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Toll roads might become more widespread to tackle the shortfall in tax revenues due to the transition to electric vehicles.0
Currently, a fuel tax worth 52.95p per litre is included in the price of fuel. This is a significant source of income for the government, with £24.7 billion expected to be raised in 23/24.
With more electric vehicles hitting the roads, sales of fuel is expected to decrease, with the fuel tax revenue also falling. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates close to 100% of all cars on UK roads by 2045 will be electric after the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2035.
Pay-per-mile road tax has been suggested as a possibility
Sir John Armitt, the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), has suggested implementing charges for using specific roads or other road infrastructure like bridges or tunnels.
“I don’t see why it should be any different to anything else. We pay for all our other infrastructure services as we use them, and we pay for driving on the road, as we use it, via petrol tax.”
Road pricing involves charging motorists for driving on roads, including toll roads, entering bridges and tunnels, pay-per-mile schemes and congestion zones. Although some schemes exist in the UK – including the M6 Toll, Mersey Gateway bridge, and London congestion charge – they are far more widespread in other countries such as France and Germany.
There are currently 19 toll roads, bridges and tunnels, and two other road charging schemes (London Congestion Charge and Durham Road User Charge Zone)
M6 Toll - West Midlands
M25 - Dartford Crossing, Dartford, Essex
The M6 toll has had a troubled history. Last year, it finally turned a profit for the first time since opening 19 years previously.
A4 Batheaston Bridge - Bath
Somerset, A15 Humber Bridge - Hull, Yorkshire
A19 Tyne Tunnels - Wallsend, Tyne and Wear
A38 Tamar Bridge - Plymouth, Devon
A41 Mersey Tunnels - Birkenhead, Liverpool
A57 Dunham Bridge - Lincoln, Lincolnshire
A59 Mersey Tunnels - Wallasey, Liverpool
A533 Mersey Gateway - Halton, Cheshire
B471 Whitechurch Bridge - Pangbourne, Berkshire
B3129 - Clifton Suspension Bridge - Bristol
B4350 - Whitney-On-Wye Bridge, Whitney-On-Wye, Hereford
B4044 Swinford Bridge - Swinford, Oxfordshire
B5159 Warburton Bridge - Warburton, Greater Manchester
Alwark Bridge - Alwark, North Yorkshire
Kingsland Bridge - Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Cartford Bridge, Preston, Lancashire
Ireland already has a network of toll roads, consisting of 8 roads, 1 bridge and 2 tunnels.
