Distance-based lorry charging should be compulsory in budget, says Campaigners

Following UK government figures which revealed that only 34% of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are fully loaded by volume, and 30% are travelling around empty, the Campaign for Better Transport (CfBT) is calling for distance based lorry charging systems to be made compulsory. The campaigners stated that the technology can determine the impact of lorries on roads and force the road haulage industry to be more efficient and reduce lorry miles. CfBT added that and it should be included in the HGV VED and Road Use
November 20, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Following UK government figures which revealed that only 34% of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are fully loaded by volume, and 30% are travelling around empty, the Campaign for Better Transport (CfBT) is calling for distance based lorry charging systems to be made compulsory. The campaigners stated that the technology can determine the impact of lorries on roads and force the road haulage industry to be more efficient and reduce lorry miles. CfBT added that and it should be included in the HGV VED and Road User Levy budget.

Recent research for the campaign showed that HGVs are only paying around 30% of their costs in road congestion, road fatalities and pollution. These conclusions are in line an MDS Transmodal study in 2007 which found a similar amount of underpayment: £6billion. In addition, the Transport & Environment Research April 2016 revealed that HGVs across the EU were only internalising around 30% of their costs.

CfBT also believes that the system could differentiate charging based on vehicles’ pollution and incentivise newer less polluting vehicles.

Philippa Edmunds, Freight on Rail manager said: “Currently, road haulage is very competitive but not efficient. Introducing distance-based lorry charging, which is common-place in most Western countries, will make road haulage more efficient and thereby reduce congestion, road fatalities, road damage and pollution as well as allowing sustainable modes to compete more fairly. For example, in Germany empty lorries have reduced from 29% to 18%.”
Enforcement

Related Content

  • RAC Foundation: UK drivers receive 12 million penalties annually
    October 25, 2017
    Up to 12 million driving license holders receive a penalty notice each year – the equivalent of one every 2.5 seconds; meaning as many as a third (30%) of Britain's 40 million drivers now receive a penalty notice annually. The findings come from the Automated Road Traffic Enforcement: Regulation, Governance and Use - for the RAC Foundation by Dr Adam Snow, a lecturer in criminology at Liverpool Hope University. The penalty notices include the Fixed Penalty Notice (a criminal penalty issued
    Read More
  • Auto-braking cars: government should meet motorists halfway
    March 25, 2014
    A UK Government incentive for drivers buying cars with anti-crash technology would save 60 lives and result in 760 fewer serious casualties reported to the police, in just three years. Over ten years, such an incentive would save 1,220 lives and nearly 136,000 casualties, according to Thatcham Research, the insurance industry’s automotive research centre. At a briefing seeking support from senior politicians, health organisations, insurers and vehicle manufacturers at the House of Commons today, Peter S
    Read More
  • One in seven UK drivers would cross a level crossing illegally, says study
    October 5, 2018
    One in seven UK drivers would drive over a level crossing before the barrier or gate has opened, according to new research. Research agency Populus carried out a study on behalf of Network Rail which reveals six UK drivers have been killed at level crossings in the last five years. There are also around 46 incidents every week in the UK involving vehicles at level crossings – a third of which are caused by lorries, followed by cars at 28%. According to the report, one in nine drivers would go over a l
    Read More
  • Enforcement ensures equity for toll road users
    January 25, 2018
    All-electronic tolling boosts traffic flow but introduces the tricky question of enforcement. Workable solutions are starting to emerge. Enforcement is an essential part of tolling and one of the most important ways for a mobility agency to keep faith with its investors, its community stakeholders and the vast majority of its users. It can also be one of the most unpopular and contentious things a toll authority has to undertake. If tolling is about paying for the roads, then everyone has to pay their
    Read More

Highlighted Content