BB FANS

Mail on Sunday
5 June 2005

DRIVERS could pay up to £1.34 a mile in road charges as a replacement for fuel tax, the Government has admitted.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said change was essential if Britain was to avoid 'LA-style gridlock'.

Under the proposals, all cars and lorries would have to be fitted with a 'black box' which would track their journeys via a satellite system.

A feasibility study carried out last year suggested that charges could range from 2p a mile on rural roads to £1.34 a mile for peak-time journeys on the busiest roads and motorways.

Although the system could not be introduced for at least a decade, Mr Darling said decisions would have to be made in the current Parliament on whether to proceed with the scheme.

He said he intended to present a Bill before the next General Election to establish a pilot project in a large urban area, such as Greater Manchester or the West Midlands, within the next five to six years. 'If we don't do anything it's pretty clear to me, when you look at all the trends, we would face complete gridlock,' he said.

Mr Darling - who will set out his thinking in a speech on Thursday - acknowledged that he would need to build a consensus over the course of the next Parliament if the scheme were to win public acceptance.

But he emphasised the new charges would replace fuel tax - dramatically cutting the price of petrol - and also, possibly, road tax.

This is a stupid idea,,, tax on fuel gives drivers and manufactures the inspiration to be more economical and buy smaller cars.. is this a two jags precott thing,,, didnt her turn down having an official electric car this week the smeg head

Ridiculous.

Funny they didn't mention this pre-election.

This is outrageous . £1.34 a mile?! Personally I think road tax should be abolished and an extra penny tax put on fuel instead so people who use the roads more should pay more. Therefore, if you do 10,000 miles a year you'll effectively pay £100 in tax. Simple.

Sky News
Updated: 11:02 UK, Monday June 06, 2005

A proposed system of charging motorists for the distances they travel is to be tried out in a British city next year.

Dozens of drivers in Leeds will be testing alternatives to road tax and fuel duty.

Transport Secretary Alastair Darling has said a major shift in policy is needed to cut congestion.

He is considering replacing fuel duty with a new road pricing scheme dependent on the journey distance.

"You could dance around this for years but every year the problem is getting worse," said Mr Darling.

"We have got to do everything we can during the course of this Parliament to decide whether or not we go with road pricing."

On current estimates, that could be as much as £1.34 a mile on the most popular routes but as little as 2p a mile on quiet rural roads.

In Leeds, 450 volunteers will be involved in a trial of three different systems next year.

One is a simple congestion charge where a camera network monitors vehicles entering a certain area.

The other two systems are more sophisticated and would involved drivers paying for every mile they travel.

One uses global positioning system technology, with satellites "talking to" small electronic boxes under car bonnets.

The third system uses microwave technology to produce a similar effect.

I've just noticed a flaw in my calcualtions example . But you know what I meant.

I think you could have got away with that if you'd have kept quiet!