Britain's roads not fit for purpose
Over 69% of people surveyed prior to the announcement of this year’s Wolfson report said Britain’s roads were not good enough. The survey represented over 2,000 adults and asked a number of questions to establish the following:
- 80% are very concerned about potholes
- 79% think traffic is getting worse on all roads and action needs to be taken
- 67% are very concerned about pollution from traffic
- Road users are open to new forms of funding
With over £27bn taken by the exchequer for fuel duty alone, are we seeing this investment in our roads today.
Increasing moves to electric could challenge this, so where would the exchequer get this money and how in the future.
The Wolfson prize awarded through the Policy Exchange group Britain's leading think tank looked to explore "How can we pay for better, safer, more reliable roads in a way that is fair to road users and good for the economy and the environment?’
The winner Gergely Raccuja proposed the following to restore trust between politicians and motorists, fuel duty and VED should be scrapped and replaced with a simple and fair distance-based charge that also captures road and environmental impacts.
The better for the environment your vehicle is, the lower the per mile charge. Through this policy, investment will be boosted and roads will be ready for a new generation of electric and autonomous vehicles.
So, will we have to pay more, well no or maybe as it is in relation to how much you drive each year. Is this good for people who have driving and potentially fleet as key activities for thier business?
Who will collect it, the proposal is the insurers who already manage all data necessary for calculating the charge. So, the MID could utilised to calculate the road bill for everyone.
So is this the future for the UK. We can be sure the government is monitoring changes in how motoring is changing, so watch this space.
Here at LetsTalkFleet this is the sort of debate we need, to ensure we stay ahead and get people thinking about what the future holds. Do you see an opportunity or a threat ahead?
More details below
https://policyexchange.org.uk/wolfson-winner/
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