Policy Hub
On 18 February 2009, the CBI published a report (Time to change gear? Assessing the UK transport networks) which argues that the UK's unreliable and congested transport network is undermining the long-term competitiveness of business.
The report assesses the current state of the UK transport network and draws on a range of published evidence in order to rate different modes of transport according to their reliability and capacity.
The road network comes off worst, rated ‘poor’ and judged to be worsening both in terms of reliability and capacity. More improvement has been made on the railways, with train travel rated ‘satisfactory’ for its reliability, judged as improving and ‘satisfactory’ for capacity. Capacity at UK airports is rated ‘poor’ by the report and getting worse. Their reliability is assessed as ‘satisfactory.’
The report contains a five point plan which, the CBI suggests, would make a real difference to the UK’s transport network if implemented by the government. Briefly, it advocates: