MPs hear road-charging proposals

12 April 2012

Former British Airways boss Sir Rod Eddington is giving evidence to MPs following the publication last winter of his Government-commissioned report on transport.

In the report, Sir Rod argued the case for road pricing to combat congestion.

He said eliminating congestion on the road network would be worth around £7-8 billion a year to the UK's gross domestic product.

If nothing is done, 13% of traffic would be subject to stop-start travel conditions by 2025, Sir Rod's report said.

The Government needed to focus policy and sustained investment on improving the performance of existing transport networks in those places that were important to the UK's economic success, the report added.

Sir Rod concluded: "There is plenty to be done and concerted action to avert future transport problems is now needed."

Since the publication of the report in December last year, the subject of road pricing has rarely been out of the news.

The depth of feeling on road pricing was demonstrated earlier this year when a petition on the 10 Downing Street website calling on the Government to scrap plans to charge motorists for using the roads was supported by 1.8 million people.

The Government plans to go ahead with trials of road pricing in 10 areas over the next few years. The areas include Bristol, Cambridge, Greater Manchester and Norwich.

The problems of perfecting technology and gaining enough political support will probably mean that any widespread road pricing will not be introduced before the middle of the next decade at the earliest.

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