By Andy McCue, 11 May 2006 14:25
NEWS
The government is to set up a £10m fund to help IT suppliers develop the technologies for a national road-use charging scheme that could lead to some motorists paying almost £1.50 per mile they travel.
New Transport Secretary of State Douglas Alexander this week reaffirmed the government's plan to introduce a road charging scheme that uses technologies such as satellite tracking to enforce automatically a pay-as-you-drive fee for every mile a motorist travels by 2010.
The government initially announced the national road pricing plans last year as an attempt to tackle growing congestion problems.Alexander said the Department for Transport will shortly be inviting suppliers to take part in a series of demonstration projects over the next three to four years that will tackle the "really difficult" design issues.
In a speech this week he said: "We need to examine the technologies and services that are already being developed by the motor industry and others. And we need to see how emerging technology could be used for road pricing."
Local authorities will also be encouraged to take advantage of a separate £18m "pump fund" for road pricing pilot schemes. So far only £7m of the money has been claimed by seven local authorities running test projects.
Alexander said piecemeal development of road charging schemes that could be scaled up nationally is better than going for a big bang approach.
He said: "All the work that has been done over the last three years confirms that what we should do is take a measured approach. Through pilots and pathfinders, of varying scale, we will develop our understanding, apply proven approaches where action is needed soon and, importantly, be able to demonstrate what works."
Comments
There are 18 comments. Join the discussion
1. H Rose
Lets all drive forign reg cars.
2. Paul
And they could tax heavy fuel users separately. Here's an idea.... Why not put the Tax directly on fuel then they will be able to collect the money for all cases, even foreign visitors and lorries, without having to spend billions. On second thoughts, that would be far too simple for our clever set of polititians.
3. Richard Davies
Just another tax; why don't they spend the money on fixing existing / outstanding issues.
They will reduce congestion only by pricing people off the road completely which is an unfair solution.
If people have to be somewhere at a certain time, then introducing road pricing won't change this.
Will road tax disappear?
All we seem to get from the government is less for more money.
4. anonymous
Here we go again...
Negative, negative, negative. Does the Government really think that people willingly drive along congested roads if they could avoid doing so?
People drive these days because they have to and to earn a living. This scheme is an attempt to dig the government out of its disasterous transport policy... Do I hear what transport policy?
5. John Small
Congestion my ass, it is another money mining tax, with the advantage to being able to tell the Government where you (or at least your car) is at any point in time. Mind you since the information on over a 35% of vehicles is apparently incorrect and a lage number of cars aren't insured it will be only the honest that will pay yet again. Perhaps we shouldn't worry too much because with the upcoming ID fiasco and National Health IT shambles they won't have the time or money to complete a GPS charging disaster! Especially if they're not in Government..
6. Richard
Yet another repressive tax “sold” to yet another gullible Minister.
We need people in the UK to be creative, flexible and mobile: The government seems determined to enforce the opposite.
As the old industries close, the UK is fast becoming the world centre for snooping and repression.
7. Roger Huffadine
They must have some new satellites then - 'cos the existing GPS satellite signals are so weak that they are highly susceptible to RF interference. Nobody is going to part with their cash once they discover that the system is flawed.
8. Ken Hall
Is this government Crazy? £1.50 per mile? is this going to be the going rate when this is rolled out nationally? On an average 12,000 miles per year that is £18,000 pounds per year in a tracking and monitoring tax. I cannot believe this. This Government MUST go and go very very soon.
I pay £50.00 per year road tax now on my little diesel clio. Including servicing, fuel costs, insurance and car loan repayments, I don't come close to £18,000 per year in payments now. so how can they justify, in any way shape or form this cruel and vindictive tax.
We must organise and protest in MASSIVE numbers.
9. Julian Bennett
It's shame the home office isn't taking a 'measured approach' with ID cards...
10. anonymous
Don't remember this in the manifesto.... I pay enogh already for the very few good roads in the UK.
11. Radical Meldrew
Some time in our distant past a figure used to appear at the roadside and demand payment from travellers with menace.
In those days this was classed as a criminal act and the culprit was hung!
Welcome to the modern world??
12. Richard Peters
By my reckoning, thats £90ph tax at only 60mph which is very easy to achieve on a completely empty road.
Consider this:
The only people left on our motorways will be footie players, rock stars and those politicians who will only be able to do so because their expenses, paid for by everyone else, will allow it.
Motorists will become activists, rural communities will become new congestion zones and, due to fierce public opposition, a new think tank will be set up to work out how to revert back to somthing similar to the old scheme without losing too much face.
Lets hope Alexander becomes 'Alexander the Great' by recognising this new 'improve our future' scheme as nothing more than another sad excuse to line central government coffers.
13. Chris Goodman
Come on David Cameron, now is your opportunity. Let's have your pledge to scrap all these mileage charges and those that advocate such schemes when you get to power. Then you will certainly get to power without any doubt.
14. galley slave#41
Don't worry brothers, come the revolution! all these thieving politcos will be up against a wall somewhere.
And I expect no shortage of volunteers to be in the firing squad!
15. Roy Judd
Panic not people, it’ll all resolve itself when either sense or Sussex succeeds in breaking in to the Westminster asylum. I dare say a scheme of sorts will be implemented; probably around the time when the next president of the USA decides she wants our help in crushing those middle eastern “Axis of Evil” jobbies who have had the temerity to seek a nuclear power energy solution while being of an Arab persuasion. We’ll oblige with an attack posture, and they’ll take out our satellite capability with consummate ease. Bingo! Another tax revenue scheme scuppered – ministerial pensions not quite as juicy as they otherwise would have been – back to the drawing board then. These Scots really must learn to govern England a little better than they have done of late…
16. anonymous
This has little to do with charging road users by the mile. Petrol taxation does a perfectly good job of this. Rather this project has more to do with individual vehicule tracking. £10M is a tiny amount to spend on a national highways project BUT the cops can easily come up with this kind of cash just to find out where we all are subsequent to them not being able to catch us first time around. This project need to be fought all the way.
17. Robert Milliken
Right to Privacy. Human Rights Act.
As they will know where we are at all times whilst driving, this must infringe this basic right?
18. anonymous
What about those who can afford to pay £18000 a year?? what is going to be done to stop them using there cars!! Again its those lower and middle class that will suffer!
H Rose thats a brilliant idea drive foreign reg cars!!