transport – Page 30 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Letters: Unite to save essential services

Dear Editor

The vast majority of people support the NHS because it is service there for them if required. Politicians will know the wrath of this majority if they move against this universal service: the people know there are attempts to privatise some of the NHS and those politicians will learn a lesson at the ballot box.

Other essential services needed and used by everyone must also become universally, not privately, owned. The main ones are gas, electric, water and railways. The first three are needed by everyone, otherwise modern society cannot function. The railways, although not used by everyone, are a main vein transporting goods and people.

There can be no justification for these essential industries being used for private profit by those who have money to invest: it is obscene to pay them dividends when there are other people who cannot afford to heat their homes.

Profit made should be used to maintain those industries and benefit the users: this should apply to all energy companies. To reach this situation the population will have to apply the same pressure and support it gives to the NHS. These issues are common to all, around which maximum unity is possible.

A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens

Green light for 20mph limit

Councillors have passed plans for more than 80% of Edinburgh’s roads to have a 20mph (32kph) speed limit. The plans,designed to improve safety and encourage more people to walk or cycle, were approved by the council’s Transport and Environment committee earlier today.

While a consultation exercise found respondents broadly welcome the proposals it’s expected that the scheme will not meet with universal approval – particularly among Edinburgh’s hard-pressed motorists – and transport chiefs have been quick to debunk ‘myths’ about the 20mph programme (see below Top Ten 20mph Myths – Busted).

Provided the necessary Speed Limit Orders are secured, the new arrangements will come into effect on a phased basis from late 2015 onwards and feature a 20mph speed limit on residential and shopping streets with a network of 30mph and 40mph maintained for key arterial routes. A detailed implementation plan, including costings, will be considered by the Transport and Environment Committee in March.

The proposals are for a network of 20mph streets chiefly in residential and shopping areas, complemented by a network of 30 and 40mph roads on key arterial routes in the city suburbs to keep traffic moving.

The council argues that slower speeds will not significantly increase journey times and by easing traffic flow, may actually reduce some journey times.

Welcoming the approval of the map today, Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “I’m pleased that Committee has today given the green light for our 20mph plans. This initiative has been under development for nearly three years and we’ve carried out a huge amount of public consultation.

“The most recent and most extensive consultation last autumn found that 60% of respondents were supportive or strongly supportive of our proposals.

Vice Convener Adam McVey added: “We were also pleased to receive positive feedback from every community council that responded to the consultation, as well as a large number of organisations.

“Our next step is to develop an implementation programme to roll the new network out. A detailed report on this will come before the Transport and Environment Committee in March, which will give us a clearer picture of how the changes will be brought in.”

Stuart Hay, Head of Living Streets Scotland, said: “Edinburgh’s 20mph limit policy sets a positive example for cities across Scotland and the UK. Lower speeds on shopping and residential streets means a safer and more pleasant city for everyone with higher levels of walking and lower levels of accidents.

“Living Streets looks forward to working with the Council to promote the scheme and its benefits as it is rolled out.”

Councillor Hinds also took the opportunity to address some of the misconceptions about the plans which have been communicated to elected members by constituents and reported by local media.

She said: “There have been a number of claims flying about to do with the ins and outs of the 20mph rollout which are quite simply untrue and it’s vital that everyone has the full facts at their fingertips.

“For example, it’s not a ‘blanket rollout’ at all. Each street which is earmarked to become 20mph has been selected based on robust criteria agreed with key stakeholders, including bus companies and Police Scotland.

“Police Scotland will continue to enforce legal speed limits right across the Capital and anyone caught flouting the 20mph limit will face warnings or speeding fines.

“Key arterial routes are being maintained at 30mph or 40mph so that we can keep cross-city traffic flowing, even though some residents in these areas would have preferred a change to 20mph. It’s important that we get the balance right as much as we can, however inevitably not everyone will be able to get what they hoped for.”

TOP TEN 20MPH MYTHS – BUSTED

Myth 1: This is a ‘blanket’ roll-out

This is not a blanket implementation. The proposals are for a network of 20mph streets chiefly in residential and shopping areas, complemented by a network of 30 and 40mph roads on key arterial routes in the city suburbs. This will mean that impacts on journey times should be relatively modest In terms of main roads which are earmarked for a new 20mph limit, a high proportion of collisions happen on these roads. In particular, pedestrian and cyclist casualties tend to be concentrated on shopping streets and on other main roads in the city centre and inner suburbs.

These are also the roads that are used by the most people and that have the greatest mix of pedestrians, cyclists and motorised vehicles. A lower speed limit here can help improve safety and also improve the environment for all road users.

Criteria for selecting potential 20mph streets were agreed in outline by the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee and then fine-tuned by a sub-group of its Transport Forum, including representatives from a range of interested groups. We’ve made changes to the proposed map based on feedback from individuals, community groups and organisations like Lothian Buses to make sure we get the balance right.

The extensive consultation that we have carried out over several years shows a high level of public support for our proposals. During the recent consultation there was a lot of support for our approach, in particular for the degree to which it seeks to adopt a consistent approach to similar types of road.

Myth 2: Safety won’t be improved by lowering speed limits

There is considerable evidence in support of reducing speed limits in urban areas. A 2010 Department for Transport (DfT) publication which looked at the relationship between speed and risk of fatal injury found that the risk of fatal injury to pedestrians rose from under 1% at an impact speed of 20mph to 5.5%, or 1 in 20, at 30mph (1). Above 30mph risk increased very substantially, to over 30% at an impact speed of 40mph.

A different large scale study looking at the effect of speeds on overall accident numbers found a clear relationship. On the types of urban road likely to be considered for a 20mph limit the study found the accidents could be expected to fall by between 4% and 6% for each 1mph reduction in average speed. The greatest reductions were achievable on “busy main roads in towns with high levels of pedestrian activity” (2)

Other cities that have introduced 20mph speed limits have seen reductions in casualties. For example in Portsmouth it is estimated that 20mph limits have lowered road casualties by 8%, while in Warrington there has been a reduction in collisions of 25% in 20mph speed limit areas; Evidence from the South Edinburgh pilot area also points to a reduction in casualties (20% to January 2014).

References
1. http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/pgr-roadsafety-research-rsrr-theme5-researchreport16-pdf/rswp116.pdf(external link)

Taylor, M. C., Lynam, D. A. and Baruya, A. (2000) The effects of drivers’ speed on the frequency of road accidents.

Myth 3: Slower speeds will increase congestion

We do not anticipate an increase in congestion. In fact, research indicates that vehicles flow more smoothly through junctions at slower speeds.

Myth 4: Slower speeds will increase emissions and worsen air quality

Research indicates vehicles flow more smoothly through junctions at slower speeds. Additionally, as a result of reduced acceleration and braking, 20mph may help to reduce fuel consumption and associated emissions.

Some environmental benefit from the change is expected from helping to unlock the potential for walking or cycling short distances instead of driving.

Myth 5: 20mph speed limits won’t be enforced

The legal speed limits on any roads in the Capital are enforced by Police Scotland and this will be no different whether the street is 20, 30 or 40mph.

Police will direct their resources to particular problem areas, as they do currently, and drivers caught flouting the limit will face warnings or speeding fines. Additional measures such as Vehicle Activated Signs could also be installed in streets where particularly high numbers of contraventions are detected or reported.

Myth 6: 20mph limits in shopping streets will be bad for businesses

It is considered that businesses will benefit from the increased “liveability” which slower speeds will foster in their area, with more people attracted to spend time in shopping streets where they feel safer and the environment is generally more pleasant.

Opinion research carried out in the South Edinburgh 20mph pilot area found that residents felt the new speed limit had had a range of positive impacts, the most often mentioned being improved safety for children, for walking and for cycling.

20mph speed limits encourage more considerate driving, leading to safer streets for all road users, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. The lower speeds reduce the risk and severity of road collisions. Reducing traffic speed helps make people feel more confident about being on their local streets and helps children and elderly people to travel independently and safely.

Calmer road speeds also help to make walking and cycling more attractive options, contributing to less traffic congestion, better health, less noise, more social interaction and stronger communities.

Myth 7: The city will be covered in speed humps

The new limit will be introduced without traffic calming measures. However, if monitoring finds speeds remain significantly above 20mph on certain streets despite signage and public awareness of the limit, we will consider speed reducing measures on the roads concerned.

On residential streets this is likely to mean road humps, on main roads other methods would be deployed, for example road markings (e.g. cycle lanes) or central islands which tend to reduce speeds by reducing the apparent width of roads.

Myth 8: Journey times will be much longer

Research in other cities, surveys of current speeds, and results of the pilot project in Edinburgh, suggest that journey times will not significantly increase and by easing traffic flow, 20mph may actually reduce some journey times.

We would expect changes not exceeding around 25 seconds per mile, probably significantly lower (around 10 seconds per mile has been found in central parts of Bristol where a limit has now been introduced) . We will be carrying out more research on this matter in Edinburgh and will post the results on the Council’s website.

Myth 9: Signs alone don’t lower drivers’ speeds

National evidence has shown that sign‐only 20 mph speed limits can help to reduce average speeds and improve safety. Evidence from the pilot scheme in South Edinburgh showed similar results, with average speeds reduced by around 10% to just over 20mph, and with larger falls in speeds (around 14%) on the roads that had higher average speeds before the limit was introduced. Of 1000 people surveyed in the South Edinburgh pilot area, 79% supported the 20 mph limit,just 4% opposed it.

Myth 10: This is an attack on motorists

We are not stopping people from driving. Our aim is to balance the needs of drivers with the safety and environment of local residents. 20 mph creates a safer environment for everyone, including motorists.

Details of the cost, sign posting, and enforcement are due in a report in March. Work will begin later this year and it’s expected to be completed over three financial years.

Edinburgh set to become Scotland’s slowest (and safest) city?

‘Edinburgh is taking a very bold step’ – Cllr Lesley Hinds

Speed limits on more than 80% of our city’s roads and streets – including the whole of the the city centre – will be slashed later this year if plans to make the Edinburgh Scotland’s first 20mph city are approved next week.

A map of proposed 20mph limits for hundreds of Edinburgh streets has been drawn up after a public consultation on the plans attracted nearly 3,000 responses. Meetings and discussions with stakeholders including Lothian Buses also informed the final proposals.

Reducing traffic speed helps make people feel more confident about being on their local streets and helps children and elderly people to travel independently and safely.

Calmer road speeds also help to make walking and cycling more attractive options, contributing to less traffic congestion, better health, less noise, more social interaction, an improved environment for local businesses and stronger communities.

The new 20mph network, which will go before members of the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee in a report for approval on Tuesday (13 January), would see the majority of the city’s residential streets and streets in shopping areas become 20mph zones.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “We were absolutely delighted with the huge response to our consultation in the autumn and it’s great to be moving on to the stage of finalising exactly which streets will become 20mph, provided the necessary Traffic Regulation Orders are secured.

“Edinburgh is taking a very bold step in introducing slower speeds for so much of its roads and we’re aware that other cities in Scotland are watching our example keenly.

“There’s obviously a lot of work to be done to raise public awareness between now and the first new limits coming into effect. It’s undoubtedly a culture change for the whole city but we’re very encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve seen to the pilot project in South Edinburgh. Support for 20mph limits was already high before the pilot began but it increased even more once people tried out the slower speeds in practice.”

John Lauder, National Director of Sustrans Scotland, said: “It is fantastic to see Edinburgh Council rolling out 20mph speed limits across more and more streets in the capital. Sustrans wants to see increasing numbers of people choosing to travel actively on an everyday basis, whether on foot or by bike, and we think that reducing traffic speeds is a key way to helping achieve this.

“Many other towns and cities across Scotland will no doubt be watching Edinburgh closely as implementation of the new 20mph network gets under way. Hopefully they will like what they see and learn from Edinburgh’s experience.”

The plans were finalised at the end of 2014 following a far-reaching public consultation process across the Capital.

Prior to this, previous market research and consultation in Edinburgh showed strong support for more extensive 20mph limits. The Edinburgh People’s Survey in 2012 showed a sizeable majority in favour of 20mph limits in residential areas, shopping streets and the City Centre. And 67 per cent of people supported a 20mph limit for all city centre streets, while just five per cent opposed such a limit, with 29 per cent uncertain.

The results of this latest consultation process, which concluded in October, show that 60% of respondents supported or strongly supported the proposals, with 36% opposed or strongly opposed.

One of the key priorities of the Council’s Local Transport Strategy 2014-2019 is to consult on detailed proposals for the citywide 20mph network. Consulting “with a view to extending the current 20mph traffic zones” is also one of the Capital Coalition’s pledges.

If the proposed 20mph network is approved by the Transport and Environment Committee, the project will move into the implementation stage.

An implementation plan will be presented to the Committee in March 2015, providing details on how the Council will roll out the 20mph network across the city. It is anticipated that the programme will be rolled out over a maximum of three financial years.

Motoring organisations suggest local authorities should limit zones to where they are most effective and, when introduced, that regulations must be robustly enforced.

AA president Edmund King said: “What we would advise Edinburgh and other cities looking at 20mph limits is to target them where they really are needed.

“The busiest shopping streets, the road outside the school, the residential areas, rather than just introducing blanket limits, which generally aren’t supported by motorists and therefore it’s very difficult to enforce.”

Supt Phil O’Kane, of Police Scotland, said: “We will not routinely police the 20mph zones, however we will respond to any particular zones where there is a casualty reduction requirement. We will enforce the 20mph zones outside schools because that is important for the children of Edinburgh.”

Have your say on school streets schemes

A public consultation is now live as part of a new pilot school streets initiative in Edinburgh.

A total of 31 schools expressed an interest in taking part in the pilot, which is designed to improve the environment around schools and encourage safer and healthier ways for pupils to travel to and from school.

While Cramond Primary in the Almond Ward expressed an interest in taking part, no schools from Forth or Inverleith will be involved in the pilot.

The Local Transport Strategy 2014-19 contains a commitment to pilot school streets at up to five schools.

However, given the volume of interest from schools across the city, a list of ten pilot schemes covering 11 schools was drawn up and was agreed by councillors in October.

These locations have been experiencing on going road safety issues caused by too many drivers bringing their vehicles too close to the school gates.

The pilot schemes will prohibit traffic on streets outside or around school entrances at specific times of day.

The benefits of implementing school streets are:

• Increase in walking and cycling and active lifestyles for pupils and parents/carers
• Reduction in traffic speed, congestion and pollution around the school gates
• Responding to demand from parents and residents.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “There’s a huge appetite out there for this initiative and our next task is to finalise the details of how the schemes might work. We’re looking for as much feedback as possible from people in each of the 11 school communities, including local residents.

“Please have your say in our online consultation or pop along to one of the many drop-in sessions we’ve got planned early in the New Year.”

An online consultation is now live and will run until Friday 27 February 2015.

A series of drop-in information events will also be held in each of the schools during January and February.

School Streets Drop-in Sessions Diary

January 2015
8th – Clermiston Primary School, 3-6pm
13th – Buckstone Primary School, 3-7pm
14th – Duddingston Primary School, 3-6pm
15th – Sciennes Primary School, 3.30-7pm
20th – Abbeyhill Primary School, 3-6pm
21st – Cramond Primary School, 3-6.30pm
27th – St Peter’s RC Primary School, 4-6.30pm
28th – Towerbank Primary School, 3-6pm.

February 2015
3rd – Bonaly Primary School, 4.30-7pm
4th – St John’s RC Primary School, 3-6pm
25th – Colinton Primary School, 3-6.30pm

Gearing up for winter weather

Did you see some snow on Sunday? Preparations are well under way as Scotland gets braced for winter’s icy blast …

With the cold temperatures experienced at the weekend expected to continue into this week, Transport Minister Derek Mackay visited a salt depot near Glasgow to see the preparations that are being made for the wintry weather.

Gritters have already been out on trunk roads across the country in recent days in response to the winter conditions and Mr Mackay saw salt being loaded onto some of the state of the art spreaders used by the Scotland Transerv team at Polmadie.

He also took part in discussions with the Met Office, Police Scotland, Traffic Scotland and the Trunk Road Operating Companies, to ensure that the response to the current yellow weather warning for snow is as co-ordinated and effective as possible.

On a wider basis, agencies and organisations are working together to put their response plans into gear to keep any disruption as a result of difficult conditions to a minimum.

The Scottish Government’s Ready for Winter campaign draws all of these efforts together to offer information and advice on the simple steps that people, businesses and communities can take to prepare for and reduce the risks of winter weather.

Transport Minister, Derek Mackay said: “While this weather is not unusual in Scotland at this time of year, some areas are seeing their first snowfall of the season.

“A wide range of agencies and organisations are working together to implement their response plans with the aim of keeping disruption in difficult conditions to a minimum.

“The efforts being made by the team here at Scotland Transerv are being replicated by the Trunk Road Operating Companies across the country and the focused response to weather events will continue throughout the winter.

“We have more salt in stock today than we used across the whole of last year and our winter control rooms are monitoring conditions 24/7 ensure the winter fleet are treating and patrolling where and when they are needed.

“Motorists can see details of where and when the gritters will be in operation through the interactive winter treatments map on the Traffic Scotland website and the latest live information on conditions is available on the Traffic Scotland Twitter feed, smartphone App, internet radio and website.

“The Scottish Government’s annual preparedness campaign, Ready for Winter, is a good reminder of the simple actions we can all take to be prepared. It urges motorists to check conditions before they travel, leave some extra time for their journeys and make sure their vehicle is well maintained with an emergency kit.

“So far this year, the campaign has visited 31 communities across the country, giving advice to 36,000 members of the public. Its posts on Twitter have reached 360,000 people and the Readyscotland app has been downloaded more than 2,000 times. Lots of useful information on how we can all take an hour to prepare for winter is available at Readyscotland.org.” (see below)

Take an hour to get ready for winter and all kinds of severe weather

Severe weather can strike at any time so taking action now will serve you well in winter, and all year round.

In the last few years, we’ve seen it all – snow, floods and strong winds. And it doesn’t take much for it to impact on our daily lives. Like getting stuck indoors for a few days, or losing your phone communication, power or water supply.

Severe weather can cause a range of problems – but you can be ready for them. By doing a few small things now, you can save yourself a lot of trouble later on.

You can also do your bit to help out in your community.

In this section, you will find information and useful tips on how to prepare:

• In your home

• On the move

• In your community

• In your workplace

For more information on the opinion of the Scottish general public on preparing for emergencies, please refer to the latest edition of the Emergency Preparedness Survey.

Councillors to consider trams to Leith

Councillors asked to support new £400,000 trams report

Councillors are to consider whether Edinburgh’s tram line should be extended into Leith. The line currently stops at York Place, but transport leader Cllr Lesley Hinds argues that Edinburgh must look forward to compete with successful capital cities.

Councillors are being asked to support the commissioning of a £400,000 report to examine the implications of extending the line. If councillors do give the go-ahead, it’s expected they will consider the report’s findings early next year.

Some will question the wisdom of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money on yet another tram report – particularly given Edinburgh’s current budget difficulties – but Transport and Environment convener Lesley Hinds says the city must move forward.

“If you look at any capital city that’s successful in Europe and throughout the world, we need to invest in our local transport and we need to encourage people to walk and to cycle,” she said. “We are going to have an increased population and more visitors so we need to ensure we have investment in a public transport system and that means looking forward.”

Tram lines to Leith and Granton’s new waterfront were key elements of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE’s) original plans for a tram network – the first construction work started in Leith in 2007 – but the ambitious project was beset with difficulty and controversy almost from the outset.

When it began running in May, Edinburgh’s tram service was a single line from York Place to the airport, not a network – and even this was years late and over £400 million over budget.

The Scottish government announced a public inquiry into the trams project in June, and last month the inquiry was upgraded from a non-statutory to a statutory inquiry when chairman Lord Hardie complained that some key witnesses had failed to co-operate with is investigations. The change in status means that these individuals must now give evidence – and face possible imprisonment if they fail to do so.

The terms of reference of the Edinburgh Trams inquiry are:

To inquire into the delivery of the Edinburgh Trams project (‘the project’), from proposals for the project emerging to its completion, including the procurement and contract preparation, its governance, project management and delivery structures, and oversight of the relevant contracts, in order to establish why the project incurred delays, cost considerably more than originally budgeted for and delivered significantly less than was projected through reductions in scope.

To examine the consequences of the failure to deliver the project in the time, within the budget and to the extent projected.

To otherwise review the circumstances surrounding the project as necessary, in order to report to the Scottish Ministers making recommendations as to how major tram and light rail infrastructure projects of a similar nature might avoid such failures in future.

Play your part in active travel planning

Local councillor Lesley Hinds outlined initiatives to keep the city moving at last week’s Inverleith Community Conference. You can be involved …

A recruitment drive is now under way for members of two groups involved in developing active travel policy for Edinburgh.

The Council is setting up a new Active Travel Forum, to be chaired by Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds (above), which will be supplemented by a Cycling Forum and a Walking Forum.

Applications are now being sought from four members of the public to join the Cycling and Walking Forum (ie eight in total), alongside one lobby group representative for each group.

The Council is also looking for a business representative to join the Active Travel Forum, to give a perspective on active travel and staff commuting.

Councillor Adam McVey, Vice Convener of Transport and Environment, will chair both the Cycling and Walking Forums. He said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone who’s interested in active travel in Edinburgh. We want these forums to reflect a broad range of viewpoints to help us develop new policies and design principles for future walking and cycling initiatives. If you’ve got ideas on how we can do things differently or if you just want to play a bigger role in the City’s active travel plans, we’d love to hear from you.”

The full membership of the Cycling and Walking Forums will be made up of existing Transport Forum members, elected members and officers from the Council’s Transport division.

The first meetings of the Active Travel Forum, Cycling Forum and Walking Forum will take place on Wednesday 26 November 2014.

To apply, complete the online application form by Friday 14 November.

Talking walking (and cycling) in Inverleith

Walking, cycling and sustainable transport were the themes of Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s annual community conference held at Broughton High School last night.

Active travel, in particular encouraging walking and cycling to school, features high on the list of community priorities in Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s hot-off-the-press local community plan for 2014 – 2107, so the conference theme was well chosen.

Around fifty delegates attended the event which was hosted by Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership convener Councillor Nigel Bagshaw, who spoke enthusiastically of the considerable health and environmental benefits of choosing to walk or cycle rather than take the car.

Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Convener Cllr Lesley Hinds outlined the city council’s current transport systems, ongoing initiatives and future plans before delegates broke into workshop groups to discuss: ‘What are the challenges to making walking and cycling better in Inverleith?‘ and ‘What are potential solutions to improve and increase walking and cycling, including how can we make best use of local greenspace?’

A full conference report will follow, meanwhile here are some images taken during the event:

Lazarowicz backs rail Bill

Mark Lazarowicz MP backs Bill to allow public sector train operators

Local MP Mark Lazarowicz was today among MPs to support a Motion by Labour MP Andy Sawford for a Bill to be introduced to permit public sector railway operators.

The Motion was passed by 197 votes to 38 and even if the Bill does not reach the statute book the vote shows the strength of feeling amongst Labour MPs about the franchise system and the service that passengers are receiving.

The new franchise for the East Coast Line is due to start in March 2015 but the UK Government has repeatedly refused to allow Directly Operated Railways (DOR), the public sector company currently running the East Coast Main Line, to bid for it.

The North & Leith Mp said: “I strongly welcome this Bill which would permit a public sector company to bid for a franchise as I have been urging the Government to allow the current public sector operator of the East Coast Line to be allowed to do given the successful way it is running it.

“Given the franchise fiasco of the West Coast Line last year and East Coast’s private sector operator reneging on the terms of that contract in 2009 surely it’s time a public sector operator is given a chance at last to bid for a franchise or is the Government afraid of a public sector bid coming out on top.”

The railway network was privatised in 1993 by the then Conservative Government of John Major. The East Coast Line is currently the only franchise run by a UK public sector rail operator and it has consistently been amongst the top train operators for value for money for the taxpayer.

The latest results for Directly Operated Railways showed that in the last financial year before it is reprivatised, to March 2014, it paid £225m to the government after it’s pre-tax profits for the year rose 40%. Over the five years the company has run the East Coast Line since 2009 it has paid more than £1bn in premium payments to the Government.

Driving licence fees ‘slashed’ from next week

Driving licence fees to be cut by up to a third

Drivers will save up to £150 million over the next ten years as the cost of getting a driving licence is slashed, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Transport Minister Claire Perry announced today.

The changes, which follow a recent public consultation, come into force from 31 October 2014. Drivers applying online will see the fee for a provisional driving licence fall from £50 to £34 and online renewals after ten years fall from £20 to £14. The fee for driver tachograph cards – used by businesses to record how far their staff are driving – will fall from £38 to £32.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said: “Giving savings back to the taxpayer is a key element in this government’s drive for a stronger economy and a fairer society. That’s why we’re slashing the cost of getting a driving licence and giving it straight back to young people and businesses, saving £150 million over ten years.”

Transport Minister Claire Perry said: “The cost of driving, especially for young drivers, can be significant and we are committed to cutting costs where we can. Thanks to DVLA making large scale savings to their running costs, we have been able to cut the cost of the driving licence which will save drivers and businesses £150 million over the next ten years.”

DVLA is reviewing all fees and the reduction in driving licence fees is a result of the first part of this ongoing review. Other fees being considered in the review include vehicle first registrations and duplicate registration certificates.

A million ‘first licence’ applications are processed every year and the fees drop will save new drivers £82.2 million over ten years. Over 77% of these applications are made by 17-24 year olds. In addition 2.1 million photocard licences are renewed every year and the changes will save motorists £61.3 million over a decade.

Businesses make another 85,500 renewals a year and will save £2.44 million over ten years while the cost savings to tachographs will save another £3.58 million over the decade.

Type of licence	Current fee	New fee online	New fee postal application
Provisional licence	£50	£34	£43
Renew Photocard licence	£20	£14	£17
Driver and Company Tachograph cards	£38	Postal service only	£32