Wednesday 26th August 2009

'Privatise The Roads' Says RAC Foundation

Highways Agency could be sold off if government acts on RAC Foundation proposals

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Nationwide road tolling could become a reality if new proposals to privatise the Highways Agency are taken up by Whitehall.

The proposal to sell off the Highways Agency in bits to private companies comes in a recent report from the RAC Foundation.

The RAC Foundation says: "With the anticipated severe pressures on the public finances over the coming years, government may see the financial case for selling a stake in the Highways Agency as attractive - particularly set against an imputed value of £85billion."

The privatisation proposal is only one of a number of possible solutions to the increasing pressure on the UK's road network, however. Other options being floated include the creation of a public corporation in the mould of the BBC or Network Rail and which would run the road network.

"We need a shake-up of the institutions that control the road network," Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC foundation, told PistonHeads. "The crucial point is that we need to ensure that some of the revenues generated by the roads - whether through tolls or taxation - are used for improvements to the UK's roads and not just slipped into the Exchequer's coffers. A transparent body, independent of the government, would be a way to achieve this."

If the responsibility for the road network was taken away from central government, either by a privatisation process or the creation of a new public body, there would presumably be the need for a new regulatory body. PH humbly suggests the name Offroad...

Don't worry too much, though. Even if they do happen, proper road tolls are still a long way off. Stephen Glaister again: "In the long-run, road-tolling could become a reality, and I think it will need to. But in the immediate future the most likely funding solution would be shadow-tolls, where the government pays private contractors a maintenance fee based on the number of cars using a particular piece of road.

[PhantomPH]

What incentive is there for a private company to plough it's profits back into road improvements, tho??

Surely the roads would end up worse - if I owned a section of A1 that I knew people had to use, I would spend the bare minimum on maintenance and pocket the rest.

Edited by PhantomPH on Wednesday 26th August 11:33

[nonuts]

Twats

Edited by Matt172 on Wednesday 26th August 14:17

[JoePublic]

Hang on a second ...if the roads were private rights of way, would they still be covered by speed limits?

[mrmr96]

JoePublic said:

Hang on a second ...if the roads were private rights of way, would they still be covered by speed limits?

Like the M6 Toll?

[CypherP]

Hmm.. I kind of agree with them stating that too much money goes directly to the government and doesn't see through any road improvements etc, but it's all still very vague. I for one would personally like to pay my road tax knowing that i won't drive through the same potholes every single morning, but i still think road-tolling would be worse than this.

I don't think there's any way of actually making an improvement, just switching the responsibility so someone else can feel the brunt of the public's complaints on the general view of the motorist.

[whitevanman88]

JoePublic said:

Hang on a second ...if the roads were private rights of way, would they still be covered by speed limits?

I like your thinking...

[v8will]

Nice! We'll have to pay even more for potholes

[Mike69]

This would need to be very tightly regulated. As the first poster points out, motorways and primary routes have a fairly captive audience. It's not like you could just choose to use the M6, if you felt that the A1 wasn't delivering good value. If the private owners of the roads were also given rights to operate 'safety' cameras as well, the prospect would be terrifying. We've seen the results when private firms were given the job of parking enforcement!

[Frankeh]

whitevanman88 said:

JoePublic said:

Hang on a second ...if the roads were private rights of way, would they still be covered by speed limits?

I like your thinking...

+1

[Leicesterdave]

I see the road charging as a positive step. It works in France- the roads are smooth and far less congested. Yes it is a bigger country but putting aside it does make you think twice about going on the motorway if you have to pay.

[ShadownINja]

It'll be fine, because they'll end fuel tax.

[buttery muffin]

I think only a small percentage of road tax goes towards road maintenaince?
So perhaps privatisation would lead to lower tax or more mmoney spent on roads.
Though probably not. Sounds like a silly idea to me, like privatising pavements and cycle paths.

[robert_raw]

Would that mean a reduction on road tax?

[Torquey]

I assume they'd either scrap road tax or significantly reduce it...

[JoePublic]

mrmr96 said:

JoePublic said:

Hang on a second ...if the roads were private rights of way, would they still be covered by speed limits?

Like the M6 Toll?

Much like that, yes! Maybe even officially so...

[mrmr96]

Torquey said:

I assume they'd either scrap road tax or significantly reduce it...

Like f**k would they.

[Don]

Currently the roads BELONG TO US.

If they are privatised the Government is effectively STEALING THEM FROM US!

OK. So what are we going to be given in return. What recompense is the taxpayer going to receive? A BIG FAT NOTHING.

I'd want to see:

• An end to fking road tax for a start
• removal of the council's budget for road fking - oh sorry that's maintenance isn't it. Well I don't call putting in fking speed bumps fking maintenance. No more of that.
• The private companies should be monitored by OffRoad (TM). The slightest failing in tough standards should see them fined and the money used to compensate motorists for any damage to their cars.
• The private companies should have to set speed limits based on customer feedback. If the road gets loads of "faster" votes it should be faster. If it gets loads of "slower" votes it should be slower. Common sense should sort that out.

And then: what will they be charging me? How will I pay the toll? Got to be ANPR at toll booths - anything else would be too slow and expensive, GPS is unreliable.

No company should hold a monopoly on routes between towns. Get the monopolies commission on any bd attempting to corner the market - and I fkING EXPECT THEM TO ACTUALLY DO THEIR JOB!

etc etc

[Strangely Brown]

You might want to change the title of this thread. The RAC and The RAC Foundation are NOT the same thing.

[Rotary Madness]

I wonder if PH could pool together enough money to buy a section of motorway and then derestrict the speed limit ?

[The Dirty Bubble]

I am not surprised the Government are putting forward this idea. After all, privatisation of other Transport Networks (National Rail, London Underground) has been such a success.....oh.....hang on a minute.