Trucks face London toll
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• Freight vehicles could face a daily average charge of 2 for using roads in central London, if the Institute for Public Policy Research has its way.
This sort of toll would lead to reduced delivery times by easing congestion, says Patricia Hewitt, author of the Institute's first report A Cleaner, Faster London: Road Pricing, Transport Policy and the Environment.
Hewitt says road pricing would allow roadspace to be reorganised, with a third allocated to bus and cycle lanes, a third for "pay and stay" cars and lorries, and the remainder freed for environmental improvements.
The report suggests that London should be divided into zones with a charge of around 70p for each zone entered — a 2 fee for an average journey.
Tolls would be collected using an electronic "smart card" system, with electronic monitors which would debit a card in a vehicle's dashboard. Initially, an extra licence payment would be levied.
Don McIntyre of the Freight Transport Association has slammed the proposal as "elitist and divisive". He says: "Unless the aim is to price vehicles off the road, any artificial charge can only be inflationary."
Road pricing is already used in Bergen and Alesund, Norway, and will begin in Stockholm next year, and in Holland in 1995.
0 The Government's plans to increase Britain's road network will pose a serious threat to the environment, says a statement published by nine of Britain's environment groups.
Called Roads to Ruin, the statement claims that more roads would result in increasing air pollution, urban sprawl and damage to the countryside, which is inconsistent with government policies to protect the environment and revive inner cities.
The Confederation of British Industry is looking at road congestion and exhaust emission and their contribution to the greenhouse effect, as part of a new initiative to clean up the environment. It has prepared two booklets on improving energy efficiency, which will be sent to all members.