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Change often means improvement but it also often meets with resistance, even when it's for the better. It's a normal human reaction, and one that is magnified when money is at stake! So it's a fair bet that any blanket deployment of road charging in the UK is going to cause waves, not least because it will affect almost everyone.
Backlash or not, my view is that drivers need to get their head around it because in one guise or another, there is a strong likelihood that some form of tailored charging is coming. The Government has been reviewing its transport funding policy in recent months and one of the options on the table is a 'two-tier' road tax system.
In a nutshell, drivers who mainly drive locally and avoid major roads will end up paying a lower rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) than those who regularly use motorways. How much you pay is based on your behaviour and while its more of a tax than a charge, the principle is the same.
There are two concerns with this. Firstly, this proposal has the potential to change behaviour, and not in a good way. It is quite conceivable that drivers will increase the length of their journeys as they look to avoid more expensive motorways. As well as using more fuel and increasing vehicle emissions, it could end up reducing congestion on the major roads, only to move it onto smaller roads which are less equipped to cope.
The second is the motivation for this change. We all know that the Government needs to boost income and under the current system, this income is falling. VED is linked to environmental impact and cars are consistently becoming more efficient and more sustainable. In this context, is the Government really focused on reducing congestion, or is this more about raising much needed income?
To address these two concerns I sincerely hope that the Government is carefully thinking through its options (which I'm sure that it is). And I hope that the motivation is the wellbeing of the driver rather than a short termist revenue generating scheme.
It's worth pointing out that this approach is not the only option available to the Government, but one way or another, things will change in the future and so drivers better brace themselves!
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