Trams versus roads
 
Demonstrating breath taking hypocrisy, the government scrapped two tram schemes on 29 November due to cost increases, whilst roads costs are going through the roof.  Road Block has calculated that trunk roads are averaging 53% cost increases, whilst local roads see 40% increases.  The figures and press release are available here: http://www.roadblock.org.uk/press_releases/2005-11-29.htm
See also http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4527250.stm
 
Brown freezes road fuel duty - again
 
For the third year in a row, the tax on petrol and diesel has been frozen, so it is still not rising in line with inflation, making the cost of motoring even cheaper (see RB e-bulletin 5 Nov).  Meanwhile the cost of fuel for trains was hit by a 1.22p per litre rise.
See http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,1659121,00.html
 
£1.38m price tag for road fatalities
 
In the bizarre world of transport appraisal where everything has a price tag, and everything can be quantified, the price of a road fatality has been costed as £1.38 million... this is for the "pain, grief and suffering to the causalities, relatives and friends and, for fatalities, the intrinsic loss of enjoyment of life over and above the consumption of goods and services".  You couldn't make it up.  To justify a road, they multiply the number of deaths they think they will prevent over a 60 year period by the £1.38 million price tag,and then call it a benefit for the road!