Cabinet Office civil servant Willy Rickett has been appointed to head a new taskforce charged with pulling together a 10-year modernisation strategy for transport.

Late last year Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, also head of the massive Department of Environment, Regions & Transport, handed over responsibility for transportation matters to Lord Macdonald amidst growing criticism about lack of progress and coordination.

Rickett will work with Lord Macdonald, drawing together a taskforce comprised of both public and private sector members. The intention is for this group to begin advising on improvements as soon as possible, while the larger strategy evolves.

A study, published last autumn by the Building Research Establishment, focused on the relationship between transport and buildings. Many current workplace trends - including growth in technology and introduction of flexible working practices - can be combined with use of public transport and car sharing to deliver a range of benefits, the BRE says.

Companies with integrated transport policies generally showed increased productivity and lower stress levels amongst staff. Many also found they required smaller buildings that were less expensive to construct, maintain and operate.

The BRE notes that the typical cost of constructing a parking space is £600, with a further £100 needed each year to maintain it. Elsewhere, it has been calculated that the average land value of a parking space in Hertfordshire is an incredible £8000.

And, if more incentive is needed to improve transportation systems, it comes at least in part from Friends of the Earth. The pro-environment body reports that air quality in the UK last year showed the biggest deterioration since modern records began.

Elliott Chase