Skip to main content

Foreign hauliers to pay HGV levy to use UK roads

Foreign hauliers will be charged to use UK roads for the first time from today, 1 April 2014 transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced. UK truck drivers working in Europe currently pay tolls and levies when delivering goods abroad, but foreign trucks operating in the UK have not been required to make a similar payment. The HGV road user levy, which is being brought in nearly a year ahead of schedule, introduces a charge that ensures British hauliers are better able to compete with their for
April 1, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Foreign hauliers will be charged to use UK roads for the first time from today, 1 April 2014 transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced.

UK truck drivers working in Europe currently pay tolls and levies when delivering goods abroad, but foreign trucks operating in the UK have not been required to make a similar payment.

The HGV road user levy, which is being brought in nearly a year ahead of schedule, introduces a charge that ensures British hauliers are better able to compete with their foreign counterparts.  The levy has long been called for by the UK haulage industry and creates a fairer system by removing some of the inequality UK hauliers feel when paying to use many roads abroad.

Patrick McLoughlin said: “The HGV levy will provide a massive boost for the UK haulage industry. It will create a level playing field across Europe, giving UK firms a much better opportunity to win business.”

Related Content

  • Highways Agency chief executive to step down
    January 29, 2015
    The Chief Executive of the Highways Agency (HA), Graham Dalton, announced today that he is leaving his post in the summer. During his seven years in post Graham has led the agency through a time of financial constraint and of growing ambition for the strategic road network. He has led the agency as it has established a strong reputation for efficiency, for delivering capital investment, and for operating one of the most intensively used road networks in Europe. Graham Dalton said: “It has been a priv
  • IBTTA: industry must commit to trust and accountability
    August 23, 2018
    Without a commitment to trust and accountability, the modern road tolling industry would not have the bedrock which it requires – and which customers demand, says IBTTA’s Bill Cramer When Tim Stewart, executive director of Colorado’s E-470 Public Highway Authority, settled on ‘trust and accountability’ as the themes for his year as IBTTA president, it was a very deliberate choice. Stewart was looking for language that would help deliver the global tolling industry’s message of service excellence to cust
  • Is road user charging the first stop for congestion management?
    July 23, 2012
    David Hytch, Information Systems Director at the Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive, considers just where congestion pricing schemes should sit in transport planners' hierarchy of options for managing demand. On the face of it, Greater Manchester in England's proposed congestion charging scheme hit just about every sweet spot possible when it came to convincing the general public of the need for and benefits of such a venture. There was the promise from national government of almost £3bn-worth of
  • Safety concern raised over UK e-scooter use
    July 16, 2020
    Scooters are 'less visible and less stable' than bikes, warns trade association