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As always, the devil's in the detail
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How will Lorry Road User Charging work in practice? Emma Penny investigates the government's plans.
Charging foreign trucks for using our roads is an excellent plan. Everyone in the UK truck industry agrees it should be introduced as soon as possible. But it was with a rather heavy heart that many greeted the government's complicated and costly proposals for Lorry Road User Charging (LRUC) — and to top it all it won't arrive before 2008.
And now we know why: our industry is set to be the guinea pig for the system to extend road user charging to every vehicle on the road (CM 22 July).
The Department for Transport is at pains to point out that the two systems will have different roles — one will produce a level playing field between Continental and UK truck operators; the other will help cut congestion.
But.with plans afoot to include different rates for trucks depending on the roads travelled and the time of day, it seems to us that there's not much difference between the two.
So how will it work — and will we ever see foreign trucks paying their share? The entire project is being handled by Customs and Excise; presumably because it has a direct effect on fuel tax.
Customs' Mike Shipp is involved with setting up the scheme, and stresses that the idea is to "make all trucks using UK roads contribute towards the costs they impose. It applies in-espective of nationality, but will be tax revenue neutral for UK companies".
The scheme will charge operators for each truck, based on the distance travelled; vehicle type (number of axles, weight, emissions, etc); and road type (whether it's a motorway or not). In future it could also charge based on the time of day and the location. "We won't have all of this up and running to start with, but we are clear about what we want from the outset," says Shipp.
There are three parts to the proposed system: the main scheme, which will include most UK companies and some overseas vehicles; an occasional user scheme; and the fuel duty repayment scheme. Under the main scheme, companies will register and LRUC staff will check on the vehicles and payment options. After this onboard units (OBUs) will be installed in trucks by accredited litters who will then activate the OBUs, rather like mobile phone technology, The OBU will come on automatically when the truck starts. It will take a tacho reading, identify where the truck is and the type of road it is on, and it will then collect data for the journey until the truck stops and is switched off. Every 24 hours it will send this data to the operator's office where the daily charge will be calculated. Payment would be taken by direct debit, says Shipp: "We want to make it electronic so it's easy."
Users will be able to view information on charges on-line, and should be able to see it within 15 minutes of the truck stopping. "We are not envisaging lots of forms and reports changing hands," he adds.
Occasional users will have to use a paper-based system. This scheme will be much simpler; users will collect an OBU from a vending machine at entry points to the UK. The machine will take a deposit payment on the spot; in cash, from a debit/credit card, or perhaps via a fuel card, says Shipp. Drivers will put the OBU in their windscreen and use its integral keypad to feed in distance readings. Roadside beacons will pick up data from these boxes and send it back to the LRUC office.
Sophisticated
A more sophisticated beacon would be installed at ports to collect more data from out-bound trucks and debit the amount of money due.
Where vehicles are used solely within the UK, and are not on the road much — vintage vehicles,for example — the vehicle's data will be posted to the LRUC office.
Shipp says no decision has been made about the distance over which trucks will become part of the main scheme, or how much it will cost per mile. But UK operators will receive a fuel duty repayment set against the distance travelled. The first option, to do this, using specially marked fuel, has been discarded as too costly; instead Customs is looking at a repayment system based on capturing data at pumps, and at tanks in operators' yards.
Shipp says a fuel card or LRUC card will be used to record any fuel transactions, and this data will be transmitted to the LRUC office. Monthly statements will be produced, and the LRUC will be offset against a fuel duty repayment. "Where people don't use cards a paper-based system will be available but it will be slower," he adds.
Making the entire system work sounds tricky, but Shipp is confident that it will not be open to abuse. Customs will have fixed roadside enforcement sites checking vehicles and their identification using details on the OBU. It will also have mobile teams out checking vehicles and their payment status,and Customs will issue fixed penalties for non-compliance.
The scheme will rely on an office set-up to handle everything from customers opening LRUC accounts to compliance and fuel duty repayments.
Phased in
Shipp says the scheme is likely to be phased in, starting with the biggest trucks and working down: "We have to get it right first time. We don't want a repeat of Germany and we will be working closely with industry to make sure it works. Our suppliers say it is do-able."
As to exactly how much the scheme will cost, and who will pay for it, we at CM can't answer that.We've asked, but the only response we've had is that Customs does know but "can't say" as it would be "wholly inappropriate" to say during the tendering process. Answers to CM on a postcard please...a
• Next week: CM investigates how much will it cost you