03/12/2012 Inside Out South East

A transport special. Are we falling out of love with the car? Are the

love our cars. But something is changing. Traffic growth due to car

use is simply not going ahead at the rate be used to. Tony Blackburn

meets the people who keep the Dartford crossing on the move.

is having a panic attack. He cannot drive on. One of our offices --

officers were taken on his way. parking charges in Kent and Sussex

just a stealth tax? It is a form of incoming generation. Without it, we

would have to put another 4% on the rate. We have untold stories closer

to home. From all round Kent and Sussex, this is inside out. --

Tonight, we are in growing private. We are back here later, but first,

we go on a trip with Richard Westcott. He has had exclusive

access to a major report published Building roads is controversial.

Not building them can be controversial too. So how do

planners get it right? How do they decide where to spend our taxes -

on road or rail? The only way to ever be sure is to

beam ourselves into the future. And we all know how easy that is.

When these fans were watching their favourite series back in the '60s

we thought we knew how we would be travelling by 2012. There was talk

of having a little personal car that flew.

But sci-fi got it wrong, most of us get around now the same way we did

50 years ago - having your own jet pack remains a distant dream. And

ever since I can remember there has been an assumption the traffic is

just going to get worse and worse. After all, we all love our cars,

don't we? Well, maybe not. In transport circles there is a rumour

going round that we are falling out of love with four wheels. They have

even given it a name - Peak Car. So what is Peak Car? Well, just look

at UK traffic growth in the '60s and '70s when we couldn't get

enough cars, but by the '90s the trend was already slowing, and by

about 2002 average mileage per Is the love affair with the car

cooling down well? What we are seeing is that in advance companies,

even in America, traffic growth due to Carr used simply is not going

ahead at the same rates it used to. Well, now Inside Out has been given

the first piece of in-depth research into Peak Car in the UK

and this report is full of surprises. It shows that while some

of us are driving more than ever, others are dramatically changing

the way we travel. Take young men for example. Now when I was young,

I couldn't wait to get my hands on my dad's mark 4 Cortina with

reversing lights. Passing your test was seen as a rite of passage, but

Market trader Lee Vernon is 19, but he won't be adding to the traffic

around Mansfield Nottinghamshire any time soon. He is selling up

because he has just been quoted �2,800 to insure his three-wheeler.

Hope really love it. It is a great looking Kok, but the insurance is

The research shows Lee is not alone. Young men are driving 2,000 miles a

year less than they were in 1995. Women though, young and old, are

actually driving more than they used to. So what is going on?

think what has changed, attitude Wise, people just gave up and

people used Facebook and their phones, and using public transport.

I don't think anyone cares about cars any more. One of the big

things about this report is that young men aren't driving as much.

Back to be due to a rise in higher education, a rise in insurance. But

the important point is that if this trend carries on, we will see a lot

less car travel, and a lot less car ownership as well. So what else has

the report found? Well, this is the rainy 7.16am from Warwick Parkway

to Marylebone. Over the last 2 years the numbers using this line

have gone up by a staggering 40%. And according to the report that is

in line with a national trend. Since the mid-'90s the distance the

average person travels by rail has soared by more than 60%, the last

time the trains were this busy was during the war. A key growth is in

two areas. Work is one, and leisure travel is the other. In that way,

train travel has become cheaper. Congestion is increasing on the

road, and the equation is going in favour of rail.

Sitting with a laptop on train. And of course all those gadgets mean

you can now work or play on the move. You can even book your next

train ticket. While rail travel is up, especially

for business users, company car mileage is down - by 40% between

1995 and 2007, so that is before any recession. Scrapping tax breaks

made the difference and it has had a big impact on traffic in London.

Despite more people moving to the capital, there are fewer cars. But

the report found in the countryside people seem to be driving as much

if not more than ever. Of course in big cities you have a lot more

options for getting around. We have had a bit of a boom recently. The

UK is on course to produce more cars than at any time since 1972.

But that is not because we are all buying ourselves a new motor. 80%

are being exported - these Minis are heading to Asia and South

America. It is not just the car industry there will be looking at

this research. The Department of Transport is planning a major road

building programme based on traffic going up by 44 % over the next few

years. But what if they get it wrong? Since 1989, successive

governments have overestimated traffic growth. The red line is

what is actually happening. There is always a risk that transport

companies are going to get it wrong. It ensures that the data is

rigorously analysed. There's a lot of information for us to go and

have a look at. By not convinced we have reached a peak car yet.

government points out the UK population is predicted to grow by

another 10 million in the next 25 years. And the RAC Foundation who

helped fund the report says that means we are still going to need

more roads. This is not the end of the car. The use of cars have been

declining, but people will need to use cars unless they have a role

and buses available. Many people will not have those. Almost half a

century ago when Star Trek started this is what we thought travel in

the 23rd century might look like - and it is pure '60s. It just shows

it will look like an enlarged version of the present. More car

traffic has been the transport story of the past 50 years, it may

Waters is but an do it again? -- Coming up: Rising fees and nor

restrictions. But our parking charges really improving town-

centre us? How would you describe this parking strategy? A complete

Eight major headache for those travelling between Kent and Essex,

the dot the crossing. What is going This is the tunnel that I use at

least twice a week coming from Kent. Normally, it is released snarled up.

Going south, everyone is on the bridge. Nearly every day, you will

hear of jams going up the M25 into Essex. This is the bridge. We are

not even there, but the traffic is crazy. This is five minutes past

nine in the morning. This is not too bad. We are at least moving.

This puts at least another 15 minutes on what should be a pretty

easy journey. 160,000 vehicles pass through the tolls every day. Doc it

is the busiest crossing in the south-east, and with so much

traffic, its estate want instant for everything to grind to a halt.

Keeping traffic moving force to the Highways Agency, but also do with

crisis. This man is having a panic attack. He cannot drive on. One of

the officers will go with him, drive him on, and taken to a place

of safety. Hold traffic, a halt traffic. A lorry has arrived that

is too tall to get through the tunnel. The Highways Agency has to

reverse the lorry, closing the tolls. Meanwhile, the traffic

stacks up. The lorry is now going through the larger right hand

tunnel. You're just flying the traffic down. That is all. We are

straddling the middle lane. Nothing is getting past us. There is always

a demand to get one side to the other. Back in the 11th century,

nuns from Dartford transported pilgrims. The first attempt at a

tunnel was backing 7097, opposite Tilbury Fort. It was to be a way of

getting the Kent garrison over quickly it Essex came under attack.

Play abandoned the tunnel because it filled with water. The ferries

continued carrying passengers, but in the early 20th century, a

pressure again grew to build a It is recording on this particular

day the breakthrough between the tunnels, one from Essex and one

from Kent. Here rather miners inside, breaking through. They work

in compressed air. That men sometimes get the bends, like

divers. Home renders conditions. Just working in this could not have

been very nice -- horrendous. World war to break out. As they finished

the pilot tunnel, there was no money from the Government to finish

and it was abandoned. They are digging the biggest road tunnel...

After the war, work continued with them working at a rate of six feet

per day, taking 13 years to get to the other side. The crossing became

the main route and demand was so great that a second tunnel was

commissioned. Before long, a record number of cars were using the

tunnel. This person was an engineer at the time. We were testing

concrete, working out damage to the structure. As somebody who goes

through the tunnel, whenever I go through, I think that on top of it

there is water. How do you keep it from coming through? They are

watertight! I can assure you. The old tunnel with cast-iron lining is

very sound. 100,000 vehicles for the first time. I remember the

general manager saying we achieved 100,000 vehicles, in the early

1990s probably. The bridge will carry four lanes of traffic,

linking Essex and Kent in a sweep of concrete and steel. As soon as

they built the second tunnel, they realised it was not enough and they

built the Queen Elizabeth the second bridge, taking the traffic

from Purfleet to Dartford. It cost �120 million, which we finish

paying back in 2003. Guess what, the toll payments are still there

and we are being asked to pay more and it is still busy. Many people

say that this was paid for a long time ago and that it was going to

be free. Why is it not? It was paid for in 2003 and I am sure people

want it free of charge. It is now more of a congestion charge on

demand. It is going to be free- flowing traffic, you are getting

rid of the booth us. There will still be a charge, but it will be a

single shot, people will not be stopping, it will be like the

London congestion charge. I are there plans to make it easier?

There is a plan for another crossing elsewhere around this area.

What will that be? It is in the early stage of conception. We know

that we -- the current crossing cannot cope. Charging will pay for

the 4th crossing. Meanwhile, all we can do is grin and bear it. Look,

it is going! Tony Blackburn reporting. There is

nothing more likely to create a transport row than the subject of

parking. Have we got it wrong when it comes to an hour anger over

charges and fines? Covert operations and claims of

espionage and exotic locations of sorts and no shortage of cars. I am

talking about parking in Kent and Sussex. You would be forgiven for

thinking it sounds like a plot of a James Bond film. On local councils

playing the part of the evil villain, plotting to exploit the

innocent motorist through parking fees and finds? -- fines. Or, our

local councils something else? Are they the James Bonds of the parking

world? Their heroes, intent on improving traffic flow and road-

safety -- for heroes? We will take a tour through Kent and Sussex to

try and find out the answer. And the choice of transport? A Vauxhall

van. The first stop is in Folkestone, a seaside town that

relies on tourists and local trade. When the council said it was

introducing parking restrictions in eight new roads, shopkeepers were

worried about a drop in business. We have had a fantastic summer with

a lot of things going on in town. There is a vibrancy around the town.

From 17th September, the Consumers' disappear from a high streets.

you think Martin might be exaggerating, Perhaps you should

talk to the town centre manager. He said that the council policy of

reducing fees in car-parks and introducing fees on the streets has

had a catastrophic effect on trade. In one case, there was a cafe that

had their best year up to September since the opening 13 years ago. On

Saturday, the drop in trade was 50%. And that is a huge effect. This

car-parking strategy has had an effect on the town. How would you

describe it? It is a shambolic mess. That chances are it will not be the

first time we have heard of a hostile reaction. It seems

everywhere you go there are new restrictions. Every local-authority

in the region has expanded parking restrictions in the past three

years and in some cases by dozens of roads. Is this evil genius at

work, or are councils trying to help? It is time to hit the road

again, this time to meet an expert in parking policy who has advised

councils all over the country. Are councils misunderstood where

parking is concerned? I think they are. No local-authority charges

motorists for an income stream. They have a range of groups

dissatisfied and they have to meet the needs of many people coming to

towns. On a whole, they do that through parking control and charges

are a means of managing that. There are few authorities I work with

where the income stream is the driver. He says that there are many

reasons parking restrictions are introduced, from encouraging people

to using public transport, to making the roads safer. The a other

aspect is town centre regeneration. You do not want a gridlocked town,

you want it easy to get in and out. Managing car parking is an

important element of the desire to make the place more attractive for

people to come and work and visit. Rather than councils being evil

geniuses you might fear, they could be considered a force for good and

that is what many parents outside Southborough primary school will

tell you. The local authority is using CCTV to prevent motorists

dropping children of in restricted areas. Parents were unanimous. This

was a positive parking prevention strategy. It has prevented people

parking on the zig-zag lines. People drop their children off and

think it is OK to do that and it is not because you have children

crossing on this road. You can see it when children shoot out between

the cars. This way, it gives you a better idea of where the children

are. You can identify who is doing it. But it is not all good news.

The use of CCTV cars has led to claims of subterfuge being used to

exploit motorists financially. And whether you agree with that, it

brings us back to the subject of money. When it comes to the cost of

parking, councils can look like the villains of the peace. Inflation is

running at around 2.5%, but our research found 20% rises across the

South East were not uncommon. Some were more than that. In Thanet,

some car-parks or a two hour state rise from 80p up to one out 61 year

later -- to our stay. And on the seafront in Brighton during the

summer months, the cost of parking here on this drive has risen from

�2.20 for two hours up to �6. That is an increase of almost 300%. What

do you think about that increase? It is ridiculous. It does not

encourage people to come to Brighton. Go elsewhere. Parking

charges are important for people. If you are increasing it, it might

p -- put people off. It was time to hear from the council and their

Green Party leader Jason Kitcat. Initially, he found it hard to

believe the figures. One of your tariffs has gone up by almost 300%.

How do you justify it? I do not believe that was the increase and I

would ask you to check your facts. That is what we did. We stopped the

interview and showed him the figures provided by his local

authority and then we started the interview again. On average the

increases were 5% but I accept that did go up. We had to rationalise

the charges. There were 70 tariffs when we came in to control and that

meant some went up, but some went down. Through hundred per cent is

high. We are not seeking to make such big changes in years to come

but somebody had to bite the bullet and make the long overdue changes

to rationalise and simplified. We have clear tariffs across the city.

That is on-street parking. Off- street is cheaper and we try to

prioritise people using the multi- storey is an deal with congestion.

He said since some taps had gone up, more people had started to use

buses -- some tariffs. He said it is about finding a happy and

healthy balance. We cannot carry on the way we have been. It is not

sustainable in any sense. Nobody has a right to park where they like

and we need to balance the requirements of those people who

own cars and those who do not. In our city we have half the national

average of car ownership and many people choose not to have cars. We

need to balance those needs. Before you buy into the James Bond Act, we

are left with the question of what happens to money raised through the

parking? Is it being spent on transport related projects? Our

research suggests not. We asked local authorities if they ring-

fenced income from parking. Only four councils, Brighton and Hove,

Thanet, Tunbridge Wells and Gravesham said yes. Every other

local authority in Kent and East Sussex admitted surpluses from off-

street parking could be spent on whatever they chose. So what you

spend in a car-park could be spent on maintaining your local park, or

waste collection. If that is what your council tax is meant to pay

for, has parking become another form of taxation? What you might

call a stealth tax? They are already paying for fuel duty and

they see themselves as targets and if parking charges go up and the

money is not being invested in road and transport, I think they rightly

consider them to be targets for a stealth tax. We put that thought to

Shepway Council, the local authority responsible for the

parking zone in Folkestone that local shopkeepers claim has damaged

trade. It is not a stealth tax. It is income generation and without it

we would have to put 4% on the rates. There is a cost to running a

council and that is in providing street cleaning, litters weeping,

maintenance, car parking, litter bin collection -- litter sweeping.

They have to be paid for. A lot of those services are used by people

who come into the district and do not contribute in the rates. Why is

it wrong to ask them for a contribution? He said the parking

policy was intended to encourage a greater turnover of town-centre

traffic. He said the council had to meet everybody's needs, not just

Traders. Four areas have to be considered, the residents, the

retailers, those with hotels and also visitors. This strategy was

designed to help all of them. have we learned on our journey?

Parking policies can reduce congestion and improve safety and

keep your council tax down. But those policies can impact on

tourism and trade and leave drivers feeling exploited as income from

parking is used to fund on related services. Our local authorities

evil geniuses or the heroes of the hourly tariff? Maybe they are a

little bit of both. Where did you park? The car park at

the back. If you want more information about