27/06/2005 11:48:09 am
Private Financing = More Roads. In its latest Bulletin, the British think-tank Reform shows how road pricing will lead to more roads and tess congestion. They point out that the number of vehicles in Britain has increased by 200 % over the last 40 years, but the total road length has only increased by 25 %. Thus, the roads are the most congested in Europe. More roads need to be built, and the pricing mechanism can be used to reduce congestion.

In a speech to the Social Market Foundation, the Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, said:

"Our objective is not to put people off the roads. It is to enable us to get more out of the network... [I]t is true that there are big questions still to be answered on road pricing. ... But because of our geography, our growing economy, our demography, we will face increasing pressures on our roads over the next 20 to 30 years. So it is essential that we start to do work now that will help us to deal with this problem. Our future prosperity depends on it... What is certain is that the problem of congestion is going to get worse. Doing nothing is not an option. And the prize ? giving motorists more choice and making journey times more reliable ? is surely a prize worth having."

The state can not do everything for everyone, as some wished. And in fact, it tries to do far too much already - and nothing gets really good. Thus, a Social Democrat government in Britain reduces the role of government. Even roads are to be paid for privately. This is a fundamental trend all over Western Europe. And reforms of this kind are very necessary - the longer we wait, the bigger the problems get.