02 June 2006
Local government should seize the opportunity offered by the Lyons Inquiry and push for a model of local transport funding akin to that developed by Transport for London, the Local Government Association is proposing.
A discussion paper, published on May 30, argues that 'there is no reason why other cities could not benefit from a similar political solution' to that in London, with the establishment in 2000 of the Greater London Authority.
Transport for London was able to invest in the expansion of London's underground, tram and bridge infrastructure through the use of bond finance, secured against a mixture of public subsidies and fare revenues.
Improving local transport calls for similar transport authorities to be set up elsewhere and for them to have additional revenue streams such as local income tax, which could be combined with income from parking levies to help finance loans in a similar manner.
'This would help move difficult investment decisions away from central government to those accountable for their delivery at the local level.'
The paper was written for the LGA by Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics and Professor Stephen Glaister of Imperial College London. They argue: 'There need be no massive reorganisation or radical changes to other aspects of local authority activities.
'Instead, a model could be evolved that achieves the objectives of individual councils… without causing the Treasury alarm.'
LGA chair Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said encouraging people to use public transport was one of the main ways to tackle pollution. 'The only place in the country where this has been a success is in the capital, and it is time we looked at the lessons that can be learned and implemented.'
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