Authors of new book advise Scottish government not to repeat costly mistakes of past administrationsBy Rob Edwards, Environment Editor
The SNP government has been warned not to fall prey to the "pork-barrel" politics of previous administrations when deciding on its transport priorities.
Transport experts fear that Scottish ministers will invest in making more of the A9 dual carriageway to appease northern SNP constituencies at the expense of projects to improve travelling by train, bus and bike.
This would repeat the mistakes made by former Labour and LibDem ministers who favoured the Borders rail link and the Aberdeen bypass despite their shaky economic rationales, some experts say.
The Scottish government is due to publish a review of major transport projects by the end of the year. This will give the first insight into how SNP ministers see priorities from 2012 to 2022.
But they have been cautioned against dualling the A9 by Jon Shaw, director of the Centre for Sustainable Transport at the University of Plymouth and a former lecturer at Aberdeen University. He has co-edited a book, which comes out tomorrow, exposing the failures of UK government transport policies.
Dualling the A9 at a time of economic stringency would be an "ideological extravagance", Shaw told the Sunday Herald. "The only way it could be justified is on safety grounds as there would never be an economic case. But then even these safety justifications would be spurious as there are other - and far cheaper - ways of enhancing safety without dualling the road."
The previous Labour-LibDem government had been "timid" and ducked big decisions on road-user charging and re-regulating the buses, he argued. They had also been guilty of "pork-barrelling" by backing the Waverley rail-line through LibDem constituencies in the Borders and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route near Labour and LibDem areas.
"The new government has to guard against making the same mistakes," said Shaw. "As we look forward, the SNP needs to avoid putting large investment into roads at the expense of public transport and walking or cycling schemes."
The Scottish government should be planning to spend money improving bus provision in cities and in electrifying the rail line to Aberdeen, Shaw argued. And ministers ought to risk offending their friends in the coach industry by bringing back regulation so that Scotland could plan its bus transportation.
Along with Iain Docherty, a transport expert from Glasgow University and a non-executive director of the government agency, Transport Scotland, Shaw has edited Traffic Jam: 10 Years Of Sustainable' Transport In The UK.
The opening essay by Shaw and Docherty is critical of the "politicisation" of transport decision-making in Scotland. They also savage the UK government's lack of progress since it published its mould-breaking white paper, A New Deal For Transport, exactly 10 years ago.
Traffic congestion has got worse, investment in the railways has been "almost completely ignored" and bus services in most of the UK remain poor, they say. The government is afraid of tackling the environmental impact of aviation and has "largely neglected" walking and cycling.
Shaw and Docherty point out that the real cost of car use has declined since 1980 because reductions in the costs of purchase, maintenance, tax and insurance have outweighed the 19% increase in fuel prices. At the same time, train and bus fares have risen by 40%.
Despite this litany of failures, UK ministers and their advisers sometimes betray "conceited self-congratulation" about their transport achievements, claim Shaw and Docherty. "This is a remarkable position, utterly irreconcilable with the situation on the ground," they say. "In the final analysis it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that New Labour's ministers have just not been interested enough in promoting more sustainable transport to invest sufficient thought and take the political risk necessary to push for major change in both the amount and the manner in which we travel."
Patrick Harvie, the Green MSP who chairs the Scottish parliament's transport committee, joined in criticisms.
"Governments of all colours have tended to put misconceived ideas of local interest ahead of support for proper public transport, based on need," he said. "The second Forth Road Bridge is the best current example. It is an absolute white elephant being sold to the people of Fife on a false prospectus."
Scottish ministers are expected to make a statement on the Forth crossing before Christmas, as well as an announcement on the strategic transport projects review.
"Our key transport aims are to improve journey times and connections, reduce emissions, and improve the quality, accessibility, affordability and safety of travel across Scotland," said a Scottish government spokesman.
"Current and future policies will be made in the context of those aims and the government's central purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth."
