The government must overhaul motoring taxes as it phases out new diesel and petrol vehicles, according to MPs.
MPs on the Transport Committee said the government must come up with new policy options by the end of the year. A ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles will be introduced by 2030, which means £35 billion will be lost in tax revenue.
In a report entitled Road Pricing, the Committee favoured a road charging system based on technology which measures road use.
Any scheme would include the drivers of electric vehicles, who would be required to pay for road usage. It would also cover vans and HGV vehicles, as well as overseas vehicle drivers.
Huw Merriman MP, Chair of the Transport Committee, said:
‘We need to talk about road pricing. Innovative technology could deliver a national road-pricing scheme that prices up a journey based on the amount of road, and type of vehicle, used. Just like our current motoring taxes but, by using price as a lever, we can offer better prices at less congested times and have technology compare these directly to public transport alternatives.
‘By offering choice, we can deliver for the driver and for the environment. Road pricing should not cost motorists more, overall, or undermine progress on active travel. Work should begin without delay. The situation is urgent. New taxes, which rely on new technology, take years to introduce.
‘A national scheme would avoid a confusing and potentially unfair and contradictory patchwork of local schemes but would be impossible to deliver if this patchwork becomes too vast. The countdown to net-zero has begun. Net-zero emissions should not mean zero tax revenue.’
