Motorists
could soon be billed for road use on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Government collects about £40 billion
each year from Car
taxes like Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and fuel duty.
The House of Commons’ Transport
Committee now wants to open a “national debate” on road pricing ahead of a
formal inquiry next year.
Funding from fuel duty might eventually
dry up entirely, as the motoring industry moves away from traditional fuels.
A road pricing scheme was last
considered in 2007, but the Labour administration abandoned proposals following
an online petition attracting 1.8 million signatures.
RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes
said: “There is no question that the existing fuel duty system is on borrowed
time as we move towards electric and other zero emission forms of car travel.
“We know through research that drivers
are open to a new form of motoring taxation but three-quarters of those we
questioned are worried they may end up paying more tax than they do now. For
this reason, we believe any new tax should be in place of the current one and
not in addition to it.”
Lilian Greenwood, who chairs the
Transport Committee, said: “We need to ask how we will pay for roads in the
future and in answering that question we have an opportunity for a much wider
debate about our use of road space, cutting carbon emissions, tackling
congestion, modal shift and how we prioritise active travel.”
The committee is inviting the opinions
of drivers and non-drivers to scrutinise the economic, environmental and social
impact of road pricing in early 2020.
Road pricing efforts could include
tolls, congestion charges, HGV levies,
workplace parking levies, plus low emission and clean air zones.