Summary
Between 2003 and 2004 traffic on the United Kingdom's
roads increased by 1.7 per cent.[1]
This may not sound much: it was 5.2 billion miles more than was
travelled in 2003. The Department for Transport anticipates a
30 per cent increase in road traffic (compared to 2000 levels)
by 2015.[2] Congestion
already has a strangle-hold on many of our towns and cities at
rush hour and on important parts of the strategic road network.
We know that the UK has some of the most congested roads in Europe;
what we do not know, with any certainty, is the cost that this
congestion imposes on the British economy. A thorough evaluation
of the costs of congestion and an understanding of its economic
impact are urgently required, if the cost effectiveness of a national
road pricing scheme is to be properly assessed.
We welcome the Government's acknowledgement that
although some new road infrastructure may be needed, we cannot
simply build our way out of the congestion problems we face. There
is a broad consensus that some form of demand management will
be necessary as part of a package of measures to improve conditions
on the road network. Road pricing has the potential to reduce
congestion and to ensure that the price of road transport correctly
reflects the wider costs of road use. We welcome the fact that
the Secretary of State for Transport is leading the debate. If
the cost of the scheme can be brought in line with its benefits,
and if the potential impacts on road safety and social inclusion
can be minimised, road pricing should be introduced. However,
road pricing is not an end in itself: it must contribute to social
and economic objectives such as sustaining vibrant, accessible
and economically active urban centres.
Central London already has a congestion charging
scheme in place, and the new M6 Toll road has introduced motorway
tolling to the UK. Modelling suggests that a national road pricing
system could reduce urban congestion by nearly half. It is sensible
to take a phased approach to a national road pricing system. But
it is not straightforward. There are several choices to be made.
There are difficult issues with which professionals and politicians
alike are wrestling. There are fundamental questions to be decided:
- which roads to price and when,
- which technology systems to use,
- how to set the tariffs, and
- how to spend the revenue.
Ultimately the Government must make some difficult
decisions. National road pricing would have to be acceptable to
the public. The central choice is which is preferable: increasingly
congested roads, or the introduction of road user charging?
The Department for Transport has suggested that a
national road pricing system would not be technologically possible
before 2014. We have heard estimates that put the potential start
date earlier. Even so, there are proven small-scale applications
that could be undertaken today. The Government expects local urban
charging schemes to "amount to a trajectory towards a national
road pricing system."[3]
But after Edinburgh's recent rejection of city-wide charging no
metropolitan area is actively pursuing urban congestion charging
proposals. Generally speaking we think this form of demand management
is a good thing, but there will be circumstances in which it is
not appropriate and local authorities are best placed to take
that decision in relation to their own road system. The Government
must work through the difficulties with local and regional government.
Road pricing schemes must not be undertaken in isolation, and
complementary measures such as improved public transport services
must be in place before the charges come into force. Furthermore,
the Government must not duck its responsibility for charging on
the most congested stretches of the strategic road network, which
is under its direct control.
A national road pricing system would radically transform
the way we pay for road use. As the possibility of a national
road pricing system draws closer, the Government must make other
transport policy decisions with this potential transformation
strongly in mind. The road building programme and road improvement
proposals should be appraised against traffic forecasts which
take into account the impact of national road pricing on travel
behaviour. The Government is about to sign contracts for systems
that will deliver the Lorry Road User Charge. Ideally the contracts
should allow sufficient flexibility for the Lorry Road User Charge
to integrate into a national, or even European, system. Similarly,
it would be a mistake to encourage a patchwork of privately operated
toll roads, like the M6 Toll, across the UK which could not, without
significant expense, be incorporated into subsequent national
transport strategies, such as road pricing. The M6 Toll could
prove to be a costly experiment if the Government has to buy out
the 50 year concession agreement to enable national interoperability.
1 National Statistics, Transport Statistics Bulletin
Traffic in Great Britain Q4 2004 Back
2
RP21A Back
3
Department for Transport (2004) The Future of Transport White
Paper: a network for 2030. Cm 6234. Page 47 Back
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