Think it through, fast green magnetic trains, traffic light tax and risk taking.

The Conservatives have announced plans to tax flights rather than individual passengers in an attempt to make flying more ‘green’ by encouraging airlines to operate with full aircraft. This strikes me as another example of politicians not fully thinking through the consequences of their actions. Of course airlines want full planes. It is a simple matter of business economics. Already some low cost operators cancel flights at short notice if they don’t have many passengers. The Conservative’s proposal is likely to lead to even more cancelled flights, which is fine unless you happen to be the one left stranded. Even more so if this means you miss an important business appointment. The UK economy needs a better transport infrastructure, not greater unreliability.

As a nation we have to be prepared to take technological and financial risks. Although it was a German who first dreamed of 'electromagnetic levitation trains', it was Eric Laithwaite, a British professor of electrical engineering who invented the linear electric motor in the late 40s. It is this technology that made Maglev trains possible and it is used today by both German and Japanese systems.

In Germany a deal has just been done to link Munich airport to the city centre. The builders of the Munich system, Transrapid, a Siemens – ThyssenKrupp consortium, were responsible for the Maglev from Shanghai airport to the city centre. On a good day the journey takes 40 minutes by car. The Maglev does it in just over seven minutes!

The Japanese are also developing a system and it is likely that the two countries will end up supplying Maglev systems to much of the world, just as they do with current high speed trains (along with the French). Maglev is exactly the sort of cutting edge technology that the UK should be developing if we are to achieve the government’s ambition to become a technology and enterprise economy.

Maglev could also be a significant contributor to ‘greener’ travel. According to Transrapid, the technology uses five times less energy per passenger mile than jet aircraft. However, the cost and disruption associated with building a Maglev infrastructure are likely to mean its adoption is going to be fairly slow.

Stop-start traffic is a very significant generator of emissions. Every time a vehicle accelerates emission levels soar. And of course, when stationary there are pollutants being emitted without any travel gain. I have a simple proposal to improve this. It is a tax on traffic lights! I’d start by focussing on contractors’ lights. If you want to dig the road up you need to apply to the local council for permission and to install lights. So I’d allow one day of tax free activity, thereafter I would levy a daily tax. I guarantee that this would dramatically reduce road works times!

Continuing on the earlier theme of risk taking, the Conservatives have announced that they would make it easier for youngsters to take part in competitive team sports, go on outward bound trips and 'put adventure back into learning'. They plan to move the balance away from 'health and safety bureaucrats'. "We will let our children once more enjoy the thrill of the wind in their hair and the thrill of testing themselves outside their comfort zones," said the party’s spokesman on education, Michael Gove. This has to be good news. We have to get away from the ‘nanny state’ and become more adventurous in all areas if we are to compete in the global economy of the 21st century.

A less welcome aspect of risk taking for those of us who are nervous flyers is the news that the China Aviation Industry Corporation is currently assembling a regional passenger jet that it hopes will establish China as a major plane manufacturer. The quality record of Chinese products and the Chinese air safety record are not encouraging!



David Wike