The Government must take charge

News that Birmingham must adopt a £4bn pay-as-you-drive scheme or face a predicted 22% rise in road traffic over the next ten years has brought congestion schemes back under the spotlight, or rather the headlight beam.

The report, commissioned by seven local authorities in the West Midlands, stated the measures were essential to prevent congestion choking the region over the next decade and limiting growth in the area. The proposed method is a satellite-monitored black box installed in vehicles that will charge motorists according to what route they take, the length of the journey, and the time of day.

However, while the advent of national road pricing schemes now seems to be a matter of when rather than if, the initiatives could end up being counterproductive if congestion charging and road pricing schemes are developed in isolation.

If individual cities across the UK introduce their own congestion charging schemes, without any national standards being imposed by the Government, it could add an intolerable burden to businesses and mean any future process of co-ordination across the EU impossible.

The introduction of the London congestion charge scheme proved to be not only a cost burden for business fleets, but also an administrative burden for the country’s leasing industry. Certainly, in the early days of the scheme, fines were being incorrectly issued and poorly administered, causing much consternation for the leasing industry, its customers and their drivers

In the UK, the Government’s role has been to provide the legislative framework by which individual cities can implement schemes, but there is no guidance concerning the technology that should be used and the administrative processes that should be followed.

Any roll-out of schemes must involve standardised technology and administration. Business cannot afford to absorb the increased costs and cope with the potential confusion that would clearly be a factor without a set of centrally defined standards

There is also a wider issue that is being lost in the congestion charging and national road pricing debate. For a number of years, the European Union has been attempting to address the issue of ‘inter-operability’ of toll roads and road pricing, with the long-term goal of ensuring that technology and pricing systems correspond throughout the EU. The primary goal of the ‘inter-operability’ project is to reduce transport bureaucracy and, in turn, lower business costs.

The Government has called for a debate on congestion and national road pricing which is extremely welcome, but we are in danger of having a very narrow UK debate without reference to the wider European context. We should not develop road-pricing and congestion charging systems without at least reference to potential European inter-operability solutions. If, as now seems likely, the UK is at the forefront of developments in this area we should be looking to use our experience and expertise to take a lead in developing systems and standards that are effective at managing demand but not restrictive in terms of business efficiency.

The goal is laudable, but as the debate on this issue develops, it is essential that the collective voice of the leasing industry, and the business fleet user, is heard at the appropriate levels. We must ensure that any potential solution has a positive impact on the business traveller who contributes so much to UK business performance.

The report on the West Midlands suggests, without road charging, congestion could cost business billions and lead to a loss of over 40,000 jobs. What is clear is the current piecemeal approach to the issue is unacceptable and could leave businesses swimming in a sea of bureaucracy, even if the roads are clearer.

Mike Waters is head of marketing and planning at Arval.