Road charging 'should be rolled out'

National road charging should be introduced to reduce congestion, a committee of MPs has concluded.

The Commons transport committee found road pricing to be the most effective way to keep traffic moving.

In their report, published on Thursday, the MPs said the move away from the current road tax system would mean drivers pay for the amount of time they are out on the road.

They suggest the scheme should be introduced providing the cost can be brought in line with the benefits, and the potential impacts on climate change emissions, road safety and social inclusion, brought under control.

And the charges paid could vary depending on the degree of congestion, time of day and location.

Road traffic is expected to grow massively in the UK.  Last year some 5.2 billion miles more were travelled on the roads compared with 2003.

Committee chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody highlighted the London congestion charge zone as a scheme that had been introduced successfully.

She said local authorities should decide whether urban charging schemes would reduce congestion on local roads.

But she added: "The strategic network – motorways and trunk roads – is under government control: the government must not duck its responsibility for charging on the most congested parts of the network."

However the MPs did recommend road pricing should only be part of a wider package of measures to reduce congestion, including better public transport and road improvements.

The Confederation of British Industry acknowledged that road user charging could cut congestion significantly but warned it must not be "just another tax on motorists".

CBI director Michael Roberts said: "We've estimated congestion costs businesses £20 billion a year.

"Used with other measures, road pricing has the potential to cut urban congestion significantly, perhaps by as much as half.

"If we're going to change driver behaviour and make more efficient use of the network we need a system that means those who make most use of the busiest roads pay most."

But he said businesses would want to know whether the money raised will be returned to them by cuts in other motoring taxes, reinvested in transport improvements or a combination of both.

"They [businesses] want to know who will set the charges and how," Roberts said.

"And they want a clearer assessment of the economic impact of pushing up transport costs, particularly on peripheral areas of Britain."