The RAC Foundation calls for Road Charging.
Well there’s a bit of good news. The RAC Foundation believes that road charging is ‘Inevitable’ and is the answer to our congested roads. Rubbish.
According to RAC Foundation Director Stephen Glaister, a predicted 33% increase in traffic by 2025 and a reduction in road building schemes and cuts in general make a pay as you go system the answer to congested roads. All of which is fine and dandy – it gives the RAC Foundation something to do and gets them a bit of PR – but it”s hardly joined-up thinking.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t we already pay per mile on the roads in the UK? The last time I looked HMG were helping themselves to 56p in Fuel Tax for every litre of fuel. We’ll ignore the fact that they also stick VAT on that Fuel Tax and on the oil companies price to yield another chunk of money (even though taxing a tax is supposed to be the one big taxation no-no. Or at least it was when I did economics).
So let us assume that the average car does 30mpg. We’re paying £2.55 tax on every gallon of fuel we buy (+ the 17.5% (soon to be 20%) vat) which means we’re paying 8.5p per mile for every mile we travel just in fuel tax.
So, Mr RAC Foundation, we already pay per mile. And I’m afraid that if you tax busy roads on a per mile basis the traffic will simply find another route, leaving the once busy and most direct routes quiter for those who can afford to pay. It has to be better to invest in the road structure and in technology.
Technology investment would allow more people to work from home more of the time. Actually creating road schemes that aid traffic flow instead of interrupting it – as we’ve seen for the last fifteen years with endless traffic ‘claming’ schemes – would ease congestion and cost very little. And we should make it an offence to drive children to school if they live within a mile of their school. Let the little darlings walk instead of breaking out the Range Rover Sport for a half mile journey.
Which we hope is what Philip Hammond will look at instead of pay-per-mile. He has already said that there will be no pay-as-you-go motoring introduced on his watch. Let’s hope he’s true to his word, especially as there are much simpler and more effective means of easing traffic flow.
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