I've just corrupted a Benjamin Franklin quote there becasue of a news story on the BBC site today stating "Future road pricing 'inevitable' - RAC Foundation"
The article, quite rightly in my opinion, claims that most people are against road pricing until they learn that other taxes may be reduced or scrapped to make way for it. Fair enough, but I for one do not believe that the average British motorist, who has always had a poor deal with respect to taxes and what they are used for, would ever be better off if a new tax was introduced.
OK, scrapping the current road tax discs sounds like a nice idea - especially for those of us driving cars with larger engines - but it wouldn't help disabled people who get free Road Tax or classic (pre-1973) car drivers who also get it free for their Ford Anglias and Vauxhall Crestas (frothy man!)
It would stop those tax disc cheats who put a beer mat in the windscreen and are consequently not insured - or would it? Presumably there would have to be some new "Big Brother" style technology to keep track of where you are driving so this could be overcome by, depending on the technology used, disabling transmitters on the car or using false or stolen plates so that somebody else gets the bill as happens with the London Congestion Charge. And who's going to pay for this technology? Or do they expect a load of toll booths to be installed all over the country? Sounds very 18th Century rather than 21st.
Then back to the Big Brother argument (God, that programme is awful nowadays), another BBC news story today would be very relevant with the authorities keeping track of where you are. I mean, what happens if you borrow you wife's car to visit your mistress in Leamington Spa and then she gets the bill for it next week?
Another problem is that once the concept is accepted, the price will inevitably spiral. I remember using the M6 Toll when it first opened and it cost £2 - very reasonable and you could drive quickly with only the compulsory Vauxhall Zafira tailgating you to cause any annoyance. Today it is £5 so I steer clear. Similarly the London Congestion Zone charge started at £5 but current proposals are to make it £10 if you pay on the day - you get a whole quid off if you pay in advance!
The crumb of comfort comes near the end of the article: A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We have no plans to introduce a charging programme for existing roads, which are publicly owned and have already been paid for by the taxpayer."
"No plans" is a Government get-out clause but hopefully, since they do accept that existing roads have already been paid for by us, we shouldn't see anything too taxing for the lifetime of this Government at least.
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The problem with road pricing is that it requires a lot of largely untested infrastructure to be built and for 30 million odd vehicles to be fitted with hardware and then their owners charged. Alternatively, we already have a form of road pricing in fuel duty which requires a dozen or so refineries to be sent a bill. Which do you think is the more expensive to administer?
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