Unless Britons are charged for the distance they drive, they could eventually face unmanageable traffic jams on major roads, the nation’s transport secretary said on Thursday.
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said Britain needs to implement the world’s first satellite-based system to charge motorists for every kilometre they drive, or its roads will become ”slowly but surely gridlocked” like those in some large United States cities.
Feasibility studies have shown such a scheme could cut urban congestion by up to half, Darling said.
”For those who would immediately baulk at such a radical change as road pricing, think about the alternative,” he said in a speech to the Social Market Foundation, ”the prospect of a system becoming slowly but surely gridlocked, like you can see in many American cities every day of the year.”
The number of cars on British roads has risen by a quarter over the past decade to 25-million, and the rate of increase shows little sign of slowing.
”Because of our geography, our growing economy, our demography, we will face increasing pressures on our roads over the next 20 to 30 years,” Darling said.
The scheme will involve fitting cars with black boxes to record mileage and transmit data via satellite.
Motorist groups say the plan will favour the wealthy.
Environmentalists complain that it will simply switch traffic to quieter country roads. Others say it will violate their privacy.
Darling conceded there are problems to be solved.
”We need to safeguard our environmental objectives,” he said. ”We need to respect privacy. We need to work out how the prices would be set. And we need to make sure that a system works at a reasonable cost, with clear benefit to road users, as well as the country as a whole.”
Darling said a feasibility study released last year suggested charges ranging from two pence (24 cents) for less congested routes to £1,34 (R16,60) for the most heavily used roads.
But the study showed that only 0,5% of traffic will pay the highest charges, he added.
The plan is still being worked out, and the government has not indicated when it might introduce legislation.
Darling said a pilot scheme should be ”up and running in five to six years”. A national scheme is unlikely to be in place in less than 10 to 15 years. — Sapa-AP