Report predicts big motorway toll row
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• The imposition of motorway tolls would be as unpopular as the poll tax and could lead to a campaign of major civil disobedience, according to a report published this week by transport consultant Michael Schabas.
Electronic tolling, while fair to high mileage users such as truck operators, would be unfair to occasional users, says the report, which predicts that the Government would have to pay to fit the necessary equipment into occasional users' cars or risk "opposition of poll tax proportions".
Instead, it suggests that the Government should adopt banded vehicle licence charges based on each vehicle's likely mileage. Vehicle owners would pay according to how much they planned to use the vehicle; roadside cameras linked to a computer database would verify their claims.
• Charging for Roads: A Better Way to Ease Congestion, costs £3.95 from the Centre for Policy Studies, phone 0171-828 1176.