RAC recommends pay-as-you-go road tax
Motoring group the RAC has announced that the only way in which congestion and grid-lock on Britain’s roads can be cut is by introducing a by-the-mile road tax. In a new road-funding report, Professor Stephen Glaister, the RAC’s director, claims that the way to cut traffic is by imposing a pay-as-you-go toll on all roads.
The RAC Foundations claims that by 2025 the amount of traffic on the roads will have increased by a third. Professor Glaister said that because of this, and because their really is no viable alternative, a road tax has to be introduced which will cut traffic on the countries roads. He pointed out that most people were already very familiar with the pay-as-you-go system saying that we already pay for our electricity and gas in this way.
The findings by the RAC report coincide with a just published Mori Poll which claims that 58 per cent of UK drivers would reconsider the amount of miles they drive in their cars if a per-mile charge was to be introduced. A number of other motoring groups have been quick to point out that they believe such a system of charging would hit the poorest motorists in the country the hardest.
The RAC report adds that with any pay-as-you-go tax, there should also be a reduction in fuel duty and the price on tax discs. There would also have to be some way of compensating drivers for traffic delays under the new system.
The Transport Department said that there is currently no plan to introduce such a tax.