British citizens should be given a free tradable £1500 'share' in the UK road network, as a precursor to the introduction of pay-as-you-go driving charges.
Giveaway plan aims for less of this...
That's the verdict of think-tank The Social Market Foundation, which claims so-called 'mutualisation' of the road network is the best way to convince the public that road charging is fair.
"Road user charging is the policy solution, but a political hot potato," says the SMF in its latest report called Roads to Recovery.
"To overcome public opposition to charging, a radical strategy is needed to separate the policy of road user charging from voters' fears that they'll be made to pay more, with politicians using the policy to raise more revenue to pay down the state's debt mountain. Voters must be presented with a policy that makes road pricing something that is in their interests because they, and not the Treasury, benefit directly from the proceeds. They must also retain ownership of the roads, rather than seeing them sold off to private financiers."
The report recommends a 'voucher mutualisation' of the Strategic Roads Network. Unlike the privatisations of the 1980s, it says, under this policy every citizen in the UK would receive a tradable share in the road network for free, accompanied by the abolition of Vehicle Excise Duty and the introduction of road pricing.
"Any profits from operating the roads would then go to the shareholders: British citizens," says the report.
"At 10p per mile - similar to charges in continental Europe - we can expect each citizen's share to be worth some £1,500 on the open market, after taking account of the investment that road tax currently funds. Individuals would have the choice of whether to hold on to their share and benefit from the profits, or sell it and take the money."
Based on transport survey data, the SMF reckons the average driver would be better off to the tune of £75 per year, paying less in tolls than they currently do in road tax.
Heavy road users would pay more, but would benefit from a reduction in congestion the SMF says would result from the new charges.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)