The Chair of the UK Transport Select Committee in Parliament has admitted that his own proposals for drivers to be charged per mile could slow the switch to EVs.
The Daily Telegraph quoted Conservative MP Huw Merriman as conceding that his idea to replace vehicle excise duty with a distance-based charge would be a “disincentive” to buy an EV before new petrol and diesel car sales are banned in 2030.
The newspaper quoted Merriman as saying, “All road users will need to pay to use the road because otherwise we won’t receive any funds from it, and that will mean electric vehicles.
Read more: ‘No viable alternative’ to UK road pricing, transport committee finds
“But the Department for Transport’s key target is to increase the uptake of electric vehicles, so our report is providing a disincentive to that.”
According to the article, Merriman was speaking at an event organised by the Policy Exchange think tank where he insisted that the need to repair the hole in the public finances outweighed the need to promote sales of EVs.
You can learn more about the key trends and challenges affecting senior decision-makers who have responsibility for tolling, road pricing and intelligent transportation systems at the 19th annual Road User Charging Conference in Brussels, Belgium on 04-05 May 2022. Visit www.roaduserchargingconference.co.uk for more information.
