The Transport Select Committee has published a report, Taxes and charges on road users, which says there is scope for voluntary road pricing schemes to provide funds for transport.
Vehicles could include a 'black box' that incorporates a pay-as-you-drive function with communications, navigation and safety features, and could encourage some drivers to avoid the times when the roads are congested. The report recommends that the government works with industry to ensure the systems for this are in place and interoperable.
It advocates the resurrection of proposals for a low cost, pay-per-mile lorry charge for UK and foreign registered vehicles, stating that without some form of toll or vignette system UK freight operators will continue to face unfair competition from foreign registered vehicles able to take advantage of cheaper diesel.
It also suggests that the government monitors the progress of a road pricing scheme in The Netherlands, in which there is a basic charge for all roads and extra congestion charges based on time and place.
But it says it is unlikely that many public authorities in the UK will consider congestion charging, and that the government should rethink its policy of tying this to grants provided from the Transport Innovation Fund.
The report say that underlying all this, the government has to improve the way in which it justifies taxes on road users to rebuild public trust.
Committee chair Louise Ellman MP commented: "The government handled a phased set of increases to Vehicle Excise Duty so badly they tarnished the image of environmental taxes.
"We believe taxation based on car usage - through fuel duty - remains fairer than any approach based on car ownership and does more to encourage fuel efficiency or reduce CO2 emissions. We recognise that economic factors will limit how much revenue can be raised by this method. We call on the government to develop other measures to address the problem of congestion.
"Stronger linkage between Treasury policy and Transport Ministry policy is essential if government is to send clearer signals to UK motorists about congestion and carbon emissions while encouraging walking, cycling and greater use of public transport. Effective reform will however elude any government until the public is given explicit and comprehensive information detailing how much money is raised through this route and how it is used."
The committee also warns that road investment should be justified only on the basis of wider transport policy objectives, need and benefits. It rejects the notion of hypothecation for transport taxes, arguing it provides a poor basis for public spending decisions and ignores the social costs associated with road use, such as policing, accidents, pollution and carbon emissions.
But it says there is a case for earmarking revenue from specific local schemes for spending in a given geographical area.
