The Road Pricing Challenge: National, Local and Political

Calls for a national road pricing scheme are increasing. It’s not a new idea, but the dial may have shifted. 

The combined imperatives of achieving net zero, addressing congestion, and replacing the lost tax revenue caused by the uptake in electric vehicles may now overcome the factors that have previously prevented the widespread implementation of road pricing. 

The Transport Committee has urged the Government to examine the options and recommend a new road charging mechanism by the end of the year. New technologies would enable road pricing to be smarter and fairer, but there remain significant obstacles. 

This half day conference will consider the challenges to the development of a workable and publicly acceptable road pricing scheme, what it can realistically achieve and how local and national schemes could work together.

Speakers

Stephen Glaister is Professor Emeritus of Transport and Infrastructure at Imperial College London and Associate, London School of Economics. He has specialised in the economics of transport with a concentration on economic regulation and deregulation.

Alistair Hunter is the Highways Business leader in Arup's UK, India, Middle East and Africa region. He gave evidence to the recent Transport Committee inquiry into road pricing. His expertise is within transport, helping develop meaningful strategy and policy for clients across areas such as regulation, low carbon mobility, network planning and organisational transformation. 

Ben Southwood is Head of Housing, Transport and the Urban Space at Policy Exchange, a leading UK think tank which develops and promotes new policy ideas which deliver better public services, a stronger society and a more dynamic economy. He is the author of the recent Policy Exchange’s recent report on road pricing ‘A New Deal for Drivers: Unleashing the power of Britain’s greatest infrastructure resource’.