Survey on motorway use and charging: June 2013
Public opinion swings towards supporting motorway charges if motoring taxes are reduced, says our new survey for the RAC Foundation.
An Ipsos survey for the RAC Foundation has found public opposition towards introduction of a system in which drivers pay to use Britain’s motorways based on how often they use them. But the survey shows that opinion swings towards support if such a system were introduced alongside reductions in road tax and fuel duty.
Similarly, there is a swing in favour of such a system if every £1 raised by payments is matched by a £1 reduction in motoring tax. The public also say they support it if the money raised is spent only on maintaining and improving motorways and if there is an independent watchdog to make sure payments are reasonable and the money raised is spent on what was promised.
The exception is the involvement of a regulated private sector company to make decisions about how to spend the money raised on motorways; 54% say they oppose a scheme with this as a feature, 13% support it.
Other findings include low levels of trust that the Government would spend the money raised through such a scheme on motorways and nothing else – 76% against 6%.
