Transport Policy: A Consultation Document - Volume 1

"In past ages, the subject of transport by land was never much debated. No doubt (or so historians tell us) the invention of the wheel, the introduction of the camel into Africa, and the importation of the horse into the Americas were events of momentous significance. But travel played only a minimal role in the lives of ordinary people. In the pre-industrial era, changes in transport technology came but once in centuries; and mobility was not, for the majority, greatly valued.

Today, transport is a matter of passionate public concern. Personal mobility is a highly valued goal; our economic prosperity depends increasingly on the movement of goods over long distances; and changes in transport technology are rapid, violent and disturbing. We - the public - spend a significant proportion of our incomes on transport, and we argue hotly about its price, its efficiency and its social and environmental effects. Yet, by common consent, we still lack a coherent national transport policy. And that is what this document is about.

It is a consultative document. Volume 1 seeks to define the objectives of transport policy, to describe the current situation, to review the available policy options and to pose questions about what changes might or should be made. Volume 2 gathers together a number of important technical studies.

The document represents the outcome of a comprehensive review of transport policy. But the review can be completed only when the Government have had the opportunity of consulting those with an interest in the transport system- those who operate transport, those who work in the transport industries and, not least, the travelling public. To all of those, therefore, my colleagues and I commend this document. We shall welcome their forthright views on the issues which it raises."

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