Roads : delivering choice and reliability

This publication, "Roads - Delivering Choice and Reliability (Cm. 7445)", aims to promote and inform the debate on how best to deliver the road capacity that will support the trips people and businesses need to make, in the most sustainable and reliable way.

It examines current and predicted road use.There are more than 33 million registered vehicles in the UK and road transport accounts for nearly 75 per cent of all trips.

Congestion, making journey times unpredictable and wasting time, is a problem.

Congestion is worst in cities but motorways are seeing the fastest levels of traffic growth - they are therefore priorities for action.Powers in the Traffic Management Act 2004 (ISBN, available below) and the Local Transport Bill (proceeding through Parliament) give local authorities more levers to manage parking and streetworks, put in bus priority measures, and promote better-performing bus services.

Local transport plans, major schemes at the regional level, and the provision of funding through the Transport Innovation Fund all support local authorities in this work.This publication also focuses on how to expand choice and cut congestion on motorways and points to a more active traffic management approach than is currently followed. Options and polices examined include:better use of information; addressing interruptions to traffic flow; scope for adopting conventional engineering solutions; use of the hard shoulder as an extra lane (offering smoother flow and more predictable journeys at a fraction of the cost of motorway widening); car-share lanes; and tolled lanes.