Sensitive Lorry Miles (SLM) information

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Monetary values are used as a means of quantifying the benefit of shifting freight from road to rail or water. These values are used in the calculations of Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) and the Rail Environmental Benefit Procurement Scheme (REPS) and the Waterborne Freight Grant (WFG).

The values are designed to accurately reflect the costs to society of HGVs on roads and the economic and environmental benefits to be gained from shifting freight from road to rail or water.

The Sensitive Lorry Miles were arrived at following an in-depth process of research, and evaluation in conjunction with the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA).

There are seven different road categories. These have been developed to take into account the different type and level of impacts of lorries on different locations, different roads and under different conditions. The road categories represent an amalgamation of the road classifications that are available in the DfT's National Transport Model. The description of these roads is:

Motorways (high, medium and low congested)

These SLM categories include the whole UK motorway network and are broken down into low, medium and high-congested stretches with the following values per mile:

High Congestion: 69p

Medium Congestion: 27p

Low Congestion: 4p

Conurbation

The conurbation areas are defined as:

London
West Midlands
Merseyside/Greater Manchester/South Yorkshire/West Yorkshire
Tyne & Wear
Greater Glasgow

See the links towards the bottom of this page for maps of these areas showing Sensitive Lorry Miles.

Conurbation - Trunk & Principle

This SLM category includes all trunk single and dual roads (including those transferred to the Greater London Assembly in July 2000) and all principle single & dual A roads contained within the conurbation areas.

Value per mile: £1.38

Conurbation - Other

This SLM category includes all other roads within the identified conurbation areas, including B, C and unclassified roads.

Value per mile: £1.74

Rural & Urban - Trunk & Principle

This SLM category includes all trunk single and dual roads and all principle single and dual A roads outside the identified conurbation areas.

Value per mile: 53p

Rural & Urban - Other

This category includes all other roads outside the identified conurbation areas, including B, C and unclassified roads.

Value per mile: 45p

Environmental Benefit Calculator

The Environmental Benefit Calculator currently found on link http://www.dft.gov.uk/eb-calculator has been developed using commercial route planning software similar to that used by other on-line route planning applications. It has been modified to include these route values and give the ability, using via's, to replicate accurately the route used by HGV operators.

Routing application development has been developed by Infotech Enterprises Europe using road network data provided by Teleatlas.

With the Environmental Benefit Calculator you can quickly and accurately calculate the value of an individual journey.