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CHAIRMAN:
SIR JOHN HOUGHTON CBE FRS
TWENTIETH REPORT
TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
—~DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1994
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ROYAL COMMISSION
ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION
CHAIRMAN:
SIR JOHN HOUGHTON CBE FRS
TWENTIETH REPORT
TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
—DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1994
Presented to Parliament by Command of Her Majesty
September 1997
EY
em 3752 £15.30 Recycled
Paper
Previous Reports by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
First Report Cmnd 4585, February 1971
2nd report Three Issues in Industrial Pollution Cmnd 4894, March 1972
3rd report Pollution in Some British Estuaries and Coastal Cmnd 5054, September 1972
Waters
4th report Pollution Control: Progress and Problems Cmnd 5780, December 1974
5th report Air Pollution Control: an Integrated Approach Cmnd 6371, January 1976
6th report Nuclear Power and the Environment Cmnd 6618, September 1976
7th report Agriculture and Pollution Cmnd 7644, September 1979
8th report Oil Pollution of the Sea Cmnd 8358, October 1981
9th report Lead in the Environment Cmnd 8852, April 1983
10th report Tackling Pollution — Experience and Prospects Cmnd 9149, February 1984
11th report Managing Waste: The Duty of Care Cmnd 9675, December 1985
12th report Best Practicable Environmental Option Cm 310, February 1988
13th report The Release of Genetically Engineered Organisms Cm 720, July 1989
to the Environment
14th report GENHAZ Cm 1557, June 1991
A system for the critical appraisal of proposals to
release genetically modified organisms into the
environment
15th report Emissions from Heavy Duty Diesel Vehicles Cm 1631, September 1991
16th report Freshwater Quality Cm 1966, June 1992
17th report Incineration of Waste Cm 2181, May 1993
18th report Transport and the Environment Cm 2674, October 1994
19th report Sustainable Use of Soil Cm 3165, February 1996
ROYAL COMMISSION
ON
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
TWENTIETH REPORT
To the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty
MAy IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY
We, the undersigned Commissioners, having been appointed “‘to advise on
matters, both national and international, concerning the pollution of the
environment; on the adequacy of research in this field; and the future possibilities
of danger to the environment’’;
And to enquire into any such matters referred to us by one of Your Majesty’s
Secretaries of State or by one of Your Majesty’s Ministers, or any other such
matters on which we ourselves shall deem it expedient to advise:
HUMBLY SUBMIT TO YOUR MAJESTY THE FOLLOWING REPORT.
It wasn’t always like this?
Perhaps it wasn’t, but it is.
Put the car away; when life fails,
What’s the good of going to Wales?
W.H. Auden
It’s No Use Raising A Shout
(included in As I Walked Out One Evening,
published by Faber and Faber Limited)
CONTENTS
Paragraph Page
Introduction
Chapter 1
FACING THE CHALLENGE
The Eighteenth Report and what followed 1.6
The forthcoming White Paper i
Assessing sustainability 1.20
Transport growth and the economy 129,
Underpricing of road transport 1.38
Estimates of environmental and social costs 1.49
Case for greater internalisation of environmental and social costs 155
The purpose of this review 1.57
Structure of this report 1.63
Reducing environmental damage through technology
Chapter 2
CLEANER AND MORE EFFICIENT ROAD VEHICLES 17
Improving air quality 2.4 Li
Health effects of transport-related pollutants 2.6 19
Damage to the natural and built environment 2.14 20
Objectives for air quality 215 20
EC legislation on vehicle emissions oD 23
EC legislation on motor fuels Depa) 24
Reducing fuel consumption 2.34 aD
Targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions 2.36 26
Measures for reducing fuel consumption 2.40 oi
Interactions between air quality and fuel consumption 2.47 28
Vehicle use 2.48 28
Vehicle maintenance 2.49 28
Vehicle replacement Zoe, 29
Choice of fuel 29 30
Future technology for road vehicles Daage s 33
Fuel cells 210 34
Electric batteries Dad 34
Hybrid vehicles 2.78 34
Adequacy of planned measures to reduce fuel consumption 2.81 35
Adequacy of planned measures to improve air quality 2.89 3]
Conclusions Paes | 42
Chapter 3
COUNTERING NOISE 43
Recent trends 3 43
Policy objectives +2 43
Measures available to achieve targets a5
Adequacy of existing measures and need for additional measures Epo 47
Reducing environmental damage by changing transport patterns
Chapter 4
GETTING ABOUT IN OTHER WAYS 55
Car dependence 4.5 56
Targeting regular journeys 4.10 ay
Journeys to and from work 4.11 57
Journeys to and from school 4.14 59
Shopping 4.18 59
Travel for recreation and leisure 4.21 61
Cycling - 4.23 61
Walking 4.31 62
Bus 4.35 63
Other urban transport systems 4.53 66
Rail 4.59 67
Quality of the public transport system 4.72 70
Chapter 5
REDUCING THE IMPACT OF FREIGHT MOVEMENT 75
Reducing freight transport intensity 5.4 a
Transferring freight movements from road to rail oui 76
Heavier lorries and break loads mye 19
Conclusions a23 79
Chapter 6
MAKING BEST USE OF ROADS 81
Company cars 6.7 82
The trunk road network 6.9 83
Motorway tolling 6.16 84
A vignette system for heavy goods vehicles 6.21 85
The urban road network 6.25 85
Urban road pricing 6.30 86
Control of parking ff 6.38 88
Controlling the growth of road traffic 6.41 88
vi
Chapter 7
PLANNING FOR AN INTEGRATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM 89
Key land use issues 89
Broad trends Je3 89
Rural areas Teal 90
Planning for growth in population and households 7.10 90
Promoting urban regeneration af ale 91
The present planning framework 7.16 92
Land use planning ale 92
Transport planning 7.19 92
Integration of transport and land use 16825) 94
Air quality management 7.28 95
The need for new machinery 97
Local level 7.31 oi
Separate transport authorities Tad 98
Regional planning 7.40 99
London 7.44 99
A Scottish Parliament 7.47 100
A Welsh Assembly 7.48 100
Northern Ireland 7.49 101
Financing an integrated transport system 7.50 101
Main conclusions
Chapter 8
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 105
Reversing previous trends 8.1 105
An integrated transport system 8.6 106
Improving technology 8.15 107
Setting the right incentives 8.23 108
Effective institutions 8.29 110
Boosting investment in alternative modes 8.40 111
A cumulative process 8.45 Ie
REFERENCES 15
APPENDICES 135
A: Targets for policy proposed in the Commission’s Eighteenth Report 135
B: Announcement of the Commission’s review 137
C: Conduct of the review 139
D: The European Auto/Oil Programme 143
E: Air Quality: achievement of national objectives 147
F: Joint letter to European institutions from the Royal Commission and the
Council! of Environmental Advisors (Germany) 149
G: Members of the Royal Commission 151
Vil
Page
INFORMATION BOXES
1A Objectives for transport policy proposed in the Commission’s Eighteenth Report
1B Environmental impact of personal travel
2A EC Framework Directive on Ambient Air Quality Assessment and Management aI
2B Effects of switch to diesel for cars and light goods vehicles 31
2C _Transport’s contribution to meeting government target for carbon dioxide 37
2D Recent trends in emissions and air quality 39
3A Units of noise exposure 43
3B ___—‘T raffic noise and road surfacing 45
3C.~— Noise mitigation in the Blackwater Valley 46
3D __—s—P lanning Policy Guidance Note on Noise (PPG 24) 49
3E __UK response to the European Commission’s Green Paper on Future Noise Policy 50
4A Walking safely to school: summary of good practice 60
TABLES
1.1 Road transport: quantified environmental and social costs 10
2.1 National Air Quality Strategy: standards, objectives, reported exceedances in 1995 18
4.1 How people get about she)
4.2 Why and how people travel 58
4.3 Interchange within and between transport modes i2
7.1. Present planning procedures o2
FIGURES
1-I Road traffic growth with low and high forecasts
2-1 EC emission limits for cars: existing, proposed and indicative 23
2-II Sulphur content of motor fuels 20
2-III Carbon dioxide emissions from transport to 2020 showing effect of original fuel duty 38
strategy
2-IV Projected emissions of nitrogen oxides from road transport in urban areas 41
2-V_ Projected emissions of PM. from road transport in urban areas 4]
4-[ Structure of privatised rail industry: key features 68
7-1 Local authority areas in England and Wales 96
E-I Projected emissions of benzene, 1,3-butadiene, carbon monoxide and lead 147
Vill
