Setback for tolls
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• The Department of Transport has confirmed that city-centre tolls are unlikely to be introduced in the near future.
According to a DOT spokesman, congestion-charging has not been "kicked into the long grass", but a trial toll project in Leicester has highlighted the political and practical difficulties of levying charges before substantial improvements are made to public transport.
City-centre tolls are still expected to get a mention in May's Transport White Paper, although recent comments by Transport Minister Gavin Strang suggest that motorway tolling is now considered a dead duck.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is believed to be pressing the Treasury to dedicate more transport taxes to investment in transport.
Hauliers could find themselves paying as much as £10 to drive around the 27-mile Birmingham Northern Relief Road when it opens in 2002.