Despite moves towards a road-charging scheme in Britain, the Government here is not actively pursuing any pay-per-kilometre tolling system, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Transport. She said there were no plans as yet for any such system here.
Britain's transport secretary Alistair Darling is seeking cross-party support to legislate for the world's most ambitious road-charging scheme to avert the prospect of "complete gridlock" on Britain's highways. Under the proposals, drivers would pay between 2p and £1.30 a mile for each car journey.
They will be monitored by satellite, with variable rates being levied according to time, type of road and location.
To mitigate the blow, there would be reductions in fuel tax and vehicle excise duty, although Darling has refused to say whether the overall tax burden on motorists would rise or remain the same.
The proposals, which will be outlined in a speech tomorrow, were greeted warily by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Both parties said they supported road charging in principle but insisted it must not be used as a "stealth tax".
The British government wants to put a bill before the House of Commons within two years for a pilot charging scheme using satellite technology, which could begin in the Midlands or in Manchester by 2010.
The number of cars on British roads has surged by a quarter over a decade to 25 million, fuelled by prosperity, frustration with public transport and cheaper cars. Government forecasts suggest that the time drivers spend in traffic jams could rise by 20 per cent by 2010.
No other country has attempted nationwide charging and the satellite technology needed to track cars accurately is still in its infancy.
However, Germany has introduced a scheme levying a variable toll on lorry drivers and Britain is working on a similar "spy in the cab" scheme for heavy goods vehicles to begin in 2008.
A feasibility study by the British Department for Transport concluded last year that charging all motorists could cut traffic by 4 per cent - enough to reduce the amount of time drivers spend in jams by as much as 46 per cent.
Motoring organisations say charges for rush-hour drivers could be useful in encouraging people to stagger their journeys. But the RAC Foundation pointed out that car owners already pay £42 billion annually in tax, of which only £6 billion is spent on improving roads.
Other experts believe charging would be pointless unless it raised extra funds to pay for improved public transport.
- Guardian News Service