Small businesses in the South-East have added their voices to the debate on transport policy in the UK.
They claim the region's crumbling transport infrastructure is costing them £670 million a year. This amounts to a staggering £4 billion across the UK.
Taken from a survey carried out for business services organisation Clearlybusiness, the findings equate to an average cost of £1,100 to every small firm in the South-East as a result of delayed deliveries, missed meetings or employees arriving late for work.
What is more worrying is that 38 per cent of small business owners in the South-East believe the poor state of the nation's road and rail network has been a significant additional cost to their business during the past year.
The impact of the crisis has been more acutely felt in industry sectors heavily reliant on transportation, including manufacturing and construction, where 51 per cent of businesses say it has been a significant cost.
Small businesses are unconvinced about the merits of increasing investment to improve public transport.
Only 16 per cent say they would make more use of public transport if it was improved, compared with 22 per cent across the UK.
Instead, more than two thirds strongly believe the Government should do more to either reduce the cost of fuel or put more of the revenue it raises from fuel duties into improving the transport infrastructure.
Small businesses can register their views on the Clearlybusiness web site.
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