#Brokering arrangements where commuters making similar journeys take turns driving and share lifts, and introducing shared occupancy motorway lanes. By identifying clusters of employees who live near to each other, reduce congestion by sharing car journeys, or even providing a commuter coach service. Extra lanes on motorways provide a faster route for motorists who choose to pay the toll or are free for cars with more than one person.

#Delivering on the government’s promise of giving all homes and businesses access to broadband by 2012. Video conferencing and other technologies are helping people to work in novel ways, and at different times, but the UK is already falling behind other countries on provision of broadband.

Trialling more ‘yellow bus’ schemes to cut school run congestion. A fifth of all vehicles during the morning rush hour are on the ‘school run’, with the average length of journey to school for 11-16 year olds growing from 2.8 miles in 2000 to 3.4 miles in 2006. A national dedicated school bus service used by 12% of pupils would eliminate 130 million journeys, cut rush hour traffic by 2.6% and save 55,000 tonnes of emissions.

#Following Scotland’s lead and appointing ‘Street Works Commissioners’ in the rest of the UK. Street works are vital to renew the UK’s ageing gas and water pipes, or maintain the roads, but they can cause congestion and much frustration among road users. Utilities have improved their performance in recent years, but half of street works are carried out by local authorities which are exempt from late fines and other regulations. So, the rest of the UK should follow the example of Scotland, where an independent Street Works Commissioner has the power to fine local authorities for a failure in duties to co-ordinate or co-operate.

The current state of the public finances means there is less public money available for investing in the roads. But the CBI says that dire levels of congestion on parts of the road network mean the Government must not cut public spending on infrastructure disproportionately during the recession, and should restore investment once the recovery is underway. The CBI report makes the following recommendations on infrastructure and investment:

Road investment should focus on congestion pinchpoints.Existing bottlenecks should be dealt with as a matter of priority and strategic links built between cities and to freight hubs. Greater use of private investment would help deliver road improvements. A range of private finance models are already being used to build infrastructure in the UK, and these can help deliver projects on time and on budget.

Road pricing should be considered for building new roads or extra lanes. Experience from overseas suggests the public will support a toll on a new road if it is the only way that road will be built, and that tolls used on new lanes on motorways and A roads can help prevent congestion building up again.

The CBI is also calling for reform to the Highways Agency (HA). A third of all UK passenger journeys and two-thirds of freight journeys are on the motorways and trunk roads, managed by the HA. But the agency only has its budget signed off a year at a time, compared with a five-yearly settlement for Network Rail. Future governments should commit to a longer-term investment strategy for our strategic road network, which would help bring more confidence and certainty to the construction sector.

Story provided by Business Financial Newswire