Commentary

Congested Businesses: UK edition, part II

YORKSHIRE firms are going bust because traffic queues are forcing shoppers to give up and go home in despair, according to one of Britain’s biggest business pressure groups. A campaign against congestion is being stepped up following the re-election of Leeds businessman Chris Glen as chairman of the Yorkshire and Humber policy unit of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Mr Glen, who was re-elected unopposed by the FSB’s 14,500 members in the region, said the problem had reached crisis point. According to FSB research, almost half of all businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber lost more than 50 working hours in the year because of traffic congestion, and 17 per cent lost more than 100 hours. Nearly a third of the 1,400 businesses questioned in Yorkshire lost more than £1,000 because of congestion problems, while one in 10 lost more than £5,000.

Article here. Related: Part I