Charging ahead: what does the future hold for our roads?

The author discusses the options for road pricing in the UK with transport economist Professor Stephen Glaister. Glaister worked on the London Congestion Charge project and was a member of the UK Government's feasibility study on national road charging. He is focusing on who would gain and who would lose from road pricing and on how the introduction of road pricing would affect the case for building new roads. The implications of road pricing for the freight industry are considered. The arguments for and against revenue-neutral and revenue-additional approaches to road pricing are examined and the role of Government and local authorities in road pricing are discussed. Glaister's attitudes to the Lorry Road User Charging scheme, the German Maut Truck Toll, and methods of collecting tolls are outlined. (A)