

Answer 6

improve the state of the public transport and then we'll talk about building more roads

Answer 7

Build more roads and bring down the price of fuel

Answer 8

Buy only German made vehicles