Scott Begbie: Scottish Government is going down the wrong road with its war on cars
Could the high heid-yins at Holyrood please drop the dogma and rethink their war on cars before the north-east grinds to a halt?
We've already had barmy suggestions such as cutting the speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on single carriages stretches of trunk roads like the A96, just to make it that bit more time-consuming to Inverness.
And no need to rehearse the carnage bus gates have created in Aberdeen city centre – or the sheer illogical thinking of wrapping a Low Emission Zone round a train station and busy working harbour crammed with diesel trains and ships.
Now we have the latest wheeze of suggesting roads in 'built-up' areas – including key transport routes by the way – be reduced to 20mph.
Now, that's fine and dandy in places that are properly residential where ordinary folk – especially kids – should go about their business in quiet and safety without motors zooming past at speed.
But to slow traffic down to a 20mph crawl on the likes of major routes like Holburn Street, Garthdee Road and North Deeside Road? Seriously?
Sometimes I think there's a man behind a curtain in the bowels of the Scottish Parliament coming up with wizard wheezes designed purely to force drivers around the bend – providing they do it at 20mph or less.
I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually get an announcement that we are going back to the future – cars can only drive on city roads if they have someone walking in front of them holding a red flag.
There is, of course, a policy at play in these diktats from Holyrood. It's to 'encourage' people to give up the car and use public transport instead – or get on their bikes.
The only problem is, here in the north-east the car is quite simply the cheapest, quickest and easiest way to get around, be it for work or play, given the disjointed public transport network that we have.
For example, on days when I car share to the city office, I'm door to door in 25 minutes – including a walk from my drop off point. On days I take the train, I have to leave 20 minutes earlier than normal, walk to the station, hope the train turns up on time, or at all, and then walk to the office, all of which takes a good 40 minutes out of my day.
Now which do you think I choose most often?
Besides, the anti-car drive isn't working. The Scottish Government's target was to cut car use across the nation by 20% by the end of the decade. It's only come down by 3.6% since before the pandemic.
Little wonder then, that Holyrood last month dropped that target as 'not realistic'.
Well, we could have told you that. Same with so many of the other measures.
So, can the powers-that-be now concede we all still need our cars, especially with the north-east's mix of rural and urban communities, and stop trying to make driving as difficult as humanely possible?
You're on the wrong road, admit it and change direction for all our sakes.
Scott Begbie is a journalist and editor, as well as PR and comms manager for Aberdeen Inspired.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Gaza Freedom Flotilla urges UK Government to 'protect' ship
Members of the humanitarian coalition are currently en route to Gaza on the Madleen ship, which is expected to arrive within the next 24 hours. The vessel flies a UK flag, meaning that it falls under the jurisdiction of the UK Government. There are 12 volunteers on the ship, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, as well as other volunteers from France, Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil and Germany. READ MORE: UK won't recognise Palestine at UN conference despite 'discussions', reports say The ship set off from Sicily on June 1 and its live tracker shows that it has almost reached Gaza. In a statement shared in the early hours of Saturday, the group said: "The 'Madleen', a UK-flagged civilian ship en route to Gaza, is protected under international maritime law. "As a vessel flying the British flag, it falls under the jurisdiction and responsibility of the UK government, which has a legal duty to defend 'Madleen' and the civilians on board, and to prevent unlawful interference - including any threat or use of force - by foreign powers such as Israel." The coalition called on the UK Government to issue a public warning to Israel that any action against the Madleen is "unacceptable and unlawful" and to act to protect the rights and safety of those onboard the vessel. The group also urged the UK Government to "comply with its legal duties" to "prevent genocide" and to "[reject] the legitimacy of Israel's blockade and actively supporting efforts to deliver humanitarian aid and uphold international law". It comes after crew on the Madleen issued an alert after a drone was spotted flying over the vessel on June 3 as it was more than 1000km from Greek waters. The drone was later identified as a Helenic Coast Guard Heron surveillance drone, which the coalition said is used as part of a wider military and intelligence partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel. READ MORE: 'Joy, celebration and warmth' of Palestinian art to be showcased at Edinburgh Fringe Israeli news outlets are reporting that Israel is preparing to block the vessel from entering Gaza. According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli navy is monitoring the boat's route and plans to intercept the vessel if it continues to Gaza. The newspaper adds that the UK Government is monitoring the situation and that it has reportedly asked Israel to vouch for the safety of the Madleen and those on board. The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Nigeria's reforms have put the country on the global economic map
As ghosts of the 1930s haunt the global outlook, the scramble for trade deals has seized control of government agendas. The United States has leveraged its 'tariff war ' to secure better terms, driving both friend and foe to the negotiating table. British deals with the US and India have provided some refuge from the prevailing gloom. Less reported – but with similar potential – was last year's signing of the Enhanced and Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) between the UK and Nigeria , the former's first such agreement with an African nation. Quiet in its arrival, the pact may yet echo louder. As someone who has built multinational businesses across Africa, I know the vast opportunity the continent offers, and Nigeria in particular, which alone accounts for a fifth of sub-Saharan Africa's 1.2 billion people. But I also understand the limitations we have often placed on ourselves when it comes to securing investment. Lowering barriers to trade is crucial, and for that Britain's ETIP looks prescient. However, investment and business potential will remain discounted as long as African nations cling to state intervention – from subsidies and price controls to exchange rate distortions – all of which have consistently bred dysfunction and economic instability. Fortunately, Nigeria has now decisively turned a corner, embracing market economics under a liberalising government. In Morocco this week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy indicated Britain's position is shifting too. Setting out his strategy for Africa, he said British policy must transition from aid to investment. 'Trade-not-aid' is no new idea – but it is the first time a British government has so clearly echoed the demand the African continent has voiced for years. In making that shift, Nigeria is taking the lead for a continent to follow. So many Nigerian administrations I have known have been hostage to economic events, doubling down time and again on state intervention rather than having the conviction to reform. This administration is proving different. After two years of difficult reforms, Nigeria – under President Bola Tinubu – is now poised to fulfil the promise of its vast natural resources, rapidly growing population of over 200 million people, and strategic coastal location along the Gulf of Guinea. First, the Tinubu administration removed a crippling fuel subsidy – the most significant policy reform in years. At 25 to 30 cents per litre, petrol in Nigeria was among the cheapest in the world. But the subsidy was bankrupting the government: by 2023, it consumed over 15 per cent of the federal budget – roughly equivalent to the proportion the UK spends annually on the NHS. When President Tinubu ditched the fuel subsidy on his first day in office, criticism quickly followed. Prices, at least for the time being, have risen. However, statistics must be understood in light of the wide-ranging distortions the subsidy created. Officially, fuel consumption in Nigeria has dropped by 40 to 50 per cent. But that is not because Nigerians' petrol use reduced by this amount. In reality the country was subsidising the region, with cross border fuel smugglers profiting from arbitrage. The illegal trade was so blatant that on a visit to neighbouring Niger a few years ago, then-President Mohamed Bazoum even joked about it, thanking Nigeria for the cheap fuel. Though the move was politically unpopular, the subsidy had become unsustainable. Now, spending is being redirected toward development and infrastructure – laying the foundations for long-term growth. Second, the country has moved from a fixed to a market-determined exchange rate. Previously, only select groups could access the official rate – especially those with political connections; the rest had to rely on a more expensive parallel informal market determined by supply and demand. But selling dollars at an artificially low rate only entrenched scarcity, a problem compounded by an opaque exchange mechanism that deterred foreign investment. Every two weeks, we used to make the 12-hour drive to Abuja to seek dollar allocations for imports – camping out at the Central Bank for three or four days. Now, I no longer need to go. I've met the new Governor only once in two years – because I haven't had to. Monetary orthodoxy has finally arrived, bringing with it the liquidity that both domestic and foreign businesses depend on to smooth trade and de-risk investment. Third, the shackles of politics are being prised from business, bringing greater certainty, fairness and stability to the landscape. Five years ago, I woke up one morning to find that the port concession for a new venture of mine had been revoked. It turned out my company was outcompeting a friend of an official of the Nigerian Ports Authority. In the end, it took then-President Buhari's personal intervention to save the enterprise. Had I not been politically connected, the business would have folded – along with the 4,000 jobs it provided – at a time when job creation was, and remains, Nigeria's most urgent challenge. Today, such connections are no longer necessary. The playing field is being levelled, flattening the political ridges and dips that once skewed the game. Many of these reforms required political courage to withstand the force of criticism. Prices rose as distortions were removed, yet the administration held firm, even as vested interests co-opted public discontent for their own ends. Indeed, many of the benefits of reform are still to be felt by the wider public. But economic fundamentals must be fixed before that becomes possible. That lead-time often tempts market reformers to reverse course, or avoid reform altogether. Now that Nigeria has made it through the toughest phase, its direction should be clear to investors. For Britain, the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership with Nigeria was a strategic bet on reform, resilience and long-term reward. Nigeria is now delivering its part of the bargain. As my country steadies itself, the UK, its Western allies – and their companies – should deepen this partnership.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Rogue Labor MP reveals why Albo is 'seriously an idiot' after a stunning move that benefits absolutely nobody: PVO
Keep your friends close... Josh Frydenberg's former spinner Kane Silom has been appointed director of communications for the much-diminished federal opposition.
