HL Deb 21 July 1989 vol 510 cc1115-6WA
Baroness Cox

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have selected a promoter for the installation and operation in London of the Autoguide system of electronic route guidance for vehicles.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Lord Brabazon of Tara)

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport has decided that a licence to operate Autoguide in the London area should be awarded to GEC, subject to successful negotiation on the terms of a licence and to the implementation of the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Bill.

Last January the department invited the private sector to submit proposals for the installation and operation of a pilot Autoguide scheme in the London area which would be capable of being upgraded to a fully commercial system to which the public could subscribe. The department received proposals from GEC and from Aguide Services Limited, a joint venture company of which Plessey is the largest shareholder.

My right honourable friend has considered very carefully both sets of proposals, with advice from financial consultants Price Waterhouse. In inviting proposals, he made clear his intention to select the firm or consortium which he believed would ensure that Autoguide was developed to provide effective and efficient electronic route guidance to a wide market as soon as practicable without compromising road safety or the environment. Both sets of proposals were of extremely high quality; but he believes that overall those from GEC better meet his stated objectives.

This decision does not in itself confer on GEC a licence to operate Autoguide in London. A licence will be subject to negotation by the department and GEC, and to the implementation of the necesary legislation.

If a licence is awarded it would give GEC the right to install and operate a pilot Autoguide system in a specified part of the London/M.25 area. The pilot scheme would be closely monitored by the department. Our primary concern would be to assess the likely effect of a large-scale Autoguide system on road safety and traffic management. We have previously undertaken that the results of our evaluation would be presented to Parliament.

If the results of our monitoring show that a large scale system would not prejudice road safety or good traffic management, the operator would have a right to enter into negotiations for a second licence. This would allow him to provide a fully commercial Autoguide system throughout the London/M.25 area. Commercial operations could begin by the end of 1993.

My right honourable friend is willing to consider the issue of a licence for a pilot scheme for a further area. The ASL proposal included a pilot scheme covering an area outside London. The department would be willing to discuss these proposals further with that group if they so wish, and will welcome proposals from other groups also. One of the criteria in assessing proposals would be the extent to which they would promote competiton in the development of Autoguide. It would be a licensing requirement that a second scheme should be compatible with that being operated in London. This would offer motorists the prospect of continuous route guidance over a large area of the country.

We beleive that Autoguide has an important role to play in easing congestion and so making the best use of our roads. It is clear that private industry shares that view.