Prime minister David Cameron has called for an urgent increase in private investment for much needed improvements to the British transport infrastructure, but concerns grow that if additional costs are implemented this could discourage lorries from using those roads.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has argued that investment in road networks should be long term and strategically thought out, unlike the current situation of spending money that is influenced by the Chancellor’s need to annually balance the books.
Theo de Pencier, FTA’s Chief Executive, said on the matter: “The freight industry will want to look at how these plans relate to existing transport taxes such as fuel duty and vehicle excise duty, as well as how any new pricing structures can be developed to ensure that the new capacity is utilised in the most efficient and effective way. Given that road users already pay £41 billion a year in taxes, charges and tolls, then any new cost cannot be in addition to this and must be a substitution for fuel duty.”
The association believes that road congestion is blighting the economy and is bad for the environment. If the government were to charge for the use of private roads, road users would hold a greater stake in the network and could reasonably expect a better performance on road networks.