Press Releases

The Alliance, which is campaigning against the construction of a second Tyne road tunnel, says the PTA has claimed that the construction of the tunnel would bring benefits to cross Tyne public transport.

"We fail to see the PTA officers' logic in all this", says Brian Paget of the Alliance, "when according to them 70 per cent of the tunnel users live within a 7 mile radius of the tunnel. Why can't the PTA come up with a common sense public transport solution, instead of blowing millions of private and public money on a PFI profit driven scheme?"

A private transport company lobby group, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), has also misguidedly added its support for the proposed tunnel.

"However, none of the CPT's local member bus companies has given any guarantee they will use the proposed tunnel, or increase cross river services", continued Brian Paget. "In view of this the CPT's claim is not rational, and it lacks the support of sound economic evidence".

The PTA has already admitted that a second tunnel would increase local traffic.

"Do they really expect people to believe the local congestion this will cause will encourage transport providers to expand their services?", said Mr Paget.

The PTA has a responsibility to improve local public transport, but all it will succeed in doing is increase car use. This forces low income families to become dependent upon an expensive form of transport and a very expensive roads scheme.

"By promoting this scheme the PTA has shown that it has chosen to ignore its duty to provide services for local people," said Mr Paget, "and to ensure that only the PFI company collecting the tolls will benefit."

People can stop this short-sighted scheme and seek a long-term solution to local transport problems by persuading Alastair Darling MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, to call a Public Inquiry into the project. Despite the PTA's having years to prepare the application, objectors have only until the 19th July to write to Mr Darling at the Department of Transport stating their objections.