Motorway tax disc soon
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by Amanda Bradbury • Transport Secretary John MacGregor and a top EC official have hinted separately that the UK might introduce motorway tax discs by as early as 1995.
Spain and Ireland could join the UK as the next EC members states to opt for a motorway tax disc system similar to that agreed on last week by Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Denmark (CM 24.30 June).
Dirk Van Vreckem, the head of the roads unit at the EC Commission dealing with transport, hinted last week that the trio were looking at a "vignette" system with windscreen permit stickers. Vreckem was speaking at the same London conference where MacGregor made his strongest statement to date in support of a permit system of paying for motorways.
He stressed that the German/Benelux regional tax disc agreement is "entirely consis tent with the options for permits and electronic tolling set out in the Green Paper".
MacGregor and Van Vreckem both confirmed that electronic tolling is a likely option for the UK in the future: MacGregor described an electronic system as "the most flexible".
Van Vreckem confirmed that a "substantial" rolling electronic tolling research programme is being jointly funded by the EC and industry. The UK is said to be monitoring this research "very closely".
John MacGregor said last week that he was encouraged by the response from private contractors to his Green Paper proposals to franchise parts of the motorway network, even though no formal responses have so far been received.