Hansard

I thank the members who signed the motion and members who have remained in the chamber for the debate, and I repeat my commendation of the Aberdeenshire environmental forum and the city of Aberdeen environmental forum for their facilitation of a thorough discussion of the proposed north-east regional transport strategy. There is much cynicism about consultation, but the more people take the trouble to get involved, the more effective and real consultation becomes.

Transport opens up opportunities for work, leisure activities and socialising. Lack of transport or access to transport—whether physical or to do with cost—denies people some or all of those opportunities. Transport is important in our response to climate change, because it contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Exhaust emissions also have an effect on human health. Therefore, it is evident that in considering transport strategy a wide range of factors, some of which are conflicting, must be balanced against each other.

I represent a constituency in an area that makes a disproportionately large contribution to the economy but which is logistically quite remote from markets, so I am acutely aware of the economic imperative for the fast, effective movement of goods and people in and out of the area. The recent gauge enhancement of the railway from Elgin to Mossend, to accommodate modern freight wagons, will take goods off the roads and is very welcome.

However, two recent developments are of concern to my constituents. First, Great North Eastern Railway's record in maintaining a service along the entire length of the east coast main line has been less than perfect. GNER had a tendency to dump Aberdeen passengers in Edinburgh when the service was held up on its way north. When the east coast main line franchise is relet, it must be made clear that the east coast main line runs from London to Aberdeen, and if necessary that should be underlined by swingeing penalties if service obligations are not met.

Secondly, my constituents are concerned about the dogma-driven way in which the Competition Commission is dealing with the joint venture between Megabus and Scottish Citylink Coaches to supply what I and my constituents think is a good, reasonably priced, reliable and frequent service between Scottish cities and the south.

That reasonably priced and well-used service would be better guaranteed through undertakings, rather than through divestiture and an attempt to promote a guarantee of reasonably priced services through what I perceive to be non-existent competition. There is no way in which there could be competition on the routes, which is why undertakings would be a far better way to deliver the services. To be perfectly honest, the Competition Commission should butt out.

I have two local issues on which I ask the minister to prompt action, both of which involve railway bridges. I thank the minister for visiting Gordon to see the issues for himself. The first is Inveramsay bridge, which interrupts the main trunk road between Scotland's third and fifth cities. It is ludicrous to have a traffic-light-controlled single carriageway on a main trunk road. The issue is a long-running one that we wish to be resolved. The main trunk road in question is the A96. I reiterate my long-term ambition to have that road dualled along its length, with bypasses of towns such as Keith. I request an assurance that nothing will be done as part of works along the length of the road that will in any way obstruct the achievement of that in the long run.

That brings me to an issue that was raised at the public meeting in Aberdeen to which my motion refers. There was a plea that the weighting that is given to the carbon cost of transport projects in the Scottish transport appraisal guidance mechanism, which the Scottish Executive uses to weigh transport schemes, should be considered. I simply put that issue into the equation.

The second railway bridge that concerns me and which creates a bottleneck is the one at Souterford Road in Inverurie. The minister has seen for himself how that constriction creates backed-up congestion in the centre of the town. Aberdeenshire Council has developed an integrated transport plan for Inverurie that would incorporate a bus and rail exchange, but which requires the bridge to be dealt with. I would appreciate any assistance that the minister can give in bringing Network Rail to the table to discuss the development.

As I represent a largely rural constituency, I am acutely aware of the limitations of poor or expensive transport connections and the dependence of many rural dwellers, whatever their income, on the private car. Road-user charging, if properly applied, can temper the wind to the shorn lamb. If we lift the one-size-fits-all taxation on the private motorist and shift the tax burden on to motorists in accordance with how much they contribute to congestion, that would benefit the rural car user and would be an excellent way forward.