Road pricing “inevitable,” MPs are told as switch to electric vehicles hits tax revenues | road.cc
Transport Select Committee urged to recommend development and trial of how to get drivers to pay for their journeys
Road pricing is “inevitable,” a House of Commons committee has been told, with tax revenues from motorists due to plummet as a result of the switch to electric vehicles.
The call to start charging motorists to use roads nationwide was made yesterday at an oral evidence session on the issue held by the House of Commons Transport Select Committee by Toby Poston, director of corporate affairs at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).
He urged a trial system to be developed to help meet an estimated £31 billion reduction in revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and fuel duty as private motorists and fleet operators increasingly switch to zero emission vehicles.
“It is imperative that road pricing is considered and trialled now to ensure a smooth transition into a new system,” he said.
“Drivers and fleet operators need clarity on future taxation as they make the transition to zero-emission road transport.”
While some road pricing does exist – notably, the congestion charging zones in Durham and London, or charges to use infrastructure such as the Dartford Crossing and the M6 toll road – successive administrations have resisted introducing a nationwide road pricing system.
