Pressure group, the Road Users’ Alliance has publishes a damning report into the massive taxation of motorists and the failure to re-invest in our roads.
The new of ‘Road File’ 2008/09 reveals that motorists receive a paltry £4 billion investment in road capacity in return for the £46 billion a year they contribute in road user taxes. Over the last decade, the disproportionate infrastructure spend has led to a minimal, one per cent increase in the road network to cope with a 26 per cent increase in the number of licensed vehicles on the road. The vast majority of passenger transport – 92 per cent – is carried by road.
“Road users have provided a rich seam of cash for the Treasury for decades and are receiving less and less for it ,” says RUA Director, Tim Green.
“Apart from the damage this causes our economy, it is also a shot in the foot when you consider that motoring is the only form of transport that actually covers its carbon cost several times over. In return road users are forced to cope with congested roads that add to emission levels.”
Traffic levels are predicted to grow by 30 per cent by 2025, according to the DfT, the resulting congestion could cost an extra £32 billion a year in wasted time and increased costs to business. To squander sums of this amount, particularly in the current economic climate, is clearly nonsensical, says Green.
“Motoring generates £130 billion of directly attributable economic activity and road transport underpins the country’s economy, helping our competitiveness and national productivity,” comments Green.
“Road users get a raw deal now and could still find their pockets picked further, to fund other budget deficits.”
Yet RUA think they have the solution. RUA member, RAC Foundation’s recent study ‘Roads and Reality’ estimates that a variable rate road pricing system to cover the cost of road provision, accidents and any adverse environmental effects would not only cover its costs and pay for the additional road capacity required, but raise an additional income stream of £15-£20 billion a year which could be used to reduce other road taxes.
Sheila Rainger, the RAC Foundation’s Deputy Director, points out: “Such a system, independently regulated, could give the motorist a far better deal by allowing a reduction in road user taxes while maintaining a revenue stream for the Treasury.”
What do you think of variable road pricing? Would it be a better system than the flat VED rates we currently have, which take no account of mileage? Why not vote on TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk’s poll, click here.
