The Road Haulage Association has welcomed the Campaign for Better Transport report, which has once again highlighted the issue of road tolls and the long held RHA view that neither public nor private road tolls are a guaranteed revenue earner.
In 2009, road users contributed nearly £50 billion to Treasury coffers”, said RHA Head of Communications, Kate Gibbs. “£32 billion of that came from fuel duty and VAT on fuel”.
“If tolling were to be introduced on strategic routes then the estimated reductions in congestion would of course be welcome. In addition, their implementation would go some way to levelling the playing field in as much as foreign operators would, at last, have to pay for the privilege of using the UK road network.
But the Treasury cannot expect to have it both ways and UK road hauliers, as an industry, cannot be expected to pay even more for keeping the UK economy moving.
“This is a case of swings and roundabouts. There must be a compromise in the form of reduced fuel duty for essential users of fuel”. If this is not achieved, tolling to lessen congestion will be nothing more than a short-term solution to a long term problem.
“If hauliers are to be expected to pay the ever escalating levels of fuel duty as well as road tolls, congestion will indeed decrease as more and more transport operations are forced off the toll roads on to other untolled, and in some cases, minor roads. The knock-on effect of increased journey times and disrupted to delivery schedules will place the providers of transport and businesses which rely on an efficient transport system in an untenable situation”.
