§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what reduction in hourly capacity has been caused by traffic management changes to the A4 Cromwell road in the last three years. [133175]
§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the increase in car journey times on the M4 eastbound in the morning peak from the M25 to the start of the bus lane, as a result of the introduction of the bus lane. [133176]
§ Mr. HillI have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Peter Nutt, to write to the right hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Nutt to Mr. John Redwood, dated 27 July 2000:
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your recent question about the increase in car journey times on the M4 eastbound in the morning peak from the M25 to the start of the bus lane, due to the introduction of the bus lane.The independent monitoring of the M4 bus lane, which is being undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), has been providing details of the changes in journey times on the M4 between junction 4 and the elevated section. Journey times between the M25 and junction 4 have not been monitored in the same way because traffic conditions here are rarely affected by the introduction of the bus lane. Changes in conditions are due to the general increase in traffic volumes, local increases attributable to growth at Heathrow 771W Airport and Stockley Park, and the consequent operation of the M25/M4 junction, the junction 4 roundabout and the section of road between.The TRL monitoring for the first year supports the changes in journey times reported after 3 months and which were given in the leaflet that was widely distributed and placed in the Library of the House. I enclose a further copy for your ease of reference. The figures for reductions in journey times between junction 4 and the elevated section, as recorded by TRL for the equivalent October/November 1998 and 1999 periods, are as follows:
Minutes Time saved per vehicle Time of day1 Buses and taxis Other vehicles 06.30–09.30 4.1 1.3 09.30–17.30 -0.7 -0.9 17.30–20.30 2.9 0.6 20.30–06.30 -1.2 -1.0 1 Weekday
TRL are currently finalising their report for the first year's operation of the scheme, and I have asked that they divide off the journey time changes to give the information for the section between junctions 4 and 3. To clarify the reasons for changes in conditions between the M25 and junction 4, I have also asked TRL to review all of the data routinely obtained from sensors in the carriageway and to include their conclusions in the report. We expect to receive this within a month and I will write again with this information when it is available.In the meantime, should you wish to discuss this matter further Paul Harwood, the Project Manager for this section of the M4 would be happy to speak to you. His telephone number is 01306 878471.