A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR FREIGHT TRANSPORT

This report outlines the problems caused by freight transport, especially lorries, in the UK, and proposes reforms to reduce its social and environmental costs, while providing an efficient service to customers. It is based on a study of the social and environmental costs of freight transport, that assumes current levels of consumption of material goods and a competitive market partly regulated by the state. It first discusses the trends, causes, and prospects of freight transport, and then analyses the external costs of freight transport: (1) effects on road safety; (2) energy consumption; (3) air pollution; (4) noise; (5) physical damage to roads, buildings, and the environment; (6) congestion; (7) external costs of rail freight; and (8) external costs of sea freight. The report discusses current compliance with regulations on lorry operators and how to enforce them better and considers possible new rules for the use of lorries, relating to: (1) lorries' use of the road network; (2) speed limits; (3) taxation; (4) vehicle design; (5) measures against noise; and (6) conditions of entry into the road haulage profession. Other recommendations concern: (1) subsidies for coastal and short-sea shipping; and (2) privatised arrangements for rail freight.