Hauliers fac irban road charges
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/ By the year 2000 hauliers will be charged for every mile their trucks cover in towns. Road pricing will be introduced in cities throughout the UK as part of a package designed to combat urban congestion, said Roads and Traffic Minister Kenneth Carlisle last week.
The Department of Transport is quizzing hauliers within the M25 over their views on road pricing in a survey to gauge public reaction to the issue, which is considered to be politi cally sensitive. Speaking at the Freight Transport Association's conference on the environment Carlisle said: "Road pricing will come in by the end of this century in a significant form. Cars drivers and hauliers should each contribute to the cost of using roads. VED is more for LGV users because they do more damage".
The survey, carried out by the John Fearon Consultancy, is asking a cross section of operators for their views on two road pricing options. Operators could be charged on a cordon system, which would begin when they cross a designated line, or on a distance based system.
The consultancy is particularly interested in talking to operators making time-sensitive deliveries. They are being asked how they would expect to change their operations if road pricing were to be introduced.
Until now politicians have been worried that charging vehicle users for their road use would alienate voters, but with the increasing problem of urban congestion and concern over the environment, transport planners are being forced to find alternative measures to road building to cut traffic levels, if road pricing reduces congestion it may reduce commercial vehicle operators' costs", says Martin Richards, chairman of the MVA Consultancy, which is co-ordinating the research for the DOT. The three-year survey is part of a £3m DOT study on congestion. In a later stage truck operators will be asked for their views on a mixed system designed to remove any undesirable effects of road pricing — such as the possibility of paying less VED to compensate for the road charge.
Next February the London Borough of Richmond starts testing electronic road pricing equipment, without actually charging drivers. Up to 50 coun cil vehicles, will be fitted with devices that are set off by beacons in the road, signalling to drivers how much they would owe if road pricing was in force.
"There would be a strong case to say commercial vehicle users would be exempt from road pricing, pay a reduced rate or be exempt during certain times of the day," says the borough.