Tolls are tax
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Electronic tolling plans could turn out to be just another method of taxing road users, transport campaigners fear, Despite government assurances that funds from any tolling schemes will be ring-fenced for local public and road transport projects, moves last week by the Scottish Parliament over that guarantee have been greeted with alarm.
In a consultative document the Scottish Parliament said new laws to introduce road pricing would not guarantee that revenue raised by future electronic road toiling schemes would be re-spent on transport matters.
Rut Scottish Transport Minister Sarah Boyack immediately intervened to say the guarantee still stands.
The Freight Transport Association and British Roads Federation are now among those waiting to see whether the ring-fence guarantee will become enshrined in Scottish law. FTA policy head James Hookham believes any Scottish "precedent" to water-down policy would be worrying. Although the Scottish Parliament can take separate decisions on transport it Is subject to the same UK-wide Treasury constraints.
In London the Department of Transport denies that the Government is backing away from its earlier pledges. A spokesman says there is "an absolute and firm commitment" that revenue from the first road pricing projects will be spent on local transport projects for the "first 10 years after passing the [road pricing Parliamentary] bill", which the DOT hopes to announce in this November's Queen's Speech.
Scotland is first planning a year-long non-paying trial near Edinburgh; a similar pilot under the jurisdiction of Westminster is planned for Leeds,