Road Pricing - The Motorist's View

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Unless Government starts to build support and understanding of national road pricing now, it has no chance of success in the future. It risks being seen by motorists as just another way of raising revenue rather than a genuine attempt to tackle congestion

Speaking at an IPPR seminar in London today (26th), David Holmes, Chairman of the RAC Foundation, will tell delegates that motorists' views of road pricing will depend heavily on how they and their families will be affected. But national road pricing is ten years off and the detailed effects cannot be predicted now.

"At this stage the potential benefits of road pricing must be spelled out so that people can see that the objectives are worth pursuing."

"We talk about encouraging people to take rational decisions on how and when they travel and to make adjustments, but people may fear that road pricing could actually mean enforced changes in their patterns of life - for some possibly changing jobs, where they live or where their children go to school."

"If we don't start building an understanding of and support for road pricing now, it has very little chance of gaining support ten years down the line."

He will then suggest a five-point plan to win motorists over. The plan would include firm commitments agreed by the major political parties on:

• Objective charges and an independent regulator
• Proceeds re-invested in transport and additional to current spending commitments
• Clear timetable for implementation
• Protection of privacy
• Protection for the least well off

These principles must apply to any local pilot schemes run by local authorities. If these are seen just as ways of raising money they will damage the credibility of the whole policy.

Holmes will state that road pricing represents a fundamental change in motoring taxation affecting over 30 million motorists. Charges must not be imposed on top of existing motoring taxes but be evidence based and independently audited. To maintain public confidence the scheme must be overseen by an independent regulator. Drivers must also see real benefits resulting from pricing - either by improving the road or investing in alternative public transport services.

A recent RAC Foundation poll showed that motorists do not trust Government alone to introduce and operate road pricing fairly. Support for road pricing increased six-fold when charges were ring-fenced to transport and enforced by such a regulator.

Time for adjustment should be built into any scheme - giving people scope to reassess where they live, work and educate their children before charges are implemented.

Rules also need to be clear about how information gathered by the technology may be used. Acceptance of any road pricing scheme would be pivotal on assurances that this would be restricted to charging and not used for speed enforcement and motoring offences.

The scheme needs to be sensitive to potential hardship and disruption to those on low incomes. Research has shown that support for the concept is lowest among this group - the poorest households already spend almost a quarter of their budget on motoring.

In "Motoring towards 2050" published two years ago the RAC Foundation called for a debate on road pricing and set out its vision of the underlying principals and benefits:

• Road pricing would be acceptable as means of managing the road system if it was part of a coordinated package of measures to beat congestion and give Britain a first class transport system. The package must include a substantial increase in road investment, particularly interurban roads, and improved public transport to accommodate journeys which people choose not to make by car.
• Road pricing should not be used as a means of taking more money off the motorist. The �9bn revenue estimated from road pricing should either be returned to motorists through lower taxes or ploughed back into transport investment, particularly roads.
• Road pricing should not be used to price people out of owning or using cars. They are essential for daily life, and will continue to be the most important means of transport. Pricing should be targeted to influence the timing and routes of particular journeys, by reflecting the cost which bringing an additional vehicle on to an already crowded road can impose on others. The Motoring towards 2050 study said road pricing should apply to no more than 10 per cent of network.

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RAC Web Site

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