01 July 2005
Any attempt to soften the blow of road pricing by cutting taxes risks overturning the government's efforts to comply with the Kyoto protocol, a leading transport expert has warned.
Tony Grayling, who specialises in transport policy at the Institute for Public Policy Research, told Public Finance that although the general idea of road pricing was a good one, there were concerns about how the scheme would be delivered.
'Cutting fuel duty might lead to an overall increase in road traffic and emissions, particularly in rural areas, and frustrate efforts to meet UK targets in cutting greenhouse gases,' he said.
'But there is all to play for and there are ways of overcoming the difficulties. One could envisage a scheme where a premium is paid by gas guzzlers and fuel-efficient cars receive a discount.'
Grayling added that cutting road tax as opposed to fuel duty was unlikely to create such significant problems.
'Whatever the final design of road pricing, it needs to be part of a package that encourages greater use of public transport,' he said.
He spoke after the Public Accounts Committee published a report criticising the Highways Agency for its 'timid and ineffective' attitude to testing measures that might reduce congestion.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said: 'Some [measures], such as variable speed limits, have been used on only small stretches of motorway, and others, like hard shoulder running, have not so far been tried out at all.
'The agency must demonstrate the kind of leadership and imaginative thinking we see in some of our European neighbours.'
PFjul2005
