Management of local transport plans is undermined by major flaws in the monitoring and collection of data, according to new government-commissioned research.

 A study by Atkins, in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Warwick Business School, suggests that although up to £15M a year is being spent collecting data, it is not reliable or consistent enough for the Department of Transport to gauge the effectiveness of local authorities’ LTP policies, which attracted some £6.8bn in funding over the five years since April 2001, and which are promised £1.25bn in 2007/08. The Long term process and impact evaluation of the local transport plan policy report says: ‘The evidence suggest that current monitoring arrangements for local transport monitoring, while improving, are not delivering data of appropriate reliability and consistency which allows the department to fully understand the effect of its LTP policies. ‘This reduces the reduces decision-makers’ ability to make the case for local transport investment relative to other priorities or develop improved policies and practice based on sound evidence.’ The report makes a total of 43 recommendations for both the DfT and authorities over the short, medium and long term, but adds: ‘We believe that developments in technology are likely to address a number of these concerns, and limitations of existing practice, at reasonable cost.’ It also suggests: ‘Much more could be achieved if authorities followed the available guidance more consistently, disseminated good practice comprehensively, and achieved economies of scale through joint data collection and analysis. Any monitoring system is a trade-off both between different users of data and between statistical accuracy, practicality and cost. The report details major changes in the core indicators used to collate transport data since the introduction of LTPs in April 2001 and says: ‘Extensive changes in the approach used to monitor the condition of principal and non-principal roads has limited the usefulness of the data as a performance-management tool and as a means of tracking progress nationally and within local authorities.’ It also found that ways of assessing bus patronage ‘have changed notably’ so that data collected annually for these indicators ‘is not comparable from year to year’, and the report also criticises the police for incorrect and inconsistent recording of road accidents and suggests:’ There are concerns among authorities and government offices that they are not technically qualified to do so and do not always make sensible judgements.’ Researchers also found many authorities relied on manual counts to monitor local levels of cycling. : www.dft.gov.uk

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