Currently reading: Road privatisation 'will ease traffic'
Prime Minister David Cameron has drawn up plans to privatise roads, which will "reduce congestion"

Prime Minister David Cameron has drawn up plans to privatise roads, which he says will “reduce congestion.”

Under the new plans, investors would bid to own highways over a long lease period, which would then be privately maintained thanks to yearly government funding; this extra cash injection could come from inflated road tax costs.

On top of this, privately owned roads could also introduce toll charging, but only on extended stretches of existing highway.

One stretch of road, which has been flagged up for extension and toll charging is the A14 from Felixstowe in Suffolk to its junction with the M1 at Cathorpe. It is frequently used by freight lorries and suffers from heavy congestion.

Smaller roads are not included in government plans and would continue to be maintained by local authorities.

AA president Edmund King said: "Longer term plans, procurement and five-year funding agreements would help improve efficiency.

"However, there is a big leap between reform of the Highways Agency and new ownership and financing models.

"The Government has indicated that tolls would only apply on new capacity but many drivers would suspect new ownership is the thin end of the wedge leading to national road pricing."

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pjl20 20 March 2012

Re: Road privatisation 'will ease traffic'

Yours is a noticeably cynical reply. I hardly think that this forum will be a practical way of dealing with Andrew Lansley, do you?

pjl20 20 March 2012

Re: Road privatisation 'will ease traffic'

This is a disingenuous way of saying that we are going to price marginal motorists off the British road system.

With the level of taxes now prevailing with annual RFL, fuel duty and VAT besides the tax on putting a new car on the road, many more people will be classified as 'marginal' in future.

So this is the Conservative answer to relieving the pressure of traffic on our roads?

The tax we pay as motorists is no longer to be used to repair and improve our roads. That will be the task of private organisations who will charge tolls on the roads we have already paid for in our taxes. Marvellous!

Only someone from a privileged background and an Eton education could possibly think this way. They appear to have lost the plot, right?

My advice to those who do not like policies of this type, is to vote for genuine change and to vote UKIP. Common-sense policies prevail at UKIP. Check it out.

J4KE H4M 20 March 2012

Re: Road privatisation 'will ease traffic'

Woah, and I thought the government was out of ways to screw motorists out of money. They get more money from us in Road Tax, the tolls feed the companies that pay tax to the government. Why is there an endless war on the motorist?