In the Fast Lane. Fair and effective road user charging in Britain

Article

This report argues that raising congestion charges would be fair in the sense of making motorists pay for the costs they impose on society, including congestion, crashes, pollution, noise, and road wear.

The successes of the central London congestion charging scheme and the M6 toll road have changed the terms of the debate on road user charging in Britain. Edinburgh is planning a referendum on the introduction of a congestion charging scheme and other cities are contemplating their own. The government plans to introduce a distance charging scheme for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and has commissioned a feasibility study on a national road user charging scheme for cars and vans that is due to report this summer.

We commissioned computer modelling of the likely effects of congestion charging if it were introduced on all roads in England in 2010. Two scenarios were tested: a revenue neutral scheme in which there are offsetting cuts in fuel duty so that no extra revenue is raised overall, and revenue raising congestion charges levied in addition to fuel duty.

This report argues that raising congestion charges would be fair in the sense of making motorists pay for the costs they impose on society, including congestion, crashes, pollution, noise, and road wear.

Related items

  1. A sign for a polling station next to a block of flats

    Modernising elections: How to get voters back

    Elections are the defining feature of modern democracy. They are the process by which we express a desired future en masse. It is the mass dimension that matters most; it is the mass dimension that is receding.

  2. Bridge to the future: how to get the NHS through the winter and ready for reform

    NHS staff across the country are gritting their teeth. Christmas parties have come and gone, but a more threatening annual tradition looms once again – the NHS ‘winter crisis’. This period, renowned for long waits and increased mortality,…

  3. The great enabler: transport’s role in tackling environmental crises and delivering progressive change

    In this special issue of IPPR Progressive Review we bring together leading political, academic and civil society thinkers to consider transport in modern Britain and its role in delivering a healthier, greener, more prosperous and…