摘要: |
The report (Buses last month) describing the recommendations made by the South East Wales Transport Commission raises several issues. The Welsh government baulks at the cost of upgrading what must surely be the major transport corridor into Wales and its capital, the M4. Yet it accepted the far higher cost, around £2.5billion thanks to out of control costs and political dithering, of electrifying the Great Western Railway. The M4 at Newport has been a bottleneck almost since opening around 50 years ago. The inadequate engineering of the Severn Bridge was bypassed by a new structure many years ago. The long suffering people of Newport, just down the road, should have been given the same consideration. The plan proposed begs many questions. While it is good to see reference to bus priority, how many times have we heard that before? And why on earth force people to change from a bus to a train just because there happens to be a railway? Forcing customers to change modes not just once but likely twice builds disruption and uncertainty, both guaranteed to discourage transfer from cars. |