The government must speed up its plans for introducing road pricing, according to a new report from the CILT (UK). It said it welcomes the government’s commitment to road pricing as being the only effective way to tackle congestion. However, it says, the timescale for tackling what it calls the “serious and growing problem” of road congestion is “frustratingly slow”.
The institute says it considers road pricing a ‘must have’ to support future economic growth and says that studies suggest that an effective regime would cut congestion by two-fifths and yield time savings and other economic benefits worth £10 – £12bn per year.
Jim Coates, chairman of CILT (UK)’s Road Capacity and Charging Forum, said: “Transport Secretary Alistair Darling was right to take the bold decision to begin a national debate on road pricing last year, but we risk losing the momentum on this initiative.
“The timetable he has mapped out for desktop studies in seven areas is frustratingly slow.
“We need to move beyond ‘if’ on road pricing, to ‘when’.
