LibDems Oppose Labour Road Pricing Trials

11.22.39am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 20th Aug 2008

In a shock leak yesterday, Milton Keynes discovered that the Government is planning eight secret pay-per-mile road charging trials - and is including Milton Keynes!

The city and the rest of Buckinghamshire is one of eight areas in the country that have been selected by ministers for secret pay-per-mile trials which will begin in 2010, according to reports in the national media. Initially one hundred cars in each area will trial the new technology but members of the public will be invited to join the pilots in June 2010. Black box 'transmitters' may be placed in vehicles to allow their movements to be tracked by satellites. Motorists face paying up to £1.30 a mile during peak periods on the busiest roads. Other areas allegedly selected for the trials are Leeds, North Yorkshire, south west London, Suffolk and Essex.

Cllr Douglas McCall, LibDem Cabinet Member for Transport said: "A few years ago the Council was asked to participate in a bid for a road pricing pilot scheme across the Milton Keynes and South Midlands area but we very firmly said no. The clear message from the LibDem Cabinet was then and still is that we are not interested in road charging here. We don't think it makes sense in a place like Milton Keynes. The Government is trying to introduce it by the back door."