The road more travelled
Smart road journey charges are on their way for road users
Road needs a bit of attention here!
With the advent of electric and hybrid cars and the eagerness of drivers to buy them and thus enjoy their low tax implications, the government has been left with a shortfall in the road tax which they used to maintain the road network.
Because of this the government is re examining the whole road tax system to try to find other ways to recoup the money lost from road tax – a mere £35b.
So to get back to a position where the road network is solvent, a plan is afoot to charge those road users who travel the greatest distances, the most, via a smart charging system. Details so far seem to show that most motorists will end up paying a similar mount to what they are paying now via road tax, but electric and hybrid vehicle drivers will now have to contribute towards the cost of maintaining the roads.
MPs are saying that without some action, the public will be faced with an impoverished and deteriorating road network due to a lack of the funds required to keep the roads properly maintained.
The plan seems to be that road journeys would be logged smartly via trackers fitted internally in all cars or by ANPR roadside cameras. Both of these systems are not readily available now so the new system may be a way off still.
In London Sadiq Kahn, the Mayor, in an attempt to meet a net zero emissions target for 2030, is considering whether motorists could be charged for all their journeys from 2024 in order to clean up London's air. Like the larger countrywide plan, the technology is still lagging to introduce smart journey pricing. Because of the lack of technology, the Mayor has asked Transport for London to try and consider other options to get revenue from drivers and find ways to stop pollution in the capital. Some ideas mooted so far are a clean air charge for all petrol and diesel journeys in London or increasing the London ULEZ zone with its daily £12.50 charge for older vehicles.
Once smart charging comes in it aims to measure distance travelled, location, options for public transport – i.e if it is easy to complete the journey on public transport as an alternative to car travel, time of day and the pollution output of the vehicle driven. So a comprehensive range of measures.
Although it may be slow to execute, it does look as though smart journey charging is on the way so watch this space. Is this something you broadly support in order to combat air pollution and climate change or do you see it as a major problem for road users?
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