First road pricing trial cuts car use • Leicester City
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Council says its road pricing trial is a success, with many motorists supporting a move to tolls.
About 60 car owners took part in the eight-month pilot— Britain's first. Drivers were given smart cards with up to £120 to spend and told they could keep any money they saved by using alternative transport. The full results, which have been passed on to the Department of Transport for analysis, indicate that one in five motorists left their cars at home throughout the trial.
The number using alternative transport rose as the toll increased, peaking at 88% when it reached £10. From its survey of motorists' opinions, Leicester council believes tolling would attract widespread public support, but only if the revenue raised was ringfenced to improve public transport.
The £2.5m experiment was funded by the Government and the European Union.