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• How would you like to pay for the Government's next road building programme — twice? Sound ridiculous? It could be a lot closer than you think. In his Autumn Statement Norman Lamont declared that the Government is seriously looking at introducing tolls on Britain's motorway network.
That's not all. Following the pattern set by the past 12 years the Government is once again waiting to shuffle off its responsibilities to the private sector by saying it's happy for private industry to build roads "on for which they would receive payments from the Government relating to the use of their roads."
According to the Department of Transport: "If an operator can reach a destination in less time we believe he'll be prepared to pay for this facility." That's a dubious assumption to begin with, and even if a haulier was prepared to cough up the extra cash for uncongested roads, would his customers be prepared to pay for the privilege?
In any case, at the risk of sounding naive, isn't roadbuilding the Department of Transport's job? The DOT believes there can never be enough money to satisfy all the roads people want. For a start it could try spending more of the £15bn it gets every year from road users.
Road Haulage Association director general Bryan Colley is right to accuse the Government of "funding our road building policy through the back door". But that's just what it's done on public transport and enforcement.
Perhaps we've misunderstood the DOT's intentions. Perhaps its desire to give away its responsibilities to the private sector is actually a cunning plan to make itself redundant, thereby saving tax-paying hauliers millions in civil-serv ant salaries. Now that would be a "pay-as-you-go" scheme worth supporting.