Better Transport

Campaign for Better Transport [1], responding to plans by the road haulage lobby for a demonstration on Tuesday [2], today urged the Chancellor to reject calls for a decrease in fuel duty and to use the revenue to give people real travel choices.

Roads and Climate Campaigner Richard George said:

"Calling for lower fuel duty just shows how out of touch the road haulage lobby is with the need to tackle climate change. Emissions from goods vehicles are skyrocketing – up 18% between 1997 and 2006 [3]. Hauliers should be asking the Chancellor for bigger incentives to go green and make their fleets more fuel efficient.

"The Government must reject calls for a cut in fuel duty. Road haulage already gets a huge subsidy from taxpayers, who have to fork out to cover the congestion, pollution and damage to roads caused by thousands of heavy goods vehicles [4]. And the Government revealed last week that the cost of motoring has fallen 4% since 2005 [5]. But it is essential that fuel duty revenue be spent on improving public transport, walking and cycling so that people have real travel choices."

Campaign for Better Transport has produced a factsheet correcting some of the myths surrounding fuel duty:

• Fuel duty has not been increasing in line with inflation since 2000, with the small increase in October 2007 the first in years
• Tax, as a percentage of fuel, has not been this low since 1993
• Higher fuel prices are down to high oil prices not because of fuel duty
• The real cost of motoring has fallen in the past decade, while the cost of taking public transport has increased

The factsheet is available online: http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/climate_change/roads/facts

Notes to editors

[1] Campaign for Better Transport works to secure transport policies and programmes that improve people's quality of life whilst reducing environmental impact.

[2] http://www.transaction-2007.com/

[3] The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' (SMMT) Annual CO2 2008 report shows that while emissions from cars fell by 4.8% between 1997 and 2006, emissions from HGVs rose 3.6% and from light goods vehicles by 42.9% - an overall increase of 17.8%. Cars amount for 57% of emissions from road transport, while HGVs and LGVs account for 38%. See: http://smmtlib.findlay.co.uk/articles/sharedfolder/Publications/SMMT%20Annual%20CO2%20report%202008%20revised3.pdf.

[4] A report by the Campaign for Better Transport earlier this month revealed that HGVs only cover between one-third and two-thirds of the damage they inflict on society. The research used Government parameters for calculating income (using the Government's Sensitive Lorry Miles method, and including fuel duty and vehicle excise duty) and used the cost figures from several studies into the environmental and social costs of HGVs, which include congestion, road casualties, noise, pollution and visual intrusion. The report notes, however, that some lorry impacts such as damage to underground gas and water mains are excluded from these costs. See: http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/media/press_releases/april_2008/lorries.

[5] Answering a Parliamentary Question by Norman Baker last week, Under-Secretary of State Jim Fitzpatrick revealed that "The total cost of motoring fell by 4 per cent from January 2005 to April 2008 in real terms. The total includes the cost of buying cars, fuel, maintenance and insurance." See: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080519/text/80519w0006.htm#08051944000011.