The road network in many countries, and Britain in particular, is not capable of supporting the volume of traffic required for the efficient operation of a modern industrial society. The levels of pollution traffic congestion and accidents are reducing road transport's acceptability.

Private road transport, (the car and truck) has become so popular, because of its quality of service, that it is causing much congestion and pollution. Governments are now attempting to reduce its use by imposing restrictions and additional costs in order to force people onto trains and busses and goods onto trains.

Public transport does not provide the service that people want. It does not go from door to door, does not go when wanted, is perceived by the user to cost too much at the point of use, cannot cope with bulky loads, is often dirty and makes journeys take too long. It also often requires one or more changes of conveyance to complete a journey.

Most people in western countries have access to a car, if not one for their personal use. The cost of using the car is usually seen as just the cost of the extra fuel used. Real marginal cost should also include tyres, servicing and mileage related depreciation but these are not very obvious to the user. Even with heavy subsidy, public transport cannot compete with the cars perceived operating cost.

The transport establishment, both public (government) and private (manufacturers, media and motoring organisations) seems to have a mind set which allows them to think only of palliatives and tinkering with old concepts as solutions to the pressing transport problems. The situation has now become more serious than this allows.

Jobs for life are no longer the norm. Much greater flexibility of labour is needed, without the need to frequently uproot families. Total weekly commuting time for many people is already 20 hours. Much faster and more relaxed commuting over greater distances will become even more necessary to ease the strains on family life. Not to develop more competent transport concepts will threaten the fabric of society.

There is nothing inherently wrong with using old concepts, but trains, trams and busses have been about for so long that we should look at the advances in technology to see what better options may now be available. Instead, politicians seem keen on spending billions on systems, which cannot provide a solution for the majority, when less money could solve the problem.

We are about to enter the 3rd millennium with transport systems, which do not match the needs or aspirations of the users, nor the capabilities of current technology.

What is the key to the solution?