The State and its role - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 150

a decent public transport service or even just to park a car in the street outside their
home!) Although this may help to win support for a particular viewpoint it confuses
discussion considerably.
There are in fact several different conceptions of rights. We may distinguish three
- political rights, human rights and welfare rights. Political rights are basic freedoms
which the State protects, but which it may also decide to amend. In the transport
field a system of 'rights of way' has been established by law in the UK which confirms
freedom of movement over certain designated routes - not merely public highways
but also private paths and tracks over which the public has traditionally had access.
However these rights can be amended or terminated in particular places, e.g. to allow
for the construction of a new road or development. A general right of way can also be
amended by traffic regulation which effectively withdraws the right of movement for
specified classes of user or limits it at certain places and times. The Special Roads Act
of 1949 created a new class of highway - the motorway - from which certain users such
as pedestrians, cyclists and horseriders are excluded altogether.
Political rights by definition embody some conception of human rights - i.e. the
freedoms which each individual is thought to be entitled to as a matter of natural justice.
In recent decades a notable development in the UK has been explicit recognition
through legislation of freedom from discrimination on the grounds of race and gender.
Particularly important in the transport field has been action to counter discrimination
against disabled people (13.2). More generally human rights campaigners have sought
for codes to be established and upheld on an international basis. The key feature of
such codes is that they may be used to challenge the legitimacy of actions (whether
by governments or others) irrespective of whether they are permissible under the
legislation prevailing in particular countries. The European Convention on Human
Rights, adopted in 1950, was incorporated directly into UK law under the Human
Rights Act in 1998. However the full implications of this (in terms of UK policy and
practice) will depend on the outcome of test cases being brought and adjudicated upon
and will therefore take several years to determine.
It is in the provision of welfare services that the notion of 'rights' comes to assume
importance in a more everyday sense. For example the fact that the Transport Act
2000 required the operation of a concessionary fares system in all areas (whereas
previously local authorities only had the powers to do so) means that eligible groups are
now automatically entitled to its benefits. Similarly children living beyond prescribed
distances from their schools have the 'right' to free transport. However such welfare
rights or 'entitlements' need to be distinguished from the more fundamental human
rights. It is open to any UK Government, as a matter of policy, to vary the level of
entitlement to welfare provision (including removing it altogether) subject of course
to it not contravening its own legislation on discrimination or to the provisions of the
European Convention.
Inter-generational equity and the use of finite resources
The notion of rights also arises in connection with inter-generational equity, although
no formal legislation or judicial procedures exist in this field. Normally present-
day transactions do not reflect more than the costs and benefits incurred by users
and suppliers over the lifetime of a project. However decisions which involve the
consumption of finite resources beg questions about the value to be placed on these by
future generations. Some people assert that we do not have the 'right' to compromise