Where now for Edinburgh’s Transport Strategy? – A response

Abstract

First paragraph: Despite the ‘No Vote' in Edinburgh, congesting pricing in the UK is not dead - as with the Monty Python parrot, it is ‘just resting'. The ‘polluter pays principle', including not just polluters but the generators of other ‘externalities' such as congestion, is well established as a basis for policy both internationally and in the UK. A broad spectrum of political and ideological views, from environmental lobbies, government bodies and to ‘market driven' think-tanks such as the Adam Smith Institute, all support congestion pricing. The Edinburgh vote will cause some rethinking about the tactics of introducing road pricing, but probably not about the basic direction of local and national policies.