19 September 2008
The government's advisory body on rural affairs is warning that plans to introduce road-pricing schemes could adversely affect rural communities.
In a study published this week, the Commission for Rural Communities says that road charges could undermine local shops, public services and public transport in the countryside and bring poverty and isolation to its inhabitants.
Malcolm Craig, senior policy adviser at the Commission for Rural Communities, said the implications for rural areas were being neglected as the government considers new ways to make motorists pay their way.
'They have to think about the impact on rural communities in terms of road safety and the local economy,' he said. 'Charging could affect the provision of services as service providers might go to other areas.'
While revenue-neutral schemes, which shift costs from car and fuel tax to road tolls, might result in cheaper motoring for rural motorists, some fear they might also pave the way for price-hiking revenue-raising schemes. 'We would want to make sure a revenue-raising scheme would be ploughed back into public transport,' said Craig.
The commission is particularly concerned about the potential effects of higher road charges on the poorest people, such as low-paid rural workers, who typically travel further to their destinations. 'We know that rural householders spend a higher proportion of their income on transport than urban people,' he said. 'If there was an added charge for using the roads, that would hit them even further.'
The report was published as the Department for Transport named the seven companies that will develop the technology for road-pricing schemes, which the government wants councils to adopt to combat congestion.
PFsep2008
