The introduction of road pricing in the UK should be welcomed as a means of better managing the congested road network, according to the Freight Transport Association. But, the FTA warns, it must not be used as an excuse for failing to increase the road building programme.
It said that the government has recognised that maximising the efficiency of the present network is essential and managing demand by road pricing must be a part of that process.
FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham said: “FTA research has identified that growth in the economy over the coming years will place an overwhelming burden on the motorway network, which we must plan for now…road pricing as a means of managing demand for scarce road space makes a lot of sense in an economy as big, and an island as small, as Great Britain.”
