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Professor Begg and I have much in common. He is Chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport, and I am me. We agree that measures to contain car usage will soon be necessary. We agree that there are no conceivable public transport improvements capable of solving the UK’s transportation problems, whether by way of public rail, bus or taxi. We agree that any system for road charging should be general, applying to all highways and not simply “motorways” or “Trunk roads”. We agree that this key reform should be revenue neutral, triggering the abolition of Vehicle Excise Licence and the reduction of petrol tax.
But the similarities go no further. Since 1997, I have advocated a Daily Usage Charge which would be a low-tech ticketed system, requiring drivers to pay in advance on a day-by-day basis. There would be no charges overnight (6.00 pm > 6.00 am) or at the weekend (Saturdays and Sundays). And there would be a single flat-rate charge for every 12-hour weekday period > see Daily Usage Charge
Professor Begg’s system would be electronic, requiring every one of Britain's 28 million vehicles (and all visiting foreign vehicles) to carry an electronic tracking device. Actual usage of "congested roads" would be measured, and charged for. His system would be far too unpredictable to gain acceptance, as a tax. Oddities and anomalies would abound, and preoccupy the tabloid Press. The electronic data would be subject to periodic headline-grabbing failures, which would prove a crippling political disadvantage. As drivers came to “learn the system”, traffic would divert onto minor roads, jus to avoid the tolls. Every driver would face an uncertain total monthly bill. There would be infinite disputes about the classification of roads as “congested”. And the system would do little to deter the use of cars for ridiculously-short trips, to school or to the local shops. The recovery of unpaid tax-bills through the Courts would be cumbersome and expensive, like the poll-tax.
My system would be superior, far simpler and far cheaper to administer. It would leave the car-driver in complete charge of usage-charge paid, because all fees would be payable in advance, by way of ticket bought at any Lottery-ticket outlet. Millions of drivers, under my system, would be able to organise their lives so that they paid significantly less tax than at the moment. And it would be a fantastic shot-in-the-arm for local buses and local taxis. Mine is a win-win system. Professor Begg is onto a loser.
What do you think? Drop me
a line.
Charging for road use >>