DfT operates in 'crisis management'

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Select committee criticises DfT
DfT must improve public transport
Department 'disguised' poor performance on CO2

The DfT has failed to meet its targets on congestion, public transport and emissions

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A key committee of MPs has criticised the Department for Transport's performance and said it operates in a state of 'crisis management'.

The DfT has failed to meet its targets on air quality, carbon dioxide emissions, congestion and public transport, the influential Transport Select Committee said in its new report published today.

The committee said the DfT needed to be bolder in its adoption of road pricing for every road in the UK to meet targets on congestion. It said pilot projects should also be run on major motorways and trunks roads as well as the urban routes currently being targeted.

It warned the DfT that there would have to be tangible improvements to public transport ahead of the introduction of any road-pricing scheme, but said the DfT appeared to have 'given up' on 'vital bus services'.

The committee said the DfT would not give details of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and said ' This omission allows the Department to disguise its poor performance.'

It recommended that the DfT should be forced to include the figures so that its performance could be more properly measured, and said formal regulatory targets for new car emissions should replace the current system of voluntary targets.

While there has been statistical progress towards the 2010 goal of reducing deaths and serious injuries by at least 40%, reductions rely almost wholly on drops in serious injuries rather than any significant headway in cutting deaths.

The committee said death and serious injury rates were still high, however, and that certain types of accidents continued to happen with 'devastating regularity'.

The DfT will now prepare a detailed response to the committee's report.