UK drivers could be hit with a ‘pay-per-mile’ toll under new government plans to tackle climate change, according to reports.
The Treasury is reportedly considering a plan to charge drivers for using the roads and was previously keen on the idea.
It comes as part of the government’s pledge to be net zero by 2050 as it encourages drivers to switch to electric vehicles instead to reduce carbon emissions.
Electric car owners are currently exempt from paying road tax, and Boris Johnson last year announced a ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, reports The Mirror.
Some tolls exist currently such as the M6 toll, which sees motorists paying £7 to use the motorway, and congestion charge fees in Central London.
However, the change is reportedly being reviewed as the government faces falling revenues from petrol duty – with more motorists switching to electric cars, reports WalesOnline.
The new changes could involve the implementation of a road pricing system and allow drivers to have 3,000 free miles – with an extra 1,000 in rural areas – before paying per journey, according to AA president, Edmund King.
Dorset Live spoke to local taxi and haulage businesses to find out what impact these changes could have for locals.
‘Kiss of death’ for the haulage industry
For one operations manager at a local haulage company in Poole, the proposals are a ‘kiss of death’ for the HGV and haulage industry.
“(The) HGV and truck industry just wouldn’t have it” he told Dorset Live, adding “We pay so much in diesel at the moment – if you consider that around 70% of the cost of our diesel is tax, and it costs us £650 to keep a lorry on the road and some of them are £1,200-1,800 a year – I don’t see it working for the haulage industry.”
The operations manager, who wishes to remain anonymous, admits to feeling disheartened if proposals were to go ahead.
“When you’re trying to run a transport company and these additional costs are being piled on, you just sort of think ‘I’ll pack up and go home’.”
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Already getting humped by high fuel prices because the oil giants need to keep profits up due to more electric vehicles on the road.
This tax will reduce truck’s on the road so food would end up in short supply along with everything else then,maybe they will realise the damage they are doing,haulage industry is a cash cow to the government