Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the annual operational cost of the new Dartford-Thurrock River free flow toll system.
Answered by John Hayes
The estimated cost of operating the new system in the calendar year 2015 is £24.5m. This includes costs paid to the service provider (Sanef), third party costs and the Highways Agency’s internal costs.
The Department of Transport estimates the following revenue will be generated by the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing in the financial years 2014/15 and 2015/16.
| 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
Estimated Revenue | £98.2m | £111.2m |
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide funding for the Botley bypass on the A334.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department supports any investments in infrastructure that supports growth.
Through the Growth deals agreed this summer, Government funding for this type of scheme has passed to the Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs).
It would be for the promoters of this scheme to work with the Solent LEP to take it forward.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that public transport ticket price increases are kept to a minimum.
Answered by Claire Perry
I recognise concerns passengers have about impacts of fares on household budgets, which is why for the first time in a decade average regulated rail fares were capped at inflation for 2014 and will also be capped at RPI+0% for 2015, removing the previously planned increase of rail fares of RPI+1%. Furthermore, for 2015, train operating companies will no longer be able to increase individual fares by up to 2% more than the permitted increase. By way of context, rail passenger journeys have doubled since privatisation and increased by a quarter in the last five years.
Bus services outside London are deregulated and fares are mainly a matter for the commercial judgment of bus operators. However, the Government has made a commitment to retain the current Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) rate for the remainder of this Parliament. The subsidy means that bus operators’ net fuel costs are around 40% lower which can enable operators to keep bus fares approximately 4% lower than they otherwise would be.
Government has also maintained free bus travel in England for eligible older and disabled people. By way of context, the number of bus journeys in England in 2013/14 was 4.7 billion, the highest recorded number since privatisation. In addition, for the first time since 2008/09, 2013/14 saw a year-on-year increase in overall bus use outside London.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide funding for the Chickenhall link road in Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department supports any investments in infrastructure that support growth.
Through the Growth deals agreed this summer, Government funding for this type of scheme has passed to the Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs).
It would be for the promoters of this scheme to work with the Solent LEP to take it forward.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve air quality on roads where air quality management zones have been designated.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Government is committed to tackling this issue and want to improve air quality and reduce pollution in towns and cities, which is good for people’s health and the environment.
£2 billion worth of measures have been announced since 2010 that will help to improve air quality by increasing the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, and supporting sustainable travel and green transport initiatives. This includes modifying over 2000 older buses and some other vehicles including taxis with pollution reducing technology on some of the most polluted roads in towns and cities in England.