Haulage levy plan from Scotland
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• A heavy haulage levy, to protect the environment and aid other forms of transport, has been proposed in a report by a body calling itself the Scottish Association for Public Transport — recently formed in Edinburgh.
Hauliers could find their costs increasing by up to 20 per cent if the proposal were approved by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Although a general traffic levy is also called for it would probably be collected via a fuel duty and would not hit private motorists if they made more use of public transport.
In the report the association explained its reasons for the special haulage levy: "Heavy lorries cause greater wear on roads and impose social costs on others. The Government might also investigate special payments to rail or water-borne traffic to ease congestion on the roads in areas with environmental problems."
The report also calls for the integration of public transport. Local government would be given the authority to assist "any form of transport in any way thought desirable". Under this measure the Government would be responsible for the maintenance and improvement of a national network of approved routes and terminals with the new regional authorities having the same power at local level.