§ Mr. RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his estimate of the cost to the economy of road congestion in each of the last 10 years. [105696]
§ Mr. HillNo complete and consistent set of estimates has, to my knowledge, been compiled. A number of estimates have been made of the value road users place on the extra journey times caused by congestion, for different years and using different methods. They agree that this runs to billions of pounds every year, and has been rising. These estimates do not, though, take into account the very considerable costs of providing congestion-free conditions. We will be examining the economic implications as part of the follow-up to our report, "Tackling Congestion and Pollution", published today.