§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications in terms of traffic volume of road pricing motorways for A and B roads.
§ Mr. KeyResearch described in the Green Paper "Paying for Better Motorways" (Cm 2200) shows that 595W substantial revenue could be raised at toll levels which would cause relatively little diversion to other roads. For example, charges of 1.5p per mile for cars and light goods vehicles and 4.5p per mile for other vehicles would raise some £700 million and might cause diversion of some 10 per cent. in terms of vehicle miles at peak periods. Further traffic modelling conducted since the Green Paper was published has broadly confirmed these estimates.
Rising congestion on a motorway network which was not improved quickly enough would of itself cause increasing diversion to other roads. Motorway charging offers the key to accelerating expansion of inter-urban road capacity, thereby reducing the diversion which would otherwise occur.