Transforming transport the World2Rights way.

Regional Policy

1. Work with the grain of market forces to encourage relocation away from the south east. All councils with housing waiting lists will be obliged to offer grants for relocation to other parts of the country. The Treasury and other government departments will relocate outside of the South East.

Measures within Congestion Action Zones

1. A new way to subsidise public transport - promotional discount vouchers for public transport targeted at those who have previously driven to work.  To qualify for these promotions, drivers will have to provide evidence that they have generally driven to work in the past (e.g. car park receipts, letters from employers, evidence of mileage) or they will be identified as regular drivers by promotion staff.

2. Promotion staff will have unlimited access to public, private and employer car parks. Licence plates will be recorded on a few days over several months to identify regular drivers.

3. Only journeys to and from work will qualify for these subsidies. For standard rate tax-payers, the discount will be between one-third and two-thirds. The vouchers will be used in a targeted promotion and will not be an entitlement. The availability of vouchers, the qualifying period and the identification of regular drivers will not be announced in advance.

4. Traffic wardens and police will have unlimited access to public, private and employer car parks to check vehicle tax, insurance and MOT credentials. There are an estimated 1.2 million uninsured vehicles in the UK; enforcement is an opportunity to reduce congestion.

5. Within congestion action zones, public car parks will be obliged to make a supplementary charge for single occupancy vehicles (to be checked on entry, on exit or both). Traffic wardens will have the power to check that supplementary charges are being paid, e.g. by using CCTV.

6. Similarly all parking meters will be converted so that they take a supplementary charge for single occupancy vehicles. Some car parks and parking bays will be reserved for multiple-occupancy cars.

7. At motorway bottle-necks short stretches of hard shoulder will be converted into peak crawling lanes with a speed limit of 30mph - for use only when the rest of the motorway has slowed to that speed.

8. Further measures: staggered work and school hours, congestion charging, fast-track planning permission for park-and-ride car parks, and lanes reserved for high-occupancy vehicles.

Walking and Cycling

1. All schools to establish key 'walk-to-school' routes - publicised, sign-posted, patrolled, used by 'walking buses', protected by CCTV. Along classified roads, all footpaths above a certain width for more than a minimum distance will be converted for dual use with cyclists.

Railways and Airports

1. Regional rail services (and underground lines) should be joint ventures between the relevant train operating companies (franchisees) and the regional track maintenance authority. Train operators will be responsible for all aspects of the passenger experience including punctuality, comfort, reliability, safety, cleanliness and the provision of accurate and timely information to travellers. Government subsidy for railways will be through three distinct channels: i) passenger subsidies targeted on reducing congestion, ii) track maintenance funding and iii) grants to elicit substantial private investment in new infra-structure. Track maintenance authorities will operate as cost centres. Train services will be operated as separate profit centres(with some subsidies). Although separate companies, they will have the same board members.

2. Part-private finance for new infra-structure projects - Cross Rail, Thameslink 2000, the national freight line, the extension of the channel rail link, new rail routes along motorway corridors and between airports.

3. High speed rail links to satellite and regional airports will be used to increase airport capacity. In order to release capacity, where a European or domestic route is served by a high speed rail link, the number of permitted flights should be reduced to a minimal level.

4. A long term vision of a national high speed rail line, primarily following motorway corridors. It will link the channel tunnel, Gatwick and/or Heathrow*, London* and/or Oxford, and a city and an airport in each of the Midlands, the North and the central belt of Scotland. Airports, cities, regions and interest groups will pay to influence the route, and the position of stations and spur lines. The line will be built in self-contained stages using competing contractors.

*Existing rail links (for example from central London to Heathrow and the Channel Tunnel) mean that no city, airport or even specific sections of new line will be indispensable.