Road plan on wrong track

Jun 14 2005 By Helen Logan Evening Gazette

How many employees have a choice about what time they start work?

I know some companies and organisations have flexi-time in place but a lot people have to work set shift patterns with many having to travel to work during the rush hour.

And these people would be hit hard in the pocket by the plans to head off "gridlock" on Britain's roads by replacing existing taxes with a hi-tech system of road charging.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has said that a feasibility study, which reported to him last year, set out a range of charges from 2p a mile up to £1.34 a mile on the busiest roads - with the maximum charge being paid by only 0.5pc of traffic.

Mr Darling stressed that his proposals, which are unlikely to become reality earlier than ten to 15 years from now, are not designed to force people out of their cars, but rather to make better use of the road network.

I just can't see such a system working. But I can imagine it all descending into a bureaucratic nightmare calculating how much each of Britain's millions of motorists owe.

There will also be an added administrative burden for firms where staff have company cars as logs will have to be kept for business and personal mileage, so it can be worked out whether the company or the employee is responsible for paying for certain journeys.

And residential areas could become rat runs as cars and lorries abandon "expensive" main roads for cheaper quieter routes.