ACE makes recommendations to government on UK road funding

The UK Government must introduce dynamic road user charging in the UK over the long-term; with initial steps to be taken now and a suggested start date of 2030, according to a new report from ACE. Called ‘Funding roads for the future: Creating a more productive and sustainable road network in England’ it presented a series of recommendations on how to improve road network funding and how revenue from associated taxes can be sustained for future needs.
January 25, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The UK Government must introduce dynamic road user charging in the UK over the long-term; with initial steps to be taken now and a suggested start date of 2030, according to a new report from ACE. Called ‘Funding roads for the future: Creating a more productive and sustainable road network in England’ it presented a series of recommendations on how to improve road network funding and how revenue from associated taxes can be sustained for future needs.


This inquiry stated that the growing uptake of zero-emission vehicles will create problems for funding roads as the revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty and Fuel Duty will continue to decline as a percentage of the UK’s GDP in the future. It also categorised funding for local roads as a struggling area due to the tight budgets of local authorities who often miss out on the investment required.

In addition, it highlighted that the government needs to look at new options to tackle congestion and to ensure that the road network is fit-for-purpose for the future with budgetary constraints.

Other proposals include reforming the Vehicle Excise Duty and Heavy Goods Vehicle Road User Levy to ensure these taxes raise sufficient revenue for the National Roads Fund from 2020-21. It specified that the government needs to increase the overall funding for local roads with a suggested Local Roads Fund, ringfenced through a proportion of revenue from Fuel Duty, as a medium-term solution. Additionally, A National Road Strategy outlining the overall approach of all funding programs for roads, including how investments could unlock productivity and achieve economic benefits. It also proposed replacing the Community Infrastructure levy (CIL) with a better designed Local Infrastructure Tariff, in line with CIL Review Group's recommendations.

More recommendations are available in a full copy of the report %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external here false https://www.acenet.co.uk/Documents/Files/ACE%20Funding%20Roads%20for%20the%20Future.pdf false false%>.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Speed cameras targeted by French ‘yellow vest’ protesters
    January 14, 2019
    Protesters in France have put more than half of the country’s speed cameras out of action, according to the country’s authorities. Interior minister Christophe Castaner said that almost 60% of France’s 3,200 cameras have been affected, the BBC reports. Castaner said that the cameras had been “neutralised, attacked, or destroyed” by ‘yellow vest’ protesters in a move which threatened road safety. Motorists are required by law to keep high-visibility vests, or ‘gilets jaunes’ in their cars. These yel
    Read More
  • Painted lanes ‘a waste of money’, say UK cycling champions
    June 18, 2019
    The UK government has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds painting white lines on busy roads to use as cycle lanes, says former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman. Boardman, cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester, has reportedly joined fellow commissioners Dame Sarah Storey (Sheffield City region) and Will Norman (London) in writing to transport secretary Chris Grayling calling for new measures to be adopted. The Guardian says the letter argues that painted cycle lanes do not make cyc
    Read More
  • CBI/AECOM Survey: Three quarters of firms and public doubt improvement over this Parliament
    October 25, 2017
    74% of firms doubt infrastructure will improve over this Parliament and 76% the public doubt any improvement will occur, according to the CBI/AECOM Infrastructure survey 2017. The findings show that both business and the public are concerned about the pace of delivery and a record number of firms are dissatisfied with the state of infrastructure in the region. The report showed that 96% of the 727 businesses surveyed see infrastructure as important to the government’s agenda and 55% view it as critical.
    Read More
  • TfL describes reports of closer ties with Uber as ‘nonsense’
    December 14, 2018
    Transport for London (TfL) has described claims that it is deepening its relationship with Uber as ‘nonsense’. Media reports suggested that London’s transit authority might be going to offer customers access to public transport services via the ride-hailing firm's app. The Financial Times reported that Uber is attempting to add TfL's data about tube and bus timetables into the app. But a spokesperson from TfL told ITS International that the only thing it is putting out is open data – and does no
    Read More

Highlighted Content