Drivers face the prospect of new tolls for using fast-track lanes or the hard shoulder on congested motorways if plans for this form of road pricing go-ahead. The new tolling plan is being developed by the DfT but seems to be led in practice by Derek Turner who is currently with the Highways Agency – but Turner was also the mastermind behind introduction of London’s Congestion Charge. The new hard shoulder toll charges are the latest step in government theories about how to tackle problems on heavily congested sections of motorways. Go here for a news report and here to see all that the DfT has published so far about plans for single lane tolling schemes. With Derek’s help, the government is now in favour of allowing drivers to use hard shoulders in conjunction with ATM (active traffic management) especially as it offers a far cheaper alternative to motorway widening. But road pricing advocates have pushed government towards the next step of adding a charge for using the hard shoulder as a useful extra part of the ‘Demand Management’ approach to ‘solving’ congestion problems. But TC wonders who will benefit most from hard shoulder tolls. Will the speed and efficiency of inter-urban road transport really increase or will government reap most reward as a new source of revenue comes on stream? Today, A DFT spokesman tells TC that they are at a “very early stage of looking at options for managing demand on new motorway capacity, including tolled lanes and car sharing lanes” – and added that new primary legislation would be needed before any tolled lanes could be introduced – “even on a trial basis.”
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