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A FAIR DEAL FOR THE MOTORIST |
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ROAD PRICING - BACK FROM THE DEAD? A QUICK SUMMARY |
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KEY ISSUES AND LINKS Government ambitions National road pricing is certainly
controversial. Previous governments have considered initiatives but dropped
plans in the face of public opposition or technical issues. In November 2011, the
Government released an ‘independent’ report on
the stewardship and financing of major roads in England (‘the Cook report’). Analysis showed
that the intention that Government should largely privatise the operation, if
not the ownership of England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN), with
ministers largely washing their hands. The SRN would be sweated for maximum
economic return, with perks for the commercial managers. In its response
in May 2012, the government overwhelmingly accepted the report. It
identified follow-up actions, such as discussing ‘route based strategies’ to consider
and sell the idea of tolling
routes that are currently free. This would be a policy shift - see
the article on plans for the A14 in Cambs,
being discussed at the same time. The Government has also brought in a
lorry road user
charge, ‘LRUC’. This has been controversial and there is speculation that
it will lay the foundations for wider road pricing. The 2012 Budget showed that the Treasury
still wanted more income from drivers.
Other interested parties The Government is not the only
interested party. The EU has a vision
of compulsory road pricing for all vehicles on all roads, which it has long pursued
EU-wide
road pricing proposals were released by the European
Commission during a Bank Holiday week in May 2017 when the UK was tied up
with its general election. They would at least require the London Congestion
Charge and the UK Lorry Road User Charge for HGVs to be reset as a
pay-per-mile charge which would involve comprehensive vehicle tracking – or
dropped, with financial complications, like supplier compensation and loss of
revenue. The 2017 EU proposals
push the prospect of extending road pricing to other vehicles like cars (in
line with its still-current 2011 blueprint). The EU had also considered using
‘under-the-radar’ tactics such as laundering
the proposals under a non-transport heading such as ‘Energy Union’. If EU
legislation was passed before (nominally) March 2019, it would survive
Brexit. The EU also seeks to manage major routes
as a ‘Trans European Network’ under a common approach, and wants a large
increase in infrastructure investment to meet economic growth targets. Its
own road pricing consultation
was launched in August 2012. In 2016, it also proposed EU-wide
road pricing for cities. The Government has set up a
controversial Motorists’
Forum – in the name of representing motorists. However the range of interests
represented are commercial, government and lobbyist rather than the voice of
Britain’s 33 million motorists, and it amazingly includes a representative of
an anti-motorist group. In 2015, the Government passed the Infrastructure Act,
turning the Highways Agency into a company (‘Highways England’) with road
tolling powers. There is evidence that Government assurances that
there are no plans to toll existing roads are looking very thin! Wider issues General issues that may be relevant include:
* propping up stressed public finances,
* addressing congestion, * avoiding having to build more
capacity * links with infrastructure
expansion (e.g. housing) and population growth * 'the environment' / carbon
emissions, Recommended resources Alliance of British
Drivers (ABD) National Association Against
Tolls (NAAT) |
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