The Government is considering introducing the UK’s first pay-per-mile system for drivers in a bid to cut emissions and traffic. The Department for Transport would charge lorry drivers using mileage and emissions-based charges in a bid to raise funds to improve existing roads.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today Programme, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “What e have not been doing is sorting out the next tier down of roads, the trunk roads which used to be A roads..what we are doing is looking to start to improve those roads. I dub this new fund ‘the by-pass fund’. It’s all about medium-sized towns on those A roads that have clogged up centres, that have got lorries waiting at traffic lights, that have got pollution at the centre.”
The system is being drawn up for heavy good vehicles which suggests it could replace existing fuel duty taxes. The revenue collected from fuel duty is expected to fall this year as more drivers use electronic and hybrid cars.
Sources maintained the pricing plan was aimed only at heavy goods vehicles, but industry insiders believe the scheme will be rolled out to all users.
It would appear to be a substitute or part-substitute for fuel excise duty, from the information so far?
@Greg
Yes. Whilst an effective incentive for electric and hybrid vehicles, in the long term the fuel excise duty revenues will decrease. Hence the need for a different vehicle revenue generation scheme.
So if lorries are charged for road usage by reducing/removing the current tax on their fuel (because foreign vehicles are filling up before arriving in the UK) then what’s to stop other vehicles filling up at the same pumps? And if a filling station / garage has to charge two different prices from fuel delivered at a single pump then I foresee a lot of problems and additional costs for them, probably increasing the rate at which pumps and forecourts are disappearing only to be replaced by housing.