The Freight Transport Association has announced their support for the Government’s new transport investment plan. The largest trade body for the transport sector for the UK has said that the move to invest in this area is great news for the sector however for it to be achievable there needs to be more investment into the road network.

The Government policy in question was announced earlier this week, on the 4th of July and the details of the Government plan include dedicating funds that have been raised through the Vehicle Excise Duty in order to carry out road improvements. The Freight Transport Association works to represent around half of the UK fleet and says that the policy is a good step forward but that more needs to be dome in order to upgrade the network.

The Head of National and Regional Policy for the FTA, Christopher Snelling has said that the focus that has been established by the Government to invest in the country’s roads could improve performance for the transport industry and lead to increased economic growth. Also the investment into the roads will lead to a reduced number of bottlenecks on the road network, leading to less traffic and faster transportation times. However the FTA has also pointed out that this investment shouldn’t be the only solution used to pay for the improvements required all over the country.

At the moment the roads that are considered Major local authority roads make up a big part of the total road network, therefore extra money allocated to improve these roads will improve the driving experience for a large amount of road users. However by the investment promises being given to a wider range of projects than previously, the FTA expect there to be more and more demand on a limited resource. This means that the Government will need to support the investment into improving infrastructure by providing a further source of investment.