CBI calls for more transport investment

More money needs to be invested in Britain’s transport system if the economy is to thrive, the Confederation of British Industry has said.

The CBI said that a minimum of £300 billion of public and private investment was needed to deliver improvements of the next decade.

A survey of 1,000 business leaders and employees on behalf of the CBI found “widespread dissatisfaction” with Britain’s transport infrastructure and expectations that things would deteriorate further.

More than half (51%) of those interviewed believed that the reputation of the UK as a place to do business was being “significantly harmed” by transport problems, with 48% claiming that their own company’s reputation had suffered as a result.

The CBI also found that 63% of companies expected the UK’s transport system to get worse in the next five years, compared to only 15% who thought it would improve.

The survey indicated that businesses were trying to tackle the problems themselves, with 57% of respondents saying that their business had introduced more flexible working, while 49% said they had altered delivery schedules or logistics. However, 93% of employers and 86% of workers said that these solutions alone could not solve the problems and extra investment was needed.

The findings were released to coincide with the CBI’s Annual Conference, which is taking place in London.

Sir Digby Jones, Director-General of the CBI, said: "Although transport spending has risen in recent years, there are decades of under-investment to deal with and it is clear that business still finds it far too difficult to get its goods to market and its people to work.

"Companies, of all sizes and sectors, rely on an integrated transport network to keep the wheels of business turning. We should all make more efficient use of transport - but unless we invest more to renew and upgrade the network, the economy cannot reach its full potential. But money alone is not enough. We also need reform to the decrepit planning regime, which is still stuck in the 1940s - so that new projects can actually get built.”

Sir Digby said that the government’s review of transport, which is being conducted by Sir Rod Eddington, was “welcome”. However he said: “The government must not sweep it under the carpet if it finds his recommendations unpalatable. Nor must we see it undermined before it even reaches publication.

"Politicians of all parties will come unstuck if they allow transport to continue its slide down the political agenda in favour of more obviously voter-friendly issues. Transport is not just a business issue, it affects everyone - and they ignore it at their peril.”

(KMcA/SP)